EFI and Ricoh announce new Fiery servers for Ricoh Pro production printers

Trailblazer Fiery technology for enhanced performance and color

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EFI
John Henze

Electronics For Imaging recently announced the availability of two new EFITM Fiery digital front ends (DFEs) driving Ricoh ProTM C7200X Series production printers.

Based on the new Fiery FS300 Pro system software, the Color Controller E-85A and E-45A leverage the latest Fiery technology enhancements to deliver blazing fast performance and outstanding color. The new Fiery DFEs include powerful tools to make expert color adjustments, plus job make-ready and automation enhancements for greater workflow efficiency.

“Fiery is the premier DFE platform for commercial digital print, and we’re pleased to use the latest Fiery technology for our newest digital presses,” said  Eef de Ridder, director of commercial printing for the Ricoh Europe Commercial and Industrial Printing Group. “Clients can expand their business offerings with the winning combination of our Pro C7200X Series’ unique creative capabilities, along with powerful Fiery color and workflow functionality.”

Speciality toner and imaging support

Both Fiery DFEs fully support the Pro C7200X Series’ speciality toner capabilities, including clear, white, neon pink, neon yellow, and invisible red. Users can easily manage speciality toners throughout the job workflow, preventing inadvertent errors and reducing waste. In addition, they can add speciality toner to jobs without going back to prepress or changing the design file. Users also have full control over whether to apply white toner over or under CMYK, and whether to mirror or invert any of the files.  EFI’s innovative Dynamic HD Text & Graphics feature on these new Fiery DFEs prints sharp fine details, small font size text and ultra-thin lines with clarity.

“These new Fiery DFEs for Ricoh printers provide the essential tools to make customers more productive,” said John Henze, vice president of Fiery marketing at EFI. “In addition to the advancements of the Fiery FS300 Pro software, they include Fiery Command WorkStation 6, the industry standard job management software, which allows customers to work more efficiently and keep all of their print engines producing profitably. In addition, Fiery HyperRIP enhancements on the E-85A enable print service providers to double the processing speed on more types of jobs.”

Fiery NX hardware platform

Both servers utilize the Fiery NX hardware platform, delivering  unparalleled performance along with a sleek, modern design for higher operational efficiency. The servers can be housed in the optional Fiery NX Station LS, a cutting-edge, ergonomic work environment for customers who need a highly efficient and comfortable workspace.

Workflow automation to effortlessly set up complex jobs

Both Fiery servers come with Fiery JobFlowTM Base automation software for streamlined prepress job preparation. An additional automation upgrade is also available for intelligent job routing, advanced scripting and other features.

Best-in-class integration

Fiery DFEs help print service providers achieve business-wide workflow automation by integrating EFI management information systems, EFI Web-to-Print software and other popular prepress workflows, such as KodakTM PRINERGYTM, Heidelberg Prinect and Agfa Apogee.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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