Central London digital print specialist, Azo Print, has recently invested a new Ricoh Pro™ C651EX digital colour press. Installed early January 2014, the new machine has already given them the capability to transform their business with managing director, David Defrates stating that January 2014 was the most productive yet in the company's four year history.
Says Mr Defrates: "We installed the machine on 5th January and it simply got down to business, started performing from day one and making a significant contribution to what became our most productive month ever.
There is naturally a learning curve with any new technology. However, this was minimal with the Ricoh machine as its workflow is intuitive and straightforward to use, and it produces a stunning result. We're two months' in now and we're very pleased with our investment."
Azo Print offers a full range of design, print and finishing services from its Holborn-based retail and print production premises. It has established a reputation across London for great customer service and works with a wide range of clients from across multiple sectors in London, including banks, building societies, fashion houses and architectural practices, which according to Mr Defrates, all share one common trait: "All our customers, regardless of the sector they are in, demand the highest quality product, as soon as possible. So we recognised last year that we needed a robust print production machine that could offer us maximum flexibility and reliability.
"These days, we have to manage many more orders than we used to, but often in much lower volumes and with intense turn-around and time pressures. What we have with the Ricoh press is a strong, production-level machine that has a workflow with the intelligence to manage multiple jobs coherently and consistently, so we can completely rely on it. The performance of this machine so far has been outstanding. It has delivered to us everything that the team at Ricoh said it would."
Superior image quality and exceptional functionality are the hallmarks of the Ricoh Pro™ C651EX series. It offers the highest specification and reliability in its class and has raised the standard for productivity, efficiency, quality and profitability. The Pro™ C651 has an extremely high image quality VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) technology providing razor sharp 4800 dpi output, with chemical PxP™ toner and oil-less technology for accurate, smooth offset-like image quality. It provides exceptional production durability, with a 180k maximum monthly volume and 65 ppm in colour or mono.
The Ricoh Pro™ C651EX also offers outstanding media compatibility and an improved fusing unit for high productivity on media up to 300 gsm. Maximum uptime courtesy of its new liquid cooling system ensures extended and continuous printing, with enhanced ORUs (Operator Replaceable Units) and toner bottles enabling waste toner and media changes on the fly.
Says Gareth Parker, Strategic marketing manager, Ricoh UK: "It's great to hear our Pro™ C651EX has made such a difference to Azo Print's productivity so soon, giving them the freedom to get on with what they do best and win new business. We're extremely pleased to hear Azo Print has taken advantage of the core benefits the Pro™ C651EX was originally made to deliver, namely consistency in colour production and performance reliability. We thank them for selecting Ricoh as a partner and wish them all the very best in moving their business forward in 2014. "