London - InfoPrint Solutions, a Ricoh company, today unveiled an array of announcements leading up to Hunkeler innovationdays including the availability of its InfoPrint 5000 MP Colour; a recent installation at Adare in the UK; and a new version of Productivity Tracker. InfoPrint Solutions will be exhibiting its newly expanded InfoPrint 5000 production inkjet family for the first time in Europe at the show in Lucerne, Switzerland, February 14 - 17th, 2011.

The InfoPrint 5000 MP Colour system will start shipments worldwide in March 2011. This system offers a new entry point into the production colour market as businesses begin developing and implementing digital colour applications, such as precision marketing statements and print on-demand.

In customer news, Adare, a leading international provider of marketing and secure communications solutions, has gone live with an InfoPrint 5000 inkjet colour solution. Adare chose the InfoPrint 5000 primarily due to its support for the industry standard Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) architecture for variable data printing, coupled with the system's flexibility, upgradeability and investment protection. Adare is now using its InfoPrint 5000 for transactional and direct marketing applications for RSPB, HomeServe and Home Retail Group, amongst others.

In addition, InfoPrint Solutions is unveiling the latest version of its Productivity Tracker software at Hunkeler innovationdays. Productivity Tracker now supports its first cutsheet printer, the InfoPrint Pro C900AFP, as well as new throughput analysis tools.

Newly Expanded InfoPrint 5000 Family

The InfoPrint 5000 inkjet family offers customers a choice of three platforms that operate at a variety of speeds with colour, monochrome and MICR capability, all using proven, scalable, highly reliable, drop-on-demand inkjet technology. The modular system design provides corporate customers, service bureaus, direct mailers and commercial printers with unmatched configuration flexibility for growth while maximising their investment.

At Hunkeler innovationdays, various InfoPrint 5000 configurations will be printing transaction documents with precision marketing, books and other applications. The platforms being shown are:

- The entry-level InfoPrint 5000 MP (Multi-Purpose) Colour, joining the MP Mono and MP MICR models, operating at speeds of 64 to 128 metres per minute, depending on the configuration. As output needs evolve, the inks and fluids in all InfoPrint 5000 MP models can be easily converted to protect customers' capital investment by re-purposing the asset.

- The InfoPrint 5000 GP (General Production), running full colour at up to 128 metres per minute. The system's reliability, print quality, simplicity, productivity and energy efficiency have been key to its success in the market. The InfoPrint 5000 GP can be configured with other members of the family (e.g., MP Mono or MP MICR).

Additionally, InfoPrint is working with leadership inkjet platform technology provider, Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Screen) on the development of the InfoPrint 5000 Volume Platform (VP). The InfoPrint 5000 VP, will run full colour at up to 220 metres per minute. This platform leverages the proven technology of the InfoPrint 5000 GP and is designed for mission-critical applications with very high volumes and tight print windows.

At Hunkeler innovationdays InfoPrint will be demonstrating key features and benefits across the expanded InfoPrint 5000 family, including:

- High print quality with multiple bits per spot, using imaging technology that jets dynamically variable drop size for each pixel on the page
- PANTONE PLUS certification
- Lowest power consumption for products in their 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
- Support for water-based pigment, dye, MICR and other fluids on papers such as EP, recycled, ground wood, inkjet treated and some coated stocks
- Process management software support with InfoPrint Productivity Tracker, InfoPrint Process Director and InfoPrint Manager
- Support for AFP colour management architecture providing accurate and consistent colour rendering.

"Hardware is just one of the many elements to consider when migrating to an inkjet solution," said George Promis, Vice President of Inkjet Production Printing and Technology Alliances at InfoPrint Solutions. "Customers repeatedly tell us how valuable our inkjet implementation services are. We have 24 reference accounts that have purchased their systems and are in full production. This large number of references is a proof point of our ability to enable customers to quickly, smoothly and efficiently get into production and meet their goals."

InfoPrint Solutions' roadmap for its flagship InfoPrint 5000 family includes plans to enhance the family with support for a broader range of media including coated stock; additional speed and resolution options; extended colour management capabilities; additional operator tools; productivity enhancements; and support for additional data stream, workflow and other software.