Ricoh’s new software and services portfolio Critical Communications will offer print service providers a wealth of applications and tools, to help increase operational integrity and to deliver compliance-driven output faster.
Shown for the first time at Hunkeler Innovationdays 2013, the track and trace capabilities of this suite will empower small to mid-sized printers with one streamlined package to bring the functionality of piece-level workflow into their operations; something that has never been offered before via one centralised solution.
The portfolio will offer precise tracking capabilities that will allow printers to easily pinpoint errors in jobs, jobs requiring manual intervention or documents that need to be reprinted due to downstream finishing issues. As regulations continue to tighten, the portfolio will ease the pain felt by printers by providing solutions that were originally only available to large transactional printers.
‘Print providers are looking to expand their businesses and take on more work from their customers but they may not have the necessary tools to meet compliance and print integrity requirements of such jobs as federal regulation letters, explanation of health benefits, or lottery tickets,’ said Stephen Palmer, production print director. ‘They are all feeling the pressure to deliver perfect critical output and today there is simply not a proven, cost-effective solution available to help them. This new addition to the Ricoh portfolio will empower customers with the tools needed to address the ever evolving requirements of critical output. Europe remains at the forefront of advanced personal communications technology and solutions, having pioneered the TransPromo concept. Ricoh’s Critical Communications solutions will enable our clients to improve still further the performance and productivity of their critical print output.’
The first module to be shown is Track and Trace, a feature of DocEnhancer. This provides printers a way to barcode and scan every printed piece and create a report showing that every piece was produced correctly, while also allowing printers to control every other part of the entire production process. Track and Trace is the first of a broad range of many new solutions that will comprise the modular Critical Communications portfolio. All are designed to help small and medium-sized printers integrate existing processes and begin transforming output processes to fit the shifting demand of their customers.
