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Ricoh Acquires Avanti to Enhance its Production-Printer Portfolio

by · January 18, 2017

A man walks in front of the headquarters of Ricoh Co in Tokyo May 26, 2011. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Ricoh Company of Tokyo, Japan, reports that, for an undisclosed sum, it’s acquired Avanti Computer Systems, a provider of Print MIS (Management Information System) solutions for the production-printing market, and acquisition that the firm says will help enhance its offerings for the production-printer market.

Founded in 1984, Avanti has provided Print MIS solutions that are said to help print shops and marketing-communication organizations automate their business. Avanti’s solutions are said to be the most open in the industry, are JDF-certified, fully integrated, and extend from web-to-print to production and billing.

In July 2013, Ricoh say it made “a strategic investment” in Avanti, which is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, that established the foundation for the acquisition. It also says that Avanti’s Slingshot solution is one of the most advanced JDF1-certified Print MIS available in the market today. JDF is the industry standard for process automation in pre-press, press, and post-press printing.

“We are committed to continual portfolio advancements aimed at helping our customers grow their businesses and improve their efficiency,” commented Jeff Paterra, senior vice president and general manager for Ricoh’s Technology & Solutions Development group. “We know that in order to achieve this, they need complete solutions which address their business needs. While our RICOH Pro Series continues to grow market share globally thanks to its high quality and high productivity, customers look to Ricoh to resolve wider issues surrounding upstream and downstream systems. Our acquisition of Avanti helps us more effectively do just that.”

This latest Ricoh acquisition is said to continue Ricoh’s dedication to providing customers “with an unmatched, best-of-breed portfolio that addresses the needs of the production-print market, today and tomorrow.”

In December 2014, Ricoh acquired MarcomCentral (formerly known as PTI Marketing Technologies), an acquisition that it says has successfully enhanced the value of Ricoh’s Web to Print, Marketing Asset Management, and Variable Data Printing offerings. With the addition of Avanti, the Ricoh portfolio is said to now cover the entire production-printing workflow sector, including Print MIS. Ricoh is aiming to link the Avanti system not only with its RICOH Pro production-printer series, but also with other company’s products.

Ricoh has also started to offer marketing workflow services that are aimed to further enhance print shops’ value to their customers. By collaborating with its partner companies, Ricoh says it “also aims to form an industry-leading ecosystem that will continuously provide customers with increased value-added services.”

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