Bridging the Digital Gap: Partnering with Customers for Smarter Printing
An interview Koji Miyao, President, Ricoh Graphic Communications & Senior Corporate Officer, Ricoh
The printing industry, which has long been labour-intensive, is about to change through the incorporation of ICT into operations and the introduction of automated equipment. At the same time, clients’ business sectors and needs are becoming more complex, and the workflows required for everything from order types to production environments are diversifying. Ricoh is not limited to providing production printers, but also offers comprehensive solutions to support the digital transformation (DX) of individual users.
We sat down to talk with Koji Miyao, Ricoh Graphic Communications (RGC) & Senior Corporate Officer, Ricoh.
The Current State of the Commercial Printing Market
The commercial printing market is becoming increasingly digitalised. Digital printing has been used relatively more for short runs in the commercial printing market, but since drupa 2024, interest in high speed inkjet presses has increased, and even in the mid range of the market, the process of replacing offset printing with digital printing is beginning to emerge. It can be said that the market phase began by early adopters has moved up one level after drupa 2024. I believe that high speed inkjet presses will expand right at the centre of the commercial printing market.
At drupa 2024, where we exhibited our new B2 size sheetfed inkjet presses and continuous feed inkjet presses, I sensed a strong willingness from visitors to invest in equipment. I believe that people have come to recognise that if the performance of high speed inkjet presses is matched with the business of customers, it is possible to build an economically rational business model with high profit margins.
An obvious example is variable printing. For educational materials, there is a growing demand to customise the content for each classroom, subject, and even individual student. Capturing such demands increases added value and improves profit margins. In addition, digital printing has the advantage of being able to output materials by destination and shipment order, which can reduce costs and increase profit margins in the area of fulfilment.
Progress in Digital Printing by Region
As for the spread of digital printing, Europe and the United States are leading, followed by South Korea, China, and Taiwan. I have the impression that Japan lags somewhat behind those countries in terms of small lot suitability for offset printing, and also feel that there are issues to be addressed in developing a business model suitable for digital printing. Many business leaders are struggling with issues such as creating a system to collect many small orders of 200 or 300 copies, which is inefficient for human driven sales activities, and building a post printing processing and shipping system that can handle small lots, which involves internal process reform, corporate culture reform, and IT reform. Ricoh would like to support resolving such issues through its digital services.
Strengths and positions at RGC
In terms of product mix, we have the world’s top market share in mid range and high end, covering low end to mid range and high end products. Our product strength in specific fields is among the highest in the world, and in the inkjet field, we have the technology for heads and inks. One of our strengths is our thick backbone of technology that allows us to work from elemental development.
Another strength is our global sales outreach, valuing the corporate culture that strives to bring us closer to our customers. We are able to provide innovations in line with market needs, and because we can easily understand the needs of our customers, we are very able to propose the optimal workflow for each individual customer. Our inhouse development system, from toner to ink, heads, and imaging engines, makes it easy for us to reflect the needs we gathered and quickly contribute to the success of our customers’ businesses.
The GES (Global Engineer Support) department, at our global headquarters, works with the product development and design departments to customise products to meet needs that do not fit with existing products and services. GES supports both Japan and global accounts.
Co-creation of value with customers and digital services
Value co-creation is the main focus of RGC. “Co-innovation” is an initiative in which customers, partners, and Ricoh work together to share strategies and tactics, and think of ways to achieve growth while transforming business conditions.
For example, Sattler in Germany has added the latest RICOH Pro VC80000 in addition to the RICOH Pro VC70000 continuous feed inkjet machine. The speed of the machine itself, productivity has been improved by 45% compared to the “RICOH Pro VC70000” currently in operation through inline production connected to a postprocessing machine and automatic roll paper exchange.
And Green Gift Cards in the UK has benefited from the customisation of the production printer “RICOH Pro C9500” to achieve ultra thick paper printing. By printing on thick paper that cannot be passed through standard machines, the company is proposing to its clients that they switch from plastic to recyclable paper for gift cards.
“Co-innovation” is also closely related to the digital services we offer. Digital services have two layers, one of which is the streamlining of the production workflow. It improves the efficiency of production workflows, including hardware and software, based on optimal processes.
Another is internal process reform. RGC has been proposing digital reforms in the area of printing production for some time, but process reforms, for example, to efficiently receive orders for small lot jobs and ensure that they flow smoothly to subsequent processes, will require the use of ICT. For example, we need to offer solutions that include ICT to reform customers’ internal process for efficiently receiving small lot jobs and smoothly transferring them to the subsequent process. We recognise that our customers’ needs will increase in the future, and we will be entering this area to support them.
