InfoPrint Solutions Expands Global Workforce, Celebrates First Anniversary, Introduces Printing Solutions
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—May 29, 2008—InfoPrint Solutions Co., a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, today celebrates its first anniversary and is announcing a significant expansion of its global workforce. Many hundreds of IBM employees will join InfoPrint’s professional services team around the world, as agreed during the establishment of the joint venture.
The highly skilled IBM printer service specialists who have been providing both warranty and maintenance contract support for IBM and InfoPrint Solutions-branded printers will now become InfoPrint Solutions Company employees and continue to serve InfoPrint customers. This team will be led by John Roope, senior vice president and general manager, Maintenance Support Services. John joins InfoPrint Solutions from IBM, where he managed IBM’s printing services business.
The newly launched InfoPrint University, a modular development program, will give maintenance employees access to industry-leading education and provide them with the relevant expertise to help InfoPrint Solutions customers manage today’s complex output solutions.
“We launched a billion dollar joint venture a year ago, and with today’s announcements we are reaffirming our commitment to our customers, employees and partners with expanded services, increased efficiencies and ongoing development in market-leading technology,” said Tony Romero, President and CEO, InfoPrint Solutions Company. “Combining the heritage of IBM with the financial backing of Ricoh, we are changing the face of the output market as demonstrated through our world-class customer wins and unmatched solutions.”
New Call Centers, Services and Supply Chain Management
InfoPrint is introducing a number of new infrastructure services to ensure it continues to deliver the industry’s leading customer support. It is launching unified call centers around the world to handle service inquiry calls. In addition, service technicians will now have access to InfoPrint’s new wireless service delivery application, allowing them to quickly place orders for parts and helping personnel in the field to manage service calls more efficiently.
A new streamlined supplies inventory system and new logistics will introduce new efficiencies that will particularly benefit those customers with large, complex print operations.
Since its launch in June 2007, InfoPrint Solutions has used investment from Ricoh to ramp up its R&D. For example, it has unveiled new offerings that take advantage of the technology standards developed by IBM, such as the Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) Architecture – now an industry standard – and Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS), which has become the standard for mission-critical business printing.
InfoPrint’s R&D in TransPromo is reaping dividends for new customers in the financial, telecommunications and direct marketing industries. Workflow management, monochrome production, Print-On-Demand books, integrated communications and specialized direct mail are also growth areas.
InfoPrint has also invested in its global reach. It recently announced the expansion of its Asia Pacific regional headquarters, based in Singapore, and has launched other offices across the world. The company is focusing on building relationships with customers and business partners in emerging markets such as India, Russia and China, where there are huge growth opportunities in digital production printing.
InfoPrint Solutions Company Unveils Drupa 2008 Line Up
InfoPrint Solutions Company, a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, today announced its line up of solutions for drupa 2008, Hall 9 booth B44.
InfoPrint will demonstrate the power of its solutions for TransPromo, Print On Demand, Direct Marketing, Automated Document Factory and workflow management. These applications will be running on the InfoPrint 5000 continuous forms full color production printer and the recently announced InfoPrint EMP156 cut-sheet printer. InfoPrint will also demonstrate its commitment to the environment with the launch of its Container Collection Program.
“drupa 2008 will mark the one year anniversary of InfoPrint Solutions Company,” said Dermot O’Loughlin, InfoPrint EMEA general manager. “Our relationship with Ricoh has gone from strong to stronger and we will be using drupa as the platform to show new production offerings that combine Ricoh’s technical prowess with InfoPrint’s market expertise.”
Monochrome Cut-Sheet – InfoPrint EMP156
InfoPrint will show its new monochrome cut-sheet solution, the InfoPrint EMP156. This extends the current InfoPrint cut-sheet family at the high end, brings increased productivity, and targets an affordable cost per page for in-house print operations.
The InfoPrint EMP156 boasts speeds of up to 156 pages per minute (ppm). It includes advanced paper handling technology, excellent print quality and a monthly duty cycle of up to 4.5 million impressions.
TransPromo on InfoPrint 5000 Color Continuous Forms
Other solutions at drupa include the AFP-enhanced InfoPrint 5000 continuous forms color production duplex printer with Lasermax Roll Systems pre and post processing equipment including inline hole punching and dynamic perforations. This leading, proven color inkjet technology is already being used by several customers around the world for production, and provides a new competitive value point with the right blend of speed and quality.
