Publishers and Book Manufacturers Embrace Ricoh’s ’Next Chapter’ in Publishing Technology
BOULDER—Mar 27, 2012—Ricoh Production Print Solutions LLC (Ricoh), a leading provider of digital output solutions, today announced that its Next Chapter event proved successful in bringing together publishers, book manufacturers, industry analysts and commercial printers to discuss the future of the book publishing industry. Topics included the impact of tablets to the traditional book market, digital printing and its impact on traditional books, ways to avoid the commoditization of the printed book market, the growing popularity of ultra short-run books, workflow solutions optimized for book printing and much more.
With dozens of participants from North America, the Next Chapter was poised as an open event for discussion, debate and education on the future of the book printing market. Held earlier this month at Ricoh’s Boulder facility, the meeting aimed to bridge the gap between publishers and book manufacturers by addressing the issues faced throughout the industry in today’s complicated publishing environment.
The event included expert roundtable sessions, survey results from a leading analyst firm and a discussion of best practices. Keynotes were delivered from industry evangelists including Marco Boer from IT Strategies who discussed how the increased demand of digital print-on-demand book production has impacted the market, and Jim Lichtenberg of Lightspeed, LLC who provided insight on how to not just survive these changes, but how to embrace them and capitalize on them.
Delving into real-world examples from cutting-edge innovations in the book manufacturing space from BR Printers and Frederic Printing, speakers educated attendees on the possibilities digital print can bring to their businesses.
Feedback from attendees included:
• “This event crystallized and reaffirmed my growing relationship with Ricoh. It wasn’t about selling me something. It was about moving us ahead (as an industry)—getting us together to set strategy and direction.” - Executive from a nationwide manufacturer of hard and soft cover books
• “It was a good mix of topics that spanned the scope of books technology, change, opportunity. The market projections we heard were invaluable.” - Executive from a global provider of multichannel communications, including books
• “One of the best conferences I have ever attended. Very thought provoking. A great opportunity. Points out the commonality of issues facing us all.” - Executive from one of the top ten graphic communications companies in North America
• “The Next Chapter event easily exceeded our expectations. Participation and enthusiasm from all attendees—publishers and book manufacturers alike—were exceptional,” said Rich Lloyd, offset to digital offerings manager, Ricoh. “The way attendees came to the table willing to share information and engage in productive discussions for the overall benefit of the industry was impressive. Everyone involved truly understood the objective of the event: to share and learn in order to address challenges and enhance business opportunities.”
About Ricoh Production Print Solutions
Ricoh Print Production Solutions (Ricoh), a Ricoh Company, Ltd. operating company, focuses on delivering highly complex, data-driven hardware, software, solutions and services to production print environments.
About Ricoh
Ricoh Co. specializes in technology and services that transform high-volume, document-intensive business processes into more efficient ones. This is achieved through Ricoh’s expertise in Managed Document Services, Production Printing, Office Solutions and IT Services. By working with Ricoh, businesses can streamline the way they work, become more efficient and profitable, and share knowledge more effectively within their organizations. Ricoh’s worldwide operation covers more than 200 countries and areas in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, China and Japan.
Source: Ricoh.
- Companies:
- Ricoh Corp.
