As the first site to install the Pro VC70000, Heeter continues its leadership position, delivering more speed, ink configurations and paper options with Ricoh technology

Malvern, Pa. – Ricoh USA, Inc. announced that Heeter, a leading provider of commercial print, direct mail, fulfillment, and data solutions, has implemented the RICOH Pro VC70000 to produce more applications, on a wider variety of substrates, faster than ever before. The combination of the press’s brand-new Expanded Gamut Inks and its ability to print on standard offset coated stocks without pretreatment made it an ideal fit for Heeter, a company constantly seeking best-of-breed technologies for speed and throughput. As the RICOH Pro VC70000’s first beta user worldwide, Heeter’s acquisition of the platform serves as a powerful, tested vote of confidence in its capabilities.

“In the four years we’ve been working with the Ricoh team, it’s clear to us they make understanding the needs of our business their job,” said Scott Heeter, President, Heeter. “On top of that, the results speak for themselves. We can produce so much more, in terms of variety of output and media, and in terms of throughput, too. Working with Ricoh has helped us become more competitive on multiple fronts, and we are grateful for the insight and technology they bring to the table. Once the beta phase was over, it was a very easy decision to purchase this press.”

With more than 70 years of experience serving marketers, Heeter’s highly trained, innovative team manages a wide range of campaigns for customers in the casino, healthcare, insurance, retail and higher education fields. In 2015, Heeter was one of the first printers in North America to adopt the RICOH Pro VC60000, and today Heeter continues its commitment to utilizing cutting edge production technologies to deliver creative, exciting output with fast turns at competitive costs.

The award-winning VC70000’s incredible image quality can help users complement or replace existing offset workflows while adding variable-data customization, faster turn times and increased throughputs. The platform can deliver quality applications on premium substrates traditionally expected from offset, such as high-end catalogs and magazines, without the need for primer coats or other paper treatments. Leveraging the industry's most popular and advanced piezo drop-on-demand printheads, the VC70000 prints at up to 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution on uncoated, offset-coated, inkjet treated or inkjet-coated papers without sacrificing speed. This incredible image quality and media flexibility helps reduce or eliminate the need for offset-produced shells, creating eye-catching output and inserting personalized variable data in a single, high-speed pass. The VC70000 prints at speeds up to 492 ft/min, producing nearly 130,000 A4/letter impressions per hour. The platform brings with it a new set of Ricoh-developed inks and Ricoh-patented dryer technology to further drive savings, quality and fast turns. The innovative technology creates drying capacity within the press itself, helping to minimize overall footprint without impacting print quality.

Beyond the press itself, Ricoh’s new ink technology delivers high image quality and improved adhesion for increased compatibility with traditionally difficult media, such as gloss-coated stocks. They enable operators to print faster on more media, including standard offset coated and uncoated papers, which Heeter decision makers cited specifically as a difference-maker for their business. 

“Heeter is a very competitive and innovative company, and it is always looking for new and better ways to meet customer needs and exceed their expectations,” said Mike Herold, Director, Global Marketing, Inkjet Solutions, Commercial & Industrial Printing Business Group, Ricoh. “The RICOH Pro VC70000 significantly helps expand their toolbox while adding throughput to stay ahead of the growing demand they’ve cultivated through the seven decades they have been in business. We are glad that Heeter enjoyed such success with the VC70000 they will make it a permanent addition to its environment, and we are excited to continue to grow with such a forward-looking and versatile partner as Heeter.”