With the availability of the AFP controller on the InfoPrint 5000, monochrome transaction customers can take advantage of the latest AFP color technologies for TransPromo marketing opportunities. With TransPromo, businesses can add promotional messages to transactional documents to increase their marketing value and response rates. The system will be running a variety of commercial and TransPromo applications.
InfoPrint will demonstrate examples of TransPromo solutions. This suite enables customers to combine the latest in print and personalization technology with their existing IT infrastructure. It comprises; InfoPrint ProcessDirector (IPPD); the InfoPrint 5000 and other software such as Prinova’s messagepoint™ which connects business users to their customers across all customer touch points; Mapping Suite to change the customer experience by leveraging distributed print’s marketing potential; GMC PrintNet Suite for high-impact personalized communications with advanced process automation and web and enterprise integration, and Exstream Dialogue for enterprise document management.
Continuous Forms Printers – InfoPrint 75 and InfoPrint 100
InfoPrint has launched its latest continuous forms monochrome printers, InfoPrint 75 and InfoPrint 100, intended for customers printing client invoices, direct marketing mailings, labels and distribution center picking slips. They provide high levels of throughput with minimal floor space. With speeds of up to 115 pages per minute (ppm) for the InfoPrint 75 and 154 ppm for InfoPrint 100, these entry level printers offer high levels of productivity with the page sequence integrity of a continuous forms printer.
InfoPrint 75 and InfoPrint 100 support both PostScript and PCL data languages and prints in high quality, at 600 dpi. Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) support is planned for 2009. Both are Energy Star® compliant and include easy-to-use auto loading and an internally powered output stacker.
Multi-channel Marketing
InfoPrint will be demonstrating the value of a complete direct marketing service with a choice of integrated communications channels across email, mail and SMS depending on customers’ preferences and previous behavior.
This allows customers to focus their marketing on the cost per respondee rather than the traditional CPM (cost per mailpack). Consumer marketing campaigns can be linked to fully personalized web pages created on-the-fly, generating offers based on customer insight.
Automated Document Factory (ADF)
ADF addresses regulatory compliance, high-postage costs and multi-site management concerns through modules including mailroom integrity, postal optimization and output management to drive out costs and improve the integrity of production operations by leveraging IPPD’s modular technology.
The use of direct mail continues to grow worldwide, and InfoPrint will be demonstrating solutions to allow printers to meet customer demands for the combination of creative, customized, high-quality pieces and higher throughput, all with a focus on cost control.
Print on Demand
InfoPrint’s Print On-Demand (POD) workflow solutions help customers handle challenges such as shorter print runs, faster turnaround times, complex set-ups and manual processes without any compromises in quality, speed or cost It enables customers to leverage their existing PDF tools by automating prepress and print production for applications such as book and manual production, versioned educational course packs or personalized marketing collateral.
InfoPrint’s POD workflow solution ensures all parts of the process run smoothly by linking to InfoPrint’s production print technology, managing each print job through the complete output lifecycle.
It brings together best-of-breed, standards-based solutions developed by its industry technology partners, like IoFlex IoBookmaker, make-ready software for books, PDFs, and scans and award-winning Ultimate Technograhics Impostrip for advanced imposition. Other POD partners are Rochester Software Associates, Inc. WebCRD, for web-based print ordering, and production management; and GMC Printnet T and Objectif Lune Planet Press for variable data and custom publishing.
InfoPrint’s most recent collaboration with Press-sense will also be on display. Press-sense iWay, Manager and Omnium complement InfoPrint’s production print solutions to provide an end-to-end POD workflow solution from web-to-print to MIS, streamlining POD workflow while increasing capacity.
At drupa, InfoPrint, Press-sense and Ultimate Technographics are providing an automated workflow demonstration including iWay, Impostrip and InfoPrint Manager for printing to the InfoPrint 4100 and InfoPrint 5000 in the booth.
InfoPrint’s POD demonstration, teaming with Newspaper Direct, the leader in same-day international newspapers, will include live newspaper applications with daily samples from around the globe.
Other Technology on Display
InfoPrint solutions on show at drupa will include the InfoPrint 4100 MD1/2 production printer with the Image Enhancement Feature with Hunkeler pre and post finishing technology, WEKO RFDi damping system, and Argos vacuum system, and the InfoPrint 2235 cut-sheet printer.
