ATLANTA AND TOKYO - Graphic Systems North America, the exclusive distributor of Ryobi printing presses in the U.S. and Canada, said today it booked more than $8.6 million in new press sales in the last 90 days, including four separate 8-up RYOBI 920 series presses with a total of 24 print units.

The combined sales represent the strongest startup of any Ryobi master distributor in the last five years, said Hideki Domoto, general manager of Ryobi Graphic Systems and a corporate officer of parent company Ryobi, Ltd.   In all, eight presses with a total of 32 print units have been sold by GSNA, which was appointed master distributor in July 2013.

The founders of Graphic Systems North America are veteran printing equipment suppliers:  GSNA West: Print & Finishing Solutions; GSNA Central: Graphco; GSNA Northeast:G.E. Richards; GSNA Southeast: Paper Handling Solutions; GSNA Eastern Canada: KBR Graphics Canada and GSNA Western Canada: Canadian Printing Equipment.

The newest sales and installations are evidence of increasing demand for high-technology offset presses in the U.S. and Canada—and also represent several important Ryobi “firsts” in both nations. Following is a region-by-region summary of the sales:

• An Eastern U.S. commercial printer will soon install a RYOBI 924 with coater, joining a fleet of other Ryobi presses including a 6-up RYOBI 755XL with coater.
• A Canadian commercial printer will soon install a RYOBI 925 featuring the first North American deployment of LED-UV instant cure technology from Panasonic.
• A Midwest U.S. commercial printer will soon install the first RYOBI 928P long perfector press in North America.
• A Western U.S. commercial printer has installed a RYOBI 925 with coater, doubling pressroom capacity.
• A Western U.S. commercial printer will soon install a RYOBI 524GX with coater, doubling pressroom capacity.
• A Western U.S. state government in-plant printer has installed a RYOBI 524GX, replacing presses from competing German and Japanese manufacturers.

“Successful commercial and in-plant printers know that high-automation, high-reliability offset is essential to maximizing print profitability well into the future,” said Domoto in a recent visit with more than 125 attendees at the Ryobi open house last week in Atlanta.  (GSNA will issue a report on the open house later this week.)

“GSNA has quickly established a formidable sales record and a strong infrastructure for sales, service and parts supply,” added Domoto, noting sales of six major Ryobi presses (32 print units) and two smaller Ryobi presses within 90 days.  “It’s an impressive start to a long-term relationship.”

“These new sales and installations are clear evidence that Ryobi’s state-of-the-art presses, its new LED-UV instant cure technology and GSNA’s highly responsive local technical support deliver the most compelling capital equipment value proposition for U.S. and Canadian printers today,” said Don Barbour, co-founder of GSNA and owner of Paper Handling Solutions, Marietta, GA.