Ricoh Corp.

2009 was a harsh year for business. Print volumes seemed to be down in most industries with the exception of education. Print volumes also seem to be down for most job types, with the exception of color marketing materials. My prediction is that direct mail jobs will drop and then rise later in the year. The drop will be because, despite the best marketing efforts, people just aren't buying yet and marketing budgets will be depleted.

After getting by for the past couple of decades with minimal investment, Ashland University Printing Services has carried out some major equipment upgrades, allowing the shop to bring a significant amount of printing back in-house. About a year and a half ago, the Ashland, Ohio-based university invested in a new four-color Heidelberg Speedmaster 52, along with a Heidelberg Suprasetter computer-to-plate device with Prinect workflow. At the same time, the shop replaced its aging Baum folder with a 20˝ Stahl folder from Heidelberg. 

At the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, the decision to switch from offset to digital was a practical one. "We had a 20x28˝ Sakurai offset press and some smaller Hamadas, but we couldn’t find any press operators,” remarks Jon Flaxman, director of Printing Services for the Little Rock, Ark., school. “So we just made the decision, we are going to go totally digital.” In October, the four-employee in-plant installed a new Kodak NexPress S2500 digital color press with a fifth imaging station. So far it has exceeded Flaxman’s hopes. “We definitely now get more consistent color than we’ve ever had,” he contends.

At Metro, the transit agency serving the St. Louis region, the five-employee in-house printing and mailing facility recently executed multiple, multi-faceted initiatives that have resulted in improved quality, increased efficiency and major cost savings. The in-plant has been supporting Metro for more than 20 years, producing platform schedules, training and employee documentation/manuals, forms, business cards and stationery, newsletters and board meeting materials, among other jobs. The facility also houses a full-service mail center. Both printing and mailing functions are considered part of Metro's Office Services department.

In June 2009, the In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) met in Rochester, NY, for a successful conference that drew more than 100 in-plant managers.

More than 60 customers attended an open house in the Roanoke College print shop last month. Jacob Jackson, Information Technology Systems support manager at Roanoke College, in Salem, Va., hosted the event to show off the in-plant’s Ricoh production equipment and the print shop’s capabilities. Ricoh provided refreshments and several door prizes.

For the past few years, color printing has been a challenge for the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast (GSWISE). That all changed recently when GSWISE installed a new Ricoh Pro C900 digital color press. Now the color printing opportunities are endless, and the organization is taking full advantage of them.

Take a quick tour of the PRINT 09 show floor with IPG Editor Bob Neubauer.

More than 60 customers attended an open house in the Roanoke College print shop last week. Jacob Jackson, Information Technology Systems support manager at the Salem, Va.-based college hosted the event to show off the in-plant's Ricoh production equipment and the print shop’s capabilities. Ricoh provided refreshments and several door prizes.

Canon plans to buy Dutch copier and printer maker Océ for 730 million euros ($1.09 billion), challenging rivals Ricoh and Xerox in a hunt for growth during the sector downturn.