The strategic collaboration between the two OEMs has seen improved manufacturing efficiency a 30% shorter development period producing the A3 monochrome printer engine.
Oki and Ricoh who have jointly developed the printer engine will release new products for the Japanese domestic market with their own print controller for the engine. The printers are expected to be released in the spring of 2022 where A3 monochrome printers are mainly used as business printers mainly in domestic government offices / local governments, medical care, and financial markets.
The collaboration between the two companies brought together their collective strengths during the planning and development of the printer engines. As a result of the collaboration, the development period was about 30% shorter and the efficiency improved.
The collaboration brought together OKI’s LED print head, which realizes high definition and high reliability and contributes to the miniaturization of the device, is used for the printing part, and Ricoh’s paper transport mechanism that realizes a wide range of paper handling capabilities and high reliability, which are important for business applications.
Also built into the design is a front access structure that allows maintenance work to be performed from the front, making the device easier to use.
The two companies said they will continue to accelerate efforts to further improve development efficiency and promote collaboration with various partners to improve customer value and realize efficient manufacturing.
Our take on this: long term, collaboration is the way forward as the market evolves so good on Oki and Ricoh. But the A3 market is, shall we say, over specified, over sold and mainly underutilised and typically prints A4. That said, Oki LED technology is good and Ricoh has great paper handling. So, it seems like a good collaboration. But the price point will be a key factor and is there a massive market for A3 monochrome devices – The jury is out on that one.
