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Ricoh Expands its Direct-to-Garment Offerings with New Ri 2000 Printer

Back in early 2016, Ricoh acquired AnaJet, a leader at the time in direct-to-garment (DTG) printing. Since that time, the company has continued to develop its DTG portfolio, recently adding a new, more productive printer to its line. We spoke with Deputy General Manager for Ricoh’s Industry Print Business, Christian Compera, to learn more.

Monday, October 19, 2020

I first saw the Ricoh Ri 1000 direct to garment (DTG) printer at FESPA 2019 in Berlin. Two things struck me. First, the water-based pigment ink that was being used had an exceptional hand feel, natural and not at all plastic-y like some of the other inks being used. Secondly, it has a very small footprint, and likely could be installed in just about any size shop. The announcement of an addition to that portfolio, The Ri 2000, with higher productivity in the same footprint, therefore, was quite interesting. I reached out to the Deputy General Manager of Ricoh’s Industry Print Business, Christian Compera, to learn more.

WhatTheyThink: Christian, thanks for your time today. Before we talk about the latest addition to Ricoh’s DTG portfolio, I wanted to let our readers know you are not exactly new to the world of digital printing!

Christian Compera: That’s true. In fact, I led the development program for the Kodak NexPress around the turn of the century, and those printers are still out in the market and performing well. Many of the issues being faced by the textile industry in terms of its digital transformation are much the same as we saw in the early days of digital in the commercial printing business.


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About Cary Sherburne

Cary Sherburne is a well-known author, journalist and marketing consultant whose practice is focused on marketing communications strategies for the printing and publishing industries.

Cary Sherburne is available for speaking engagements and consulting projects. To get more information contact us.

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