Ricoh USA Inc., Malvern, Pa., in conjunction with its subsidiary, AnaJet Inc., Tustin, Calif., recently released the RICOH Ri 3000 and Ri 6000 direct-to-garment (DTG) printers, touted as delivering fast print speeds, industrial-grade reliability and showroom-quality prints, according to the companies.
“As AnaJet, we led the industry in establishing the trend of direct to garment printing.” says Karl Tipre, CEO, AnaJet Inc.. “In January 2016, AnaJet became a Ricoh company and we immediately began work to bring together the best of AnaJet direct-to-garment innovation and Ricoh engineering and performance excellence.”
This new generation of printers simplifies the entire apparel-printing process to three simple steps: design, print, cure. Manufactured under Ricoh’s ISO 9001- and ISO 14001-certified factory in California, the Ri 3000 and Ri 6000 printers feature RICOH MH2420 industrial-grade piezo-electric print heads that are rated at 100 billion actuations.
These devices print at 600 dpi quality on natural fibers, light polyester and dark garments, and even on traditionally difficult media such as dark 50/50 cotton/polyester blends. Ricoh’s industrial-grade print heads enable high-volume production, as well as custom one-off prints. These features are ideal for those looking to launch garment printing as a standalone business or expand their print portfolios, according to the company.
Built-in white-ink circulation improves ink flow and minimizes waste, while making high-quality prints viable on even the darkest of garments. The 2.3 inches of laser-assisted table-height automatic adjustment eases printing on thick materials, such as hoodies with zippers. Granular drop-size controls help create even sharper applications.
The printers also feature a 7-inch color touch-panel display to preview, organize and print high-definition photo prints and CMYK designs. A print can be finished in as little as 27 seconds on the RICOH Ri 6000 or 51 seconds on the RICOH Ri 3000. Optional Spark software, designed to integrate with AnaRIP, offers intuitive personalization, various features and effects, and a customizable proposal system for instant quotes and more, according to the company.
“Branded garments are one of the most popular graphic-arts applications in the world,” says John Fulena, vice president, commercial and industrial printing group, Ricoh USA Inc. “Offering them can encourage customers to turn to your business for more work. But for many businesses, it’s difficult to find a powerful, capable, flexible device they can use comfortably and efficiently. So we wanted to make DTG printing both as flexible and as streamlined as possible. With the RICOH Ri 3000 and Ri 6000, our customers can start bringing lucrative, high-quality garment-printing in-house easily. A job can now be finished in under 30 seconds with just a few simple clicks. That’s an amazing profit-per-second ratio.”
The RICOH Ri 3000/Ri 6000 printers will be available through AnaJet this month, and will be available internationally later in 2017. — J.L.
The direct-to-garment (DTG) custom decorated apparel specialist big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More recently celebrated 15 years in business and recognized an impressive five locations earning $1 million or more.
FULL STORY
Irvine, California—Roland DGA has announced the North American availability of its new EU-1000MF, a robust, high-volume UV flatbed printer that combines outstanding image quality with productivity, versatility and reliability.
FULL STORY
Los Alamitos, California—Epson today announced two new SureColor® F-Series dye-sublimation printers engineered to achieve both industrial reliability and round-the-clock productivity.
FULL STORY