Ironmark Adds On-Demand Book Printing with Ricoh InfoPrint 5000 Monochrome Inkjet Press

MALVERN, Pa. — March 10, 2016 — Ricoh Americas has announced that Ironmark expanded its capabilities to include on-demand book printing, a key development following its acquisition of United Book Press, a book printer known for high quality and fast turnarounds. Ironmark, an industry-recognized leader in print and communications services, embraced this new aspect of its business by adding Ricoh’s InfoPrint 5000 MP continuous feed monochrome inkjet system and Ricoh TotalFlow BatchBuilder workflow management software. By leveraging the expertise of the Ricoh team, Ironmark is now able to make printing short-run book orders quick and simple, while allocating resources efficiently to avoid the waste, cumbersome processes and production disruptions often associated with conventional offset printing.

While Ricoh’s InfoPrint 5000 adds quick turnaround, capacity and quality, Ricoh TotalFlow BatchBuilder enables market confidence through intelligent “batching” of jobs. This is done based on a variety of selectable criteria, helping to ensure jobs move from entry to imposition to production to finishing seamlessly and on time. For example, by batching small jobs that need the same roll of paper they can be produced one after the other, without leaving a small amount of paper left on the roll or needing to have rolls changed between jobs. Add to that a myriad of similar effective criteria, and the dedicated, hands-on approach of Ricoh’s team, Ironmark’s short-run book printing process is now more time and cost efficient.

“When we acquired United Book Press, we knew we wanted to expand that well-known brand to include shorter runs. We knew that process can be difficult to implement and execute, but by leveraging Ricoh’s expertise, we were successful at every stage,” explains Jeff Ostenso, CEO of Ironmark. “While Ricoh’s software and hardware are certainly making short runs easier, what’s really made the difference is the Ricoh team. It’s clear that they are dedicated to helping move forward the Ironmark legacy of transformation and finding innovative ways to stay on the cutting edge. Our partnership is committed to remaining targeted on these goals to help our customers succeed.”

The United Book Press acquisition is the latest in a series of moves by Ironmark, which relocated and rebranded in 2014. Starting in 1955 as Frank Gumpert Printing, the company’s acquisitions began in earnest in 2004, including the acquisitions of Imagemark and Norwood Creative to expand its business into the promotional product and creative services spaces, respectively. The company’s transformation included rebranding itself as Ironmark in 2014, as it moved its headquarters to Howard County, Md.

“Ironmark has made it clear, especially over the past decade, that it always has its eyes on what the market is doing, what its customers want, and how they can better address those demands,” says Andre Brazeau, VP of production print solutions, Ricoh Americas. “At Ricoh, that customer-first, adaptive mentality isn’t just familiar — it’s exactly who we are. As a result, this partnership could not have been a better match. As Ironmark expands into the short-run book printing business, we are proud to be beside them, helping make the transition as effective, efficient — and revenue generating — for them as possible.”

About Ricoh
Ricoh is a global technology company that has been transforming the way people work for more than 80 years. Under its corporate tagline — imagine. change. — Ricoh continues to empower companies and individuals with services and technologies that inspire innovation, enhance sustainability and boost business growth. These include document management systems, IT services, production print solutions, digital cameras, and industrial systems. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in over 190 countries. In the financial year ending March 2015, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,231 billion yen (approx. 18.5 billion USD).

Source: Ricoh.