North London based Acculith Repro has invested in a new Ricoh Pro® C901, which was installed in June 2014. The installation is the latest investment the company has made in Ricoh's technology, an upgrade following the highly successful installation of a Ricoh Pro® C651 two years ago. It marks the next growth phase in the 35-year old business, enabling Acculith to provide a wider range of services, the highest possible quality and faster turnaround times in line with customer demand.
Says Gaby Purton, Director, Acculith Repro: "A few years ago, we recognised the opportunities presented by on-demand digital printing and split our business into two divisions in order to capitalise on this – Acculith Repro focuses on digital and wide format, while the other side of our business covers the traditional lithographic printing sector. At that time, we invested in a Xerox machine for the digital business, however when we reassessed the options available in 2011, we tested this system against the Ricoh Pro® C651 and found it provided superior quality print, without the challenges of ghosting and shadowing we had been experiencing on the Xerox original machine.
"Since the installation of the Ricoh Pro® C651, our digital output has boomed, and in fact over the past two years, turnover for this side of the business has grown by 400% and it now constitutes 40% of our business. Recently, to meet growing customer demand for faster turnarounds on a wider variety of paper and board, we upgraded to the new Ricoh Pro® C901. In the two weeks since its installation, we are already seeing a very positive impact on our productivity due to the higher speed it provides. The installation has also enabled us to provide a wider range of services and deliver these with a much quicker turnaround– as well as printing on board thicker than 250gsm without any reduction in speed."
The Ricoh Pro® C901 offers wide media versatility and finishing options which have helped to extend the range of jobs Acculith Repro is able to accept, without a reduction in the speed at which they are able to deliver the finished product. The press also employs Ricoh's next-generation oil-free imaging technology to produce output with near-offset quality while minimising costs. With a robust engine construction that provides durability and reliability, the press adds integrated full colour scanning, copying and document storage to meet image capture and print on-demand requirements.
Continues Mrs. Purton: "Before we invested in the Ricoh Pro® C901 we were predominantly restricted to standard digital projects, however with the new machine we have been able to expand into new markets such as chocolate packaging, which we have printed on demand in small runs on the Pro® C901, as well as on-demand book printing. It opens up an exciting range of new opportunities for us to diversify and significantly impact our bottom line. Added to this, the Ricoh post-sales support team is extremely reliable, so if ever we do have a problem, it is dealt with as quickly as possible, reducing downtime."
Says Gareth Parker, Strategic marketing manager, Ricoh UK: "Acculith Repro has taken a refreshing approach to investment in the Ricoh Pro® C901 in a tough economic climate, illustrating that they are willing to take a calculated risk to grow their business. It's clear they have a loyal customer base that sees great value in the product Acculith is delivering, and we are pleased to be able to provide the technology at the heart of their growing digital offering. This relationship is indicative of the type of client we love to work with – those who share our priorities of providing a high level of customer service who are building a business around the digital way of life."
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