HEIDELBERG and RICOH Mark 15 Years of Strategic Partnership with Versafire Digital Printing Systems

Successful collaboration: HEIDELBERG and Ricoh have been working together in digital print since 2011. 

System integration: With Prinect, HEIDELBERG integrates Ricoh's technology into its digital ecosystem and enables hybrid print production. 

Customer benefits: Drawing on experience gained from over 3,500 installed Versafire systems, HEIDELBERG customers benefit from high process stability, seamless workflows, and increased productivity in their day to day production operations.

For 15 years, the successful partnership between Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) and Ricoh has stood for innovative strength and sustainable market success in industrial digital print. With the introduction of the first Versafire digital printing systems in 2011, HEIDELBERG took its strategically decisive step into the fast growing digital print market and has since consistently established itself as a leading system integrator for hybrid print production.

Since then, the third generation of the Versafire portfolio is now successfully established worldwide in the commercial market. More than 3,500 systems sold and over two billion pages annually underline the high market acceptance and industrial performance of the technology. 

Success and strategic milestones The start of the partnership between HEIDELBERG and Ricoh in digital print marked a significant milestone for both companies: from the very beginning, the goal was not to view offset and digital printing in isolation, but to fully integrate both technologies into a shared production environment. To this end, HEIDELBERG has integrated the Versafire systems into the Prinect workflow via the digital frontend (DFE) developed inhouse, thus positioning them specifically as a complement to offset printing – enabling maximum flexibility, economical short runs, and individualised print products. Print shops use it to produce a wide range of print products such as flyers, brochures, or personalised applications. 

Jürgen Otto, Chief Executive Officer at HEIDELBERG, says: "Our longstanding partnership with Ricoh is a success story for HEIDELBERG in digital print and a prime example of successful technological cooperation to open up new market segments. Today, the Versafire systems, which are perfectly tailored to the needs of the printing industry, exemplify our claim as a full service provider and end to end system integrator of hybrid print production.”

Dr David Schmedding, Chief Technology and Sales Officer adds: “Over the past 15 years, we have worked with Ricoh to consistently industrialise digital printing and fully integrate it into our digital ecosystem. For our customers, the integration means maximum flexibility, highest process reliability and a clear future perspective in hybrid production printing."

Koji Miyao, President, Ricoh Graphic Communications, says: “We are delighted that this enduring partnership has helped support the adoption of agile digital production for so many print service providers. We look forward to many more years of cooperation together.”

Eef de Ridder, Vice President, Graphic Communications Group, Ricoh Europe, adds: “As one of the few partnerships between offset and digital suppliers that have flourished, we remain committed to helping clients make the right technology choices and flourish for many years ahead.”

Clear customer benefits: flexibility, quality and integration

The partnership focuses on added value for print shops:

• Maximum flexibility in runs and applications - from "run one" to medium volumes.
• Wide range of substrates - ideal for high quality print products in the commercial sector.
• Individualisation and personalisation on an industrial scale.
• Seamless integration into Prinect and the HEIDELBERG digital ecosystem - with end to end colour management, automated workflows, and a uniform operating logic.

The Versafire systems from HEIDELBERG print shops thus provide optimal support for hybrid print production, in which offset and digital printing are efficiently combined – a decisive competitive advantage.

HEIDELBERG as a system integrator in the digital ecosystem

With the Prinect Digital Frontend (DFE) from HEIDELBERG, all production steps from job creation to the finished product are standardised and automated. The result: a workflow solution for hybrid print production with digital and offset printing. This consistent integration makes HEIDELBERG unique in the market and enables customers to achieve efficient, repeatable, and economical production across all technologies.

Looking ahead: Partnership with a future

The cooperation between HEIDELBERG and Ricoh is long term and will be strategically expanded. The continuous development of software, automation, and services will further strengthen HEIDELBERG's position as a leading provider of integrated, hybrid printing solutions as well as Ricoh’s as an innovative force in digital production technology. 

For more information visit www.ricoh-europe.com