OUTPUT

Ricoh has announced its presence at drupa, beginning today (May 3rd), is carbon neutral thanks to its on-site printing activity complying with its Carbon Balanced Printing Programme and recycling initiatives. The company has also launched a new workflow solution and printer at the German event.

The new printer is a prototype of the large-format ink-jet Ricoh Pro L4000 with white latex ink. Featuring piezo-electric print heads with latex ink in seven colours – white, CMYK, light cyan and light magenta – it is due for release in Europe and North America in 2013 and is aimed at 'environmentally conscious' signage buyers.

The ink is durable enough for outdoor and indoor applications and can print on media including textiles and PVC at speeds of up to 18.1sq m/hr. It will be available in widths of 1.4m and 1.6m. 

Called InfoPrint ProcessDirector Express, the new software is part of the Ricoh TotalFlow workflow suite and manages transactional datastreams in Adobe PDF format. It is aimed at mid-level customers and features an 'intuitive dashboard', is integrated with colour management tools including Enfocus Pitstop and Impostrip On Demand Digital Automation software to reduce file preparation time, and has a PDF Mailroom Integrity feature.