Avanti Brings Print MIS To Ricoh Portfolio (Includes Commentary from Mark Michelson)

Commentary by Mark Michelson

Sam Hosoe, associate director and deputy general manager of Ricoh’s Production Printing Business Group, and Patrick Bolan, Avanti president and CEO, explained the rationale for Ricoh’s multimillion-dollar investment in Avanti during a brief conference call with Mark Michelson, editor-in-chief of Printing Impressions.

Hosoe says Ricoh was especially drawn to Avanti’s open platform, modular architecture. And, coupled with Ricoh’s previous investment in PTI Marketing Technologies (a Web-to-print and marketing personalization solutions provider), it will enable Ricoh to provide customers with a fully integrated and automated, end-to-end solution. Ricoh’s global customer and sales coverage will also enable Avanti to expand its MIS customer base worldwide, noted Hosoe.

Bolan added that Ricoh’s investment will further accelerate and fund product development at Avanti, some of which will debut at PRINT 13 in September. And, more importantly, it will reaffirm to current MIS customers and prospects that Avanti will not be sold to EFI, which has been aggressively consolidating the market by acquiring independent MIS solution providers. “This announcement will signal to the marketplace that we plan to be here for the long haul,” Bolan stressed.

He says Avanti currently has between 300 and 325 MIS users in the United States, ranging from $1 to $2 million print shops up to large industry conglomerates such as EarthColor. Bolan adds that Avanti’s modular, scalable software structure can grow with individual users, including those print shops expanding into services such as mailing and fulfillment.

Avanti’s three majority shareholders, including Bolan, who bought the Toronto-based company about eight years ago, will still maintain majority ownership.

TOKYO and TORONTO—July 11, 2013—Ricoh Company (Ricoh) today announced that it has made a multimillion dollar investment in Avanti Computer Systems, a leading provider of Print Management Information Systems (MIS) solutions for the print industry. Avanti provides Print MIS software that helps commercial and in-plant printers streamline their workflow, resulting in greater productivity, customer satisfaction, and improved profit margins.

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Ricoh Makes Strategic Investment in Avanti Computer Systems (Includes Commentary from Mark Michelson)