Boulder, Colo. – InfoPrint Solutions Company, a Ricoh company, has today expanded its ink jet offerings and extended its existing platforms to continue fulfilling its commitment to protect customer investments.  The InfoPrint 5000 family enhancements now provide customers with three engine building blocks, all of which leverage the proven, scalable, and highly reliable drop-on-demand technology used since the launch of the first member of the very successful solution. 

The InfoPrint 5000 family now includes:   
- The MP platform can be configured to meet a variety of requirements.  InfoPrint 5000 MP monochrome and MICR models (launched at IPEX in May, 2010) are targeted for customers with high volume monochrome or MICR applications who want to start transitioning to inkjet.  The new InfoPrint 5000 MP color model gives customers who are beginning to develop color applications a new entry point into the production color market.  Customers can select the speeds and fluids for the platform, and then convert if their needs change in the future. 

- The full color GP platform has established industry leadership based on meeting customer requirements for reliability, print quality, throughput, and flexibility.  Consistent with InfoPrint Solutions’ strategy of maximizing investment protection, the InfoPrint 5000 GP supports all of the enhancements made since the first release of the platform, including the new Ink Monitor tool that tracks ink usage at a job level, new certification for Pantone PLUS, and new support for additional media.  The InfoPrint 5000 GP can also be configured with InfoPrint 5000 MP models, such as the InfoPrint 5000 MP MICR. 

InfoPrint is working with its InfoPrint 5000 leadership inkjet platform technology provider, Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Screen), on the development of the VP platform as part of its InfoPrint 5000 family.

- The full color VP platform is designed for companies with extremely high volumes and tight print windows for mission critical applications, therefore needing proven technology with exceptional reliability to meet their clients’ needs.  The VP platform offers customers a range of high speeds, with excellent print quality, similar to the GP.

This extended line of the InfoPrint 5000 family is being announced today by InfoPrint, in conjunction with Screen. 

The InfoPrint 5000 family’s high quality, high reliability, and versatility make it an ideal choice for producing a broad variety of applications, including: transactional documents (e.g. statements); precision marketing pieces; direct mail, short run or customized books, and other commercial documents.  Already deemed an international market leader by InfoTrends*, the InfoPrint 5000 family enhancements bring customers the broadest range of production inkjet printing systems offered in the market today.  

Benefits that are available across the InfoPrint 5000 expanded family include:  
- Superb print quality (with multiple bits per spot), using unique imaging technology that jets dynamically variable drop size for each pixel on the page
- Lowest power consumption for products in this class
- A suite of ink measurement tools that produce quick and accurate ink estimates at the job costing stage, and capture actual ink usage upon print completion
- Range of speeds using water-based pigment, dye, MICR, or other fluids on papers such as EP, recycled, ground wood, inkjet treated and some coated stocks
- Powerful controller and robust process management software including InfoPrint Productivity Tracker, InfoPrint Process Director, and InfoPrint Manager
- Scalable system footprint based on application requirements

“Our strategy has been to protect customer investments and expand our inkjet solution capabilities to meet customers’ needs.  Today’s announcements enable customers to increase the variety of applications they can produce as a result of the additional functionality and modularity with platform upgrades, conversions, and new configurations,” said George Promis, Vice President of Inkjet Production Printing and Technology Alliances at InfoPrint Solutions.  “InfoPrint has plans in place to continue building on these flagship platforms to provide a broader range of media support (including coated stock); speed / resolution options; extended color management capabilities; additional operator enhancements; integration of new functionality / components to increase productivity; and enhanced data stream, workflow, and software support.”  

InfoPrint provides a breadth and depth of technical support skills established during its fifteen years of production digital color experience.  This uniquely positions the company to work effectively with customers to address their key business requirements, contributing to their success.

For the second year in a row, InfoPrint Solutions is the market share leader in continuous-feed color inkjet systems installed in the United States and Western Europe. In 2009, InfoPrint Solutions held the number-one position with more than 30 percent market share. Since entering the market in 2007, InfoPrint Solutions has placed 35 percent of the systems installed in the United States and Western Europe. In that same time period InfoPrint Solutions and Screen, have installed more than half of all continuous-feed color inkjet systems, according to InfoTrends.

The three new platforms of the InfoPrint 5000 family will be demonstrated at Graph Expo 2010.  The InfoPrint 5000 GP and MP Color will be demonstrated on the Ricoh/InfoPrint booth, and InfoPrint will host customers for demonstrations of the VP color system at the Screen booth.  InfoPrint Solutions and Screen continue to work closely together to leverage the combined expertise of both companies to meet customer requirements, today and long into the future.