Second Ricoh Publishing Executive Symposium Receives 'Five Star' Reviews from Industry Experts

MALVERN, Pa. —July 12, 2016 — Ricoh today announced resounding success of its second annual Publishing Executive Symposium, a three-day event that recently took place at the company’s Executive Briefing Center in Boulder, Colo. Executives from the world’s leading publishers convened to discuss and debate the new ecosystem of digital book printing and how digital print is contributing to the evolution of the publishing industry. Attendees discussed publishing trends, heard real-world examples of how digital print is helping the publishing business model evolve, and experienced first-hand how the latest generation of inkjet technology, paper advancements and enhanced software solutions and services enable the fuller book printing ecosystem to evolve, grow and continue to prosper.

The ability to deliver cost-effective shorter runs and faster turnaround times is enabling digital printing to see steady, significant increases in its share of publishing market value. At a time when slow sales can result in warehouses full of unsold books, publishers and printers cannot afford to ignore the benefits of digital printing. Leveraging advancements in inkjet technology to bring those benefits to the publishing industry is the crux of the event. In addition to sessions, the symposium offered demonstrations of the end-to-end needs of and relevant solutions for publishers, including pre-press workflow software, high-quality paper, complementary cutsheet toner devices and finishing solutions, implementation and consulting services.

Presenters included Dr. Sean Smyth, consultant at Smithers Pira; Enrique Parrilla, managing director at Lantia; and Porter Anderson, editor at Publishing Perspectives. Feedback from attendees on the value of the technology and event included:

• "The digital book printing samples that I’ve seen at Ricoh’s Publishing Executive Symposium look really good and it’s nice to see the quality come to this point. It’s exciting to know that there’s such a broad interest among fellow publishers in digital and events like this help us to learn of additional ways to consider integrating it more so into our portfolio." — Kurt Scherwatzky, John Wiley & Sons
• "Publishers shouldn’t be fearful of digital — ultimately it’s going to bring in more revenue. Moreover, it allows the fuller ecosystem of publishing — including authors, technology companies, paper manufacturers and the publishers — to boost revenues. This event brought this important point to the forefront of the minds of those decision makers in the room. I was glad to be a part of it." — Dr. Sean Smyth, Smithers Pira
• "Walking away from Ricoh’s Publishing Executive Symposium left me intrigued and frankly, excited. The demand and desires of our collective ultimate customer — the reader — must be our top priority to remain a thriving industry. Events like this are a much-needed reminder of this industry shift. Digital is making the future of publishing brighter, not darker, and events like these go a long way to helping us realize that, and make the most of it." — Porter Anderson, Publishing Perspectives
• "The benefits of bringing the full ecosystem together to hear similar experiences and collaborate on ways to broaden the awareness of the benefits of digital print in today’s changing landscape is beyond valuable for the future of our industry. This is my second time at Ricoh’s Publishing Symposium, and it’s proven just as valuable this time around.” — Bill Barry, Sustainability & Vendor Partnerships consultant, Macmillan Publishing.

“Digital printing may still be unfamiliar territory for some, but it’s one with great rewards,” said John Fulena, VP, Production Printing Business Group, Ricoh USA. "For the publishing ecosystem, digital presents many opportunities for growth, both in revenue and in capabilities, for publishers and book manufacturers. It’s an exciting time to be in book production, and we are pleased and honored to play a role in guiding some of the most successful publishers of today and tomorrow into this new age of publishing."

About Ricoh
Ricoh is a global technology company that has been transforming the way people work for more than 80 years. Under its corporate tagline – imagine. change. – Ricoh continues to empower companiesand individuals with services and technologies that inspire innovation, enhance sustainability and boost business growth. These include document management systems, IT services, production print solutions, visual communications systems, digital cameras, and industrial systems.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2016, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,209 billion yen (approx. 19.6 billion USD).

Source: Ricoh.