Ricoh’s Pro Z75, its much hyped B2 format sheetfed inkjet press, will ship to first customers next summer following a year-long beta test programme, probably in the US, and several months of demonstrations at Ricoh’s customer experience centres, including that in Telford.
The press was on course for a prelaunch introduction at Drupa 2020 and then at the postponed show this year. Instead it was shown to media and prospects in online presentations last week.
They saw a more comprehensive video than any seen to date, with revelation of more detailed specifications for the press, though not everything.
The Z75 will print to a maximum sheet format of 585x750mm from a minimum of A3, covering the nine most popular paper formats in the UK. It copes with both coated and uncoated papers without precoating, from 60-400gsm.
It uses the latest generation of Ricoh piezo printheads with a resolution of 1200dpi using a new aqueous ink. It will print 4,500 B2 sheets an hour, making it the fastest B2 sheetfed inkjet press to date, though above 300gsm, top speed drops to 3,000sph. Speeds are halved for perfecting.
It was shown with two feed bins, each holding 2,500 sheets. By the time the Z765 reaches the market, a pallet feed will be available. Sheets from the bin are positioned using rollers reach the print drum accurately. The sheets are held tightly against the drum by vacuum passing under the four inkjet arrays before moving to a long drying section about which little is being said.
Ricoh says the drying technology has learned from the VC70000, its flagship continuous feed press, where the web is wound around a large drying drum. There is a different method on the sheetfed machine leaving the sheet dry for printing on the reverse via a turning unit or for the offset style delivery. The operator can select a separate delivery for proofs.
Further enhancements, such as additional colours, inline finishing or coating will be options for the future, but not in the initial phase.
The drying section accounts for the size of the machine, more than 12 metres long and so larger than any other B2 digital press. Fujifilm’s Jetpress 750S is around 7 metres from feed to delivery by comparison.
There are quality control scanners to adjust colour and fit and to identify evidence of blocked nozzles and dynamic nozzle correction to keep the machine running. Ricoh has worked with EFI on the DFE which has a 24in touch sensitive control panel. It will integrate with most workflows, including Ricoh’s own Process Director and other tools.
The maximum duty cycle is set at 2.6 million sheets a month, becoming viable at around 1 million sheets a month.
There is no pricing information, either as a capital cost, nor for consumables. This will be published closer to the commercial launch date. Ricoh reckons that one Z75 will be equivalent in terms of output to three Pro C9200 toner presses.
The target user will be printers with a Pro VC70000 wanting a sheetfed machine to complement the web press and sheetfed printers needing to cope with a growing volume of shorter run fast turnaround jobs, particularly with growth anticipated in photobooks, ecommerce, personalised and versioned marketing collateral.
Sander Sondaal, director of commercial print sales at Ricoh Europe, says: “The typical user will be the printer that sees this opportunity. He will be a B2 printer already so is familiar with workflows and finishing and who needs to optimise productivity alongside the offset press or wants to replace it. He may also be a printer that no longer has a skilled press operator needed to run the litho machine. He is a customer looking to add value, if only from the cost/performance perspective. This printer needs to want to add value.”
