The series, which comprises the mono V20000, mono V20100 and CMYK VC20000, will be given its first showing at Ricoh’s 'The Art of The New' event later this month at its Telford Customer Experience Centre and will begin shipping in Q1 2018. The mono machines are available for order now, while the colour machine is in its final phase of development.
Tim Taylor, Ricoh’s head of continuous-feed, commercial and industrial printing group, said pricing would be “suitable for the entry-level markets to which it is aimed” and that there was an “element of overlap” with Ricoh’s IP5000.
“The main motivation behind this series is for mono applications,” said Taylor.
“At the moment we don’t currently advertise a mono version of the IP5000; it is not a product that has ever been significantly promoted, so this project started as a dedicated mono device and the opportunity for the colour machine came later.
“We have a large install base of mono toner devices and that’s measured in the hundreds not tens, but they do have an end of life, the toner devices, and that was what made us initially start to think about mono inkjet devices because clearly not everybody wants to print colour all the time.
“Having transitions for those Ricoh customers was a fundamental part of the decision but equally it’s ideally suited to black and white book printing as well as pharmaceuticals.”
The V20000 and VC20000 run at 75mpm, while the V20100 runs at 150mpm, all printing 600dpi resolution, while the V20000 can run at 150mpm at 600x300dpi resolution.
Printing on a range of papers at maximum 560mm width and between 40gsm and 250gsm in weight, including lightweight materials required for the pharmaceutical industry, Taylor said the machines are ideal for inline finishing options due to their fully variable speed and ability to pause printing.
“One of the very nice features is there is a very small footprint, so even in those in-plant environments where they have toner machines smaller than inkjet it will fit in,” added Taylor.
“By the time the VC20000 is fully available and the colour machine has been added we will have a broader portfolio than anyone else in the market.”
The new series pairs with the mid-range VC40000, launched earlier this year at Hunkeler Innovation Days and also due for first shipping in Q1 2018, along with the 2014-launched VC60000.
It's been a busy year for Ricoh, with its first wide-format UV flatbed debuted last month and a new direct-to-garment (DTG) printer revealed at Fespa, along with a neon pink toner for its Pro C7100X.
