The OEM will launch the Pro L4100 series in Europe from March.
Ricoh confirmed the availability of the new range of wide-format devices, noting that the latex machine will be available in 130 centimetre (53-inch) and 160 cm (63-inch) versions, with “up to seven colours” including CMYK, orange, green and white, and will be able to print up to 18.2 square metres an hour.
The two models in the range, the L4160 and L4130, are said to “deliver high print productivity and quality” due to Ricoh’s utilisation of piezo electric printheads, and also meet “market need for products that reduce environmental impacts [of] printing” through the use of aqueous latex ink and low power consumption. The inks are suitable for indoor and outdoor applications and can be used on a wide range of different media.
The piezo inkjet heads produce three different droplet sizes at once, as small as four picolitres, and produce “smooth, lifelike” images and “fine details”, according to Ricoh. The machines also utilise an Uninterrupted Ink Supply System (UISS), which “adds to the productivity” of the printers by “switch[ing] automatically to the second cartridge” for “unattended printing […] in a busy print production environment”, ensuring they “run […] smoothly and productively”.
Stephen Palmer, Director of Production Print at Ricoh UK and Ireland, stated: “Following the early reveal, at drupa 2012, of our intention to grow our portfolio with the system, the Ricoh Pro L4100 series has been through Ricoh’s rigorous quality assurance process, and we have been assimilating the positive customer feedback we received.
“As well as being ideally suited for the specialist signage market, we are particularly excited to be able to offer print services providers in the UK another solution to support their business growth and offer new services such as display and signage to their clients.”
He added: “Ricoh latex inks offer outdoor durability of one to two years, or two to three years with lamination. With white ink, printers’ clients benefit from brilliant colour on all substrates – including transparent and dark materials – for signage, branded materials and window displays. And the addition of orange and green extends the colour gamut to encompass a wider range of vibrant colours, ideal for both indoor and outdoor materials, and to reproduce corporate colours accurately.”