Executive Q&A: Sam Hosoe, associate director and deputy general manager, Ricoh Production Printing Business Group, Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Many people may not realize this, but Ricoh also has a strong presence in the inkjet print head market as well with our Ricoh production printing business group in Japan and Simi Valley, CA. We provide printheads to many of the world’s largest inkjet providers. The Ricoh L4000 solution leverages the latest generation print heads that have come out of this group.

QP: What is your vision of the commercial printing industry in the next five to 10 years, and how will Ricoh fit into that picture?

Hosoe: Commercial printers are beginning to realize that a shift is occurring. We can no longer maintain leadership and customer acquisition without transitioning to a more well-rounded marketing service provider position. Traditional print service providers need to expand their portfolios to offer more value-added services to their customers to keep them coming back for more and to keep them competitive. This shift needs to be underway now to ensure that commercial printers are still players in the next five to 10 years. Ricoh is committed to helping them make the transition to become marketing service providers with our “Ricoh Business Booster Program”, which provides businesses with the tools, resources, and processes to execute a successful transformation strategy.

Learn more about Ricoh Production Print Solutions at www.myprintresource.com/10006023 or about Ricoh Americas Corporation at www.myprintresource.com/10007712.