Ricoh Unveils Desktop Direct to Garment Printer

On Monday, Ricoh introduced a compact, affordable Direct to Garment (DTG) printer that empowers users to quickly and easily produce high-quality applications on a variety of fabrics. The Ricoh Ri 100 fits easily on desks and counters. As many organizations seek ways to expand their portfolios or enhance brand loyalty, the Ricoh Ri 100 is a cost-effective way to achieve these goals.

“As Ricoh continues to invest in the industrial print market, we do so with one goal in mind: to make it easier for our customers to grow their businesses,” said John Fulena, VP, Commercial and Industrial Printing Business Group, Ricoh USA, Inc. “The Ricoh Ri 100 fits perfectly into that mission: it’s affordable; it's easy to use; it works fast to produce quality, unique applications.”

Businesses, municipalities and other organizations have long recognized the impact of branded t-shirts, canvas bags, pillows and other fabrics, but questions around cost, customization and control have prevented many from taking advantage. The Ricoh Ri 100 eliminates those concerns by putting the power of DTG printing directly in the hands of these organizations while allowing for cost-effective one-off and short-run prints to help supply meet demand. Users can choose between ready-out-of-the-box Ricoh Design Software to create and print designs or an RPCS driver, which allows users to create designs with their preferred software of their choice before printing.

Additionally, the Ricoh Ri 100 is bundled with an intuitive heating system that removes wrinkles from fabric, creating a smooth surface for printing, and then cures the ink after, helping to fix the design in place for long lasting, colorfast prints. The heating unit was designed with simplicity and safety in mind, helping those new to DTG printing easily produce a finished product.

The Ricoh Ri 100 joins the Ricoh Ri 3000/Ri 6000 printers in building upon Ricoh and AnaJet’s history of fast, high-quality garment printing. (In early 2016, AnaJet became wholly owned subsidiary of Ricoh Printing Systems America.) The Ricoh Ri 100 prints up to 1,200x1,200 dpi in vivid mode, leveraging Ricoh’s industry standard-setting printheads and modular drop-size technology.

“Over the years, our customers have asked for an affordable, low risk way to enter the DTG market, and we’re proud to be the first to answer that question at a price point that is unmatched today,” said Karl Tipre, CEO of AnaJet. “Like our Ricoh colleagues, our commitment to our customers is to help them reach their business goals. The Ricoh Ri 100 does just that, and at a much lower cost than traditional DTG printers, helping them come to market even quicker.”

MSRP for the Ricoh Ri 100, heating unit, software and other accessories will be less than $5,000, significantly lower than that of traditional DTG printers. Further, Ricoh’s ink costs are among the lowest in the industry, helping to keep total cost of ownership low, as well. Click here for further information.

The Ricoh Ri 100 will become available in the U.S. in Spring 2018 and is on display at CES in booth 42964, January 9-12, 2018. For details on Ricoh’s full line of products, services and solutions for the production print market, please visitwww.rpp.ricoh-usa.com and follow @RicohProPrint on Twitter, Ricoh USA Production Print on LinkedIn and Ricoh USA Production Print on Facebook.

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with IPG. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of IPG.