The booth will also feature a technology demonstration of a 90 ipm full color cutsheet printer.
The AFP Consortium
InfoPrint is a member of the AFP Consortium, whose goal is to promote the worldwide development and implementation of AFP, especially in new areas of the fast growing digital print market. With strong international multi-vendor support, the AFP Consortium will make sure that all investments InfoPrint’s customers make in AFP products are well protected for the future.
The AFPC booth will be located in the document management park (booth 7.01), part of the drupa innovation park in exhibition hall 7.
Container Collection Program
Returning InfoPrint 1000 series toner cartridges in bulk is free and easy through the InfoPrint Container Collection Program. Customers participating in this program receive containers that allow the return of multiple cartridges to provide convenience and to help reduce the transportation of used cartridges.
InfoPrint Enhances Suite of TransPromo Solutions with SAS Customer Intelligence Offering
InfoPrint Solutions Company, a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, today announced that SAS® Customer Intelligence is part of its suite of TransPromo solutions. This addition enables marketers to create timely and targeted transactional documents for their customers and marries InfoPrint’s strengths in document production, color and system integration with SAS expertise in customer and business intelligence, as well as predictive analytics.
The InfoPrint TransPromo Consulting Practice, launched in March, is teaming with SAS, the recognized leader in business intelligence and predictive analytics software, to facilitate this new solution. SAS Customer Intelligence enables organizations to deepen their customer relationships and improve their bottom line. Together, SAS and InfoPrint enable CMOs to optimize marketing returns by delivering targeted messaging to retain, cross-sell and up-sell to customers across marketing and operational channels, such as print production, direct mail, email and other online channels.
“The market is waking up to the potential revenue streams offered by TransPromo. By further bolstering our portfolio with the addition of the SAS Customer Intelligence offering, we make a more compelling proposition for those enterprises who haven’t yet taken initial steps in TransPromo,” said Sandra Zoratti, Vice President, Strategic Business Development for InfoPrint. “By combining scalable technology and proven consulting services with SAS analytics, we are educating customers on the benefits of TransPromo and showing new audiences how to transform their marketing campaigns.”
The suite of TransPromo solutions also includes InfoPrint 5000 with AFP support, InfoPrint ProcessDirector (IPPD) and best-of-breed software offerings from Mapping, StreamServe, Exstream and Prinova.
InfoPrint recently announced its significant relationship with the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, which includes a new thought leadership initiative, “Precision Promotion: Timely, Targeted and Trackable.” This research aims to identify best practices for integrating transactional print and electronic communication with promotional marketing to leverage the value and effectiveness of statement merchandising.
The InfoPrint Suite of TransPromo Solutions
The InfoPrint 5000 is a state-of-the-art full-color, continuous forms inkjet drop-on-demand printing system with high print quality, even at high speeds. With the InfoPrint 5000, businesses can use color to make TransPromo communications even more attention-grabbing and effective. Added to this, new InfoPrint 5000 models support the new AFP Color Management Architecture (CMA), guaranteed to provide accurate and consistent color rendering.
InfoPrint’s TransPromo software solutions comprise of IPPD which provides a scalable output management workflow system and InfoPrint Manager (IPM) which optimizes database analytics, statement design and composition and direct marketing content from one, centralized suite of software solutions. It also integrates leading software solutions in data analytics and document design and composition with best-of-breed offerings from partners Prinova, Mapping, StreamServe and Exstream.
TransPromo Consulting Practice
InfoPrint’s worldwide TransPromo Consulting Practice offers professional services that assist in the assessment and analysis of current marketing campaign, data analytics and print infrastructures. It also offers recommendations on steps to achieve an effective and efficient TransPromo environment. Added to this, the recently announced expanded InfoPrint maintenance team helps incorporate all new software and hardware into existing IT infrastructures, and provides premium ongoing support, helping to maximum the success of TransPromo solutions.
For more information on InfoPrint’s suite of TransPromo solutions, or to find the please visit https://www.infoprint.com/transpromo. To find out more about TransPromo visit www.the-dma.org/ , http://store.infotrendsresearch.com/product_p/82828.htm and www.cmocouncil.org
InfoPrint Solutions Company
InfoPrint Solutions Company, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, brings to market the advantages IBM and Ricoh have in the development, manufacturing, marketing and building of strategic solutions for customers, creating a growth-oriented global enterprise that is strategically focused on the output market.
