Ricoh has announced its latest production workflow technology, introducing the most comprehensive software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that empowers printers to automate their job production processes from a centralized operational control point. Set to unveil globally at Hunkeler Innovationdays 2023, Feb. 27 through March 2 at the Messe Lucerne Exhibition Center in Lucerne, Switzerland, RICOH TotalFlow Producer funnels print jobs from multiple submission sources into a consolidated cloud-native location. This enables printers to view and edit jobs effortlessly in a cost-effective and error-reducing solution that seamlessly integrates into customers' existing environments, regardless of vendor.

RICOH TotalFlow Producer automates the submission and consolidation of jobs coming from multiple sources, such as email, web-to-print and file transfer services. The automatic preflight function helps to identify file issues, including missing fonts, inaccurate page size, poor image resolution, incorrect color and more. This helps in-house and commercial print service providers (PSPs) to eliminate errors, reduce costly reruns, save valuable time and improve customer service levels. The app also improves the overall customer experience by providing a personalized job uploading portal where job status can be viewed. A simple bidirectional communication method within the portal will eliminate the need for time-consuming post-order follow-up interactions.

"Production printers must manage an increasing variety of short-run jobs with tighter-than-ever turnaround times to win business and maintain profitability," said Chris Reid, vice president of global software and services, Ricoh. "To help them meet these needs, we have continued to innovate in our cloud-based infrastructure, which launched for production workflow solutions in 2018 on the Amazon Web Services platform. By hosting in the RICOH TotalFlow Cloud, we can meet our customers' growing needs to improve data security, efficiency, scalability and affordability without requiring expensive IT infrastructure or expertise."

RICOH TotalFlow Producer will be available to license through monthly subscriptions and will offer free trials beginning summer 2023.

Along with TotalFlow Producer, Ricoh will be showcasing two of its vendor-neutral solutions that empower printers to unleash the full potential of their businesses. Ricoh Supervisor, Ricoh's first SaaS production workflow application, collects operational data and visualizes it into web-based dashboards to optimize device utilization and operation throughput. Supporting continuous feed and sheetfed production printers, Ricoh ProcessDirector is designed to automate data-driven workflows. The PRINTING United Alliance 2022 Pinnacle Product Award-winning integration between Ricoh ProcessDirector and Ricoh Supervisor also delivers advanced visibility down to the document level, including insight into production volume. Additionally, Ricoh will demonstrate for the first time worldwide the newest integration between Ricoh Supervisor and Hunkeler pre- and post-equipment, which collects device statistics and then illustrates the data to help identify ways to drive efficiency.

In other news, Ricoh has been selected as a member of the Sustainability Yearbook 2023, with a score within the top 5% in its industry, by S&P Global, an American company and one of the world's leaders in corporate ratings.

Each year, S&P Global assesses major companies' sustainability in the three areas of economic, environment and society. Companies with outstanding sustainability efforts in each industry group are selected and awarded as members of the Sustainability Yearbook. S&P Global evaluated approximately 7,800 companies in 61 industries worldwide this year and 708 companies worldwide were included in the Yearbook.

In the computers and peripherals and office electronics industry, one company was in the top 1%, with Ricoh and five others in the top 5% and two companies as Sustainability Yearbook members. This marks the fifth consecutive year, since 2019, that Ricoh has been selected as a member of the Sustainability Yearbook.

Ricoh has identified seven material issues, set 17 ESG priority targets and incorporated them into the Group's business strategies. Ricoh will contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon by the international community by solving social issues through business and realizing a sustainable society.