Riso will introduce a twin-engine inkjet cutsheet press this year, offering high speeds and at low cost, but the Japanese company will not be chasing high quality applications.
And it will follow the introduction of the T2 press with a reel to reel 520mm wide web for the same transactional print sector. There is no date for the introduction of what is known as the T1.
Both build on more than 30 years’ experience in duplicating and latterly inkjet printing for the inplant sector. The company is bringing its experience with these technologies to develop an ink which can be passed through an inkjet head which requires no additional drying. It is not the same as the Xerox solid inkjet which proved too limited for its CiPress machine to be a success.
Riso is not trying to create expectations. It prints on uncoated papers and at transactional quality. “We showed the technology at Drupa 2016 and then GraphExpo and have received a very positive reaction to it,” says Hidetoshi Miuma, marketing supervisor, R&I Center, R&D Division.
The capital cost will be lower than other inkjet presses while cost of operation will be kept in check by the lack of drying systems and the energy consumed. It will also be fast.
The T2 machine in twin-engine configuration will deliver 320ppm for an investment of approximately €150,000. It is not comparable in quality to toner sheetfed presses, but it is not intended to be. This will produce personalised letters to accompany a transactional document or as part of a direct mail piece, taking on runs that are too short for mainline inkjet web presses, or as a fill in for documents that have been rejected and need to be reprinted. “We think that the quality is acceptable for those applications,” he says.
The T1 press will come in at half the price of a press with similar performance. The target is a machine to sell at €500,000. It will have a far smaller footprint than anything else on the market, though the Xerox Trivor comes closest. The lack of dryer means there is a very short paper path, underlining its credentials as a press for short run jobs, and increasing the appeal for smaller printer. It is also a very quiet machine as there are no blowers or heaters to add to the decibel count.
“We think that in EU area, energy is going to become an increasingly important part of the conversation about the future of print technology,” says Hidetoshi. “We have a huge power consumption advantage.”
Riso is moving away from its duplicator roots with the T1 and T2 development presses, the first a sheetfed machine, the second a reelfed press. Both use a new style of ink that requires no drying. The T1 will reach the market this year.
