The plotters, which are both Ricoh MP CW2201SPs, went in to each of 14-staff John Brailsford’s two Yorkshire sites over Christmas. They replaced an HP DesignJet 1055 and a Ricoh FW 740.
The folders went in at the same time, rounding off a spend of around £30,000.
Founder John Brailsford said: “Previously we had two separate machines, the black-and-white Ricoh and the colour HP plotter but the Ricoh had come to the end of its life and this particular machine encompasses both of them in the same footprint so it made it a simpler choice. Although the cost was slightly higher, the flexibility of doing that enabled us to bring the plan folder in.
“We’ve noticed in the short time we’ve had them it’s made a difference in that we are encouraging people to have colour prints, whereas previously they were out of budget. We can do colour prints close to the black-and-white so we’ve more or less instantly migrated the customers who had black-and-white inks over to the colour.
“The quality is fantastic and there are extra things the machine does with gelling, so when it prints you can’t smudge or rub it off.”
The Ricoh, which was first shown in its most recent iteration at Fespa 2016, prints at a maximum speed of 1.9ppm (A0) or 3.8ppm (A1).
Designed for CAD and graphic arts applications, it uses Gel-Jet waterproof ink technology to avoid smudging. It has a smart operation panel for user-friendliness and auto nozzle detection.
“I like that everybody can use it," added Brailsford.
“If you walk up to it within a minute or so it becomes very user-friendly to you. That’s new on the Ricoh range, developing it so you can have different levels of user-friendliness."
The folder also takes A0 or A1 prints and can fold them to A4 or DL size for mailing.
£1.2m-turnover John Brailsford operates from two sites, one in Barnsley and one in Rotherham. At the beginning of last year, it commemorated its 30th anniversary by investing in a Xerox Versant 2100 and a Schneider Senator guillotine, followed later on in the year by a host of post-press equipment.