Environmental Initiatives
Ricoh began its environmental initiatives early on, establishing the Environmental Promotion Office in 1976, advocating the concept of “environmental management” to simultaneously achieve environmental conservation and profit generation in 1998, and becoming the first Japanese company to establish a CSR Office in 2003. In 2015, we became an official partner of COP21 and endorsed the international framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and in 2017, we became the first Japanese company to join the RE100, the global corporate renewable energy initiative comprising companies committed to 100% renewable electricity.
The Ricoh Group as a whole has set a goal of reducing global warming gas emissions to virtually zero by 2050, and our current goal by backcasting from where we should be. Within those goals, in the area of commercial printing, we have introduced renewable energy in the production of production printers and are contributing to the reduction of environmental impact by reducing the input of new resources through the use of electric furnace steel sheets as recycled materials. Production printers themselves are also improving their environmental performance in terms of energy conservation, reduction of paper loss, and reduction of environmental pollutants.
In terms of contributions to customers’ sites, Ricoh proposes a tool to compare CO2 emissions between offset and digital printing. Ricoh estimates that, compared to offset printing, CO2 emissions during operation can be reduced to less than one-third I 1 for the RICOH Pro C series and less than one-fourth 2 for the RICOH Pro VC series.
1 Sample condition: In the case of printing 3000 A4 double-sided flyers
2 Sample condition n: In the case of printing 100 120-page x 100 booklets
As a result of our environmental work, Ricoh’s production print sustainability was recognised at drupa 2024 with the prestigious Buyers Lab 2024-2025 Pacesetter Award in Production from Keypoint Intelligence.
Buyers Lab 2024-2025 Pacesetter Award in Production at drupa 2024
In this age of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), corporate governance is being evaluated in relation to the environment and society. There is a trend to support companies that are well aware of ESG issues, and good corporate behaviour is key to gaining the trust of society and customers. Clients are also beginning to choose less environmentally burdensome methods for printing promotional materials, even if the cost is a little higher. At the request of a client in Australia, we purchase CO2-free power generation energy from Tasmania to run our machines. Of course, environmental measures are necessary for business purposes, but the fundamental concept is sustainability, passing on a decent society to our children’s and grandchildren’s generations. I believe that Ricoh is a company where employees take this kind of thing seriously.
Progress of the Medium-Term Management Strategy and Future Market Outlook
The sales target set two years ago for RGC was achieved ahead of schedule. We expect both commercial printing and industrial printing, mainly inkjet heads, to continue to grow, and intend to continue this pace of growth in the next Mid-term Management Strategy. The main focus will be on accelerating the “offset to digital” shift to high speed inkjet printing, mainly in developed countries. Next is toner based production printers, our profit base, which we expect to grow in Europe and the United States, and we will continue to strengthen this business. Emerging markets will be extremely crucial in the next three years.
As a product strategy, we are looking at the packaging and labels market in the industrial printing area. We believe that we can provide inkjet heads and modules to this field. As the next step, we are looking to develop printing systems for packages and labels, focusing on areas where we do not compete with inkjet printhead and module suppliers. In the future, we would also like to target the area of printing applications for textiles and hard materials such as plastics, which are not affected by paperless printing.
Automation
We believe that the appetite for automation will continue to grow. One area will be explored through Ricoh’s internal efforts, such as using AI to reduce the time involved in operations and stabilising image quality during continuous printing by providing feedback on density changes. Another is through partnerships with third party vendors to link each process, including workflow and post processing around the printing process. It is unrealistic to provide only a system for automation. Customers have their own individual workflows, so we need to optimise them by linking them with the devices used in each process. To do this, we will have to talk closely with our customers and partners.
RICOH Pro VC80000 and process linkage for automation (Sattler)
Possible uses of AI include reducing manual labour, quality control, and preventive maintenance, but we are also looking for ways to support decision making regarding capital investment. Based on data such as number of machines, staffing, printing applications, etc., we can advise on measures to maximise ROI.
Fulfilment through work
Many leaders of printing companies sincerely want their employees to have a rewarding work experience. Their desire to reduce the negative impression of standing next to machines all the time or working covered in ink and grease is universal. On top of that, they are oriented toward adding value by expanding their domain into the fields of logistics, design creativity, and marketing. Each company has its own approach, and I believe it fits the concept of “Co-innovation.”
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