Ricoh Unveils Direct-to-Garment Printer; Named CES 2018 Innovation Honoree

LAS VEGAS - January 8, 2018 - Today, Ricoh unveiled a compact, affordable Direct to Garment (DTG) printer that empowers users to quickly and easily produce high-quality applications on a variety of fabrics. The Ricoh Ri 100 fits easily on desks and counters, combining with its ease-of-use to make it a perfect fit for environments not traditionally dedicated to print, such as souvenir shops and small businesses. As many organizations and individuals seek ways to expand their portfolios or enhance brand loyalty, the Ricoh Ri 100 is a cost-effective way to achieve these goals.

The Ricoh Ri 100

“As Ricoh continues to invest in the industrial print market, we do so with one goal in mind - to make it easier for our customers to grow their businesses,” said John Fulena, VP, Commercial and Industrial Printing Business Group, Ricoh USA. “The Ricoh Ri 100 fits perfectly into that mission: it’s affordable; it’s easy to use; it works fast to produce quality, unique applications.”

Businesses, municipalities and other organizations have long recognized the impact of branded t-shirts, canvas bags, pillows and other fabrics, but questions around cost, customization and control have prevented many from taking advantage. The Ricoh Ri 100 eliminates those concerns by putting the power of DTG printing directly in the hands of these organizations while allowing for cost-effective one-off and short run prints to help supply meet demand. Users can choose between ready-out-of-the-box Ricoh Design Software to create and print designs or an RPCS driver, which allows users to create designs with their preferred software of their choice before printing.

Additionally, the Ricoh Ri 100 is bundled with an intuitive heating system that removes wrinkles from fabric, creating a smooth surface for printing, and then cures the ink after, helping to fix the design in place for long lasting, colorfast prints. The heating unit was designed with simplicity and safety in mind, helping those new to DTG printing easily produce a finished product.

The Ricoh Ri 100 joins the Ricoh Ri 3000/Ri 6000 printers in building upon Ricoh and AnaJet’s (a Ricoh company) history of fast, high-quality garment printing. It prints up to 1,200x1,200 dpi in vivid mode, leveraging Ricoh’s industry standard-setting printheads and modular drop-size technology.

“Over the years, our customers have asked for an affordable, low risk way to enter the DTG market and we’re proud to be the first to answer that question at a price point that is unmatched today,” said Karl Tipre, CEO of AnaJet. “Like our Ricoh colleagues, our commitment to our customers is to help them reach their business goals. The Ricoh Ri 100 does just that, and at a much lower cost than traditional DTG printers, helping them come to market even quicker.”

MSRP for the Ricoh Ri 100, heating unit, software and other accessories will be less than $5,000, significantly lower than that of traditional DTG printers. Further, Ricoh’s ink costs are among the lowest in the industry, helping to keep total cost of ownership low, as well. For further information, please visit www.anajet.com/ri100-request-info.

The Ricoh Ri 100 will become available in the U.S. in Spring 2018 and is on display at CES in booth 42964, Jan. 9-12, 2018.

Ricoh Named CES 2018 Innovation Awards Honoree

Ricoh also announced that it has been named a CES 2018 Innovation Awards Honoree for the Ricoh Ri 100. Products entered in this prestigious program are judged by a preeminent panel of independent industrial designers, independent engineers and members of the trade media to honor outstanding design and engineering in cutting edge consumer electronics products across 28 product categories.   

“Today’s organizations are constantly on the lookout for new ways to engage customers and develop brand loyalty, and Ricoh and AnaJet are committed to developing innovations to help them do just that,” relayed Fulena. "The RICOH Ri 100 makes hitting that goal easy, fast and extremely affordable, at an MSRP considerably lower than traditional DTG printers. Customers have been asking for an affordable, low risk entry point into the DTG market, and our team is the first in the market to deliver on that.”

The prestigious CES Innovation Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the owner and producer of CES 2018, the global gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, and have been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976.

Entries are evaluated on their engineering, aesthetic and design qualities, intended use/function and user value, unique/novel features present and how the design and innovation of the product directly compares to other products in the marketplace.

Products chosen as CES Innovation Honorees reflect innovative design and engineering in some of the most cutting edge tech products and services coming to market.

CES 2018 Innovation Honoree products are featured on CES.tech/Innovation, which lists product categories, as well as each product name, manufacturer information, description, photo and URL.

Source: Ricoh.

The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of Printing Impressions.