Ricoh Europe - FCS Laser Mail has ordered its second IP5000 GP high speed inkjet printer less than six months after it installed its first. In the investment worth more than £1m it is also the first UK operation to invest in Avanti Slingshot. 

Founded in 1971, FCS Laser Mail, Birmingham, provides personalised printing and mailing. The laser mail division was set up in 1975 to meet the high volume printing requirements of the parent group. A management buyout in 1996 was completed and, today, the company is almost entirely employee owned.

The first IP5000 GP supported FCS Laser Mail as it moved from pre-printed stationery to customised high quality colour output. Volume has continued to grow prompting investment in the second IP5000 GP which will be installed in March. It will be equipped with a Hunkeler UW6 unwinder and a Hunkeler RW6 rewinder.

The investment will enable the operation to keep ahead of clients’ needs. The first system has already helped reduce the outsourcing of pre-printed work and is now bringing production in house. 

FCS Laser Mail will also introduce Avanti Slingshot in March. The next generation Print Management Information System incorporates estimating, business intelligence, production scheduling, warehousing, shipping and billing into one easy-to-use, easy-to-implement system. The end to end modular system will include a portal to enable clients to view the status of their jobs. 

Director, Steve Beeching, says: “Our clients can now enjoy a high volume white paper solution, which we will offer at commercially competitive prices, and at the same time increase our production capacity, flexibility and turnaround times.   The inkjet colour machine fits in with our strategic plan, and this is to offer existing or new clients the ability to communicate with their customers via a multichannel dynamic communication stream made up of one or more of print dynamic e-delivery, SMS or web… or even a mix of all four.” 

Benoit Chatelard, Vice President, Production Printing, Ricoh Europe, says: “We are delighted to be enhancing client value and satisfaction for FCS Laser Mail. We are sure our partnership will continue to grow and change for the future. We are proud of the innovative features, high performance and quality of our growing inkjet portfolio as well as our end to end workflow software solutions.”