Tokyo-based Ricoh, a manufacturer of commercial inkjet printheads, large format printers and office imaging equipment, and Direct-to-garment printer maker AnaJet, a Ricoh company, earn a 2019 CES Innovation Awards Honoree designation. The companies earn the designation for the recently-released RICOH Ri 1000 direct-to-garment printer.

Hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the CES Innovation Awards recognize companies across the technological spectrum for innovations in categories like automotive, blockchain, and product design and manufacturing. Products submitted into the program undergo evaluation by a panel of independent industrial designers, independent engineers, and members of the trade media who choose from 28 categories. This marks the second year Ricoh printers have entered the CES ranks.

“We were incredibly excited to learn that we were named a CES Innovation Award Honoree for the second year in a row,” says Paul Crocker, marketing director for AnaJet. “Last year, we won with the Ri 100, a highly compact, all-in-one, desktop DTG printer. This year we followed up with the RICOH Ri 1000, which has a decidedly more robust feature set, but is still available at an affordable price point for the prosumer market.”

Judges choose products based on multiple criteria such as engineering, aesthetic and design qualities, intended use/function and user value, unique/novel features present, and how the design and innovation of the product directly compare to other products in the marketplace.

The company says the Ri 1000 made the honoree list in October 2018. Ricoh plans to ship the machine to U.S. customers in winter of 2018 and showcase the device at CES 2019 in Las Vegas.