Our primary focus is to expand into tier-II, tier-III cities: Koji Miyao of Ricoh

PrintWeek (PW): What makes Pamex an important platform for Ricoh?

Koji Miyao (KM): Pamex is a vital platform because Ricoh positions India as one of its most strategic markets globally. We leveraged this opportunity to gain practical insights into future business development by understanding local market trends and customer needs, thereby creating new possibilities that lead to sustainable growth. By participating with Minosha, our long-standing strategic partner, we aimed to bridge the gap between global innovation and local execution.

PW: Tell us about the evolution of technologies in the production printing industry in the last five years?

KM: The past five years have seen digital media accelerate the shift from large offset runs to short runs, expanding the digital printing business significantly. While toner-based technology continues to grow due to its high quality and ease of use, we are now seeing inkjet — both sheetfed and web —gain serious traction in applications like direct mail, book publishing, and transactional printing. In the next five years, we expect digital to finally reach the "mass market," integrated with AI-driven workflows to minimise human error and maximise up time.

PW: How is Ricoh going to contribute to the Indian Market in terms of innovation and technology in the next five years?

KM: Ricoh's contribution is rooted in our ownership of key technologies, specifically our in-house designed and manufactured printheads. We prioritise the productivity of the entire workflow — from pre-press to post-press — rather than just engine speed. In India, we drive innovation through automation and intelligence, utilising AI-driven systems like Auto Colour Diagnosis and predictive maintenance to maximise uptime. This ensures our customers remain profitable and competitive despite rising labour and production costs.

PW: How do you see current trends in printing and packaging influencing your product ranges?
KM: Current trends in the printing industry are strongly influencing our product portfolio and strategic direction. The industry is facing rapid change driven by margin pressure, stricter environmental requirements, and labour shortages caused by an ageing and retiring workforce. As a result, print service providers are increasingly seeking more agile, cost-efficient, and sustainable printing solutions.

Sustainability is a key priority, with growing demand for reduced waste, energy-efficient production, and environmentally responsible consumables. This is driving the expansion of digital printing solutions that support efficient production while maintaining high image quality and consistency.

At the same time, the shift toward digital printing is accelerating. Digital technologies enable short-run, on-demand, and variable data printing, allowing customers to respond quickly to market needs, reduce inventory, and improve profitability. There is also increasing demand for highvalue print applications that deliver superior quality and support differentiation.

Automation and workflow efficiency are critical to addressing labour shortages and cost pressures. In this context, Ricoh is leading digital transformation in printing by providing reliable, adaptable solutions that leverage AI to automate workflows, reduce manual operations, improve process visibility, and enable smarter, data-driven print production. These trends directly shape our product range, guiding us to deliver flexible, sustainable, and high-value printing solutions for long-term customer success.

The trend toward an offset-to-digital transition has led us to expand our media capabilities significantly. Our latest models, the Pro C9500 and C7500, now support paper thicknesses from 40- up to 470-gsm, and incorporate elastic transfer belts to ensure high quality, even on textured media. Furthermore, to help printers capture high-value jobs, we offer seven types of special toners (gold, silver, white, etc.), allowing them to provide added value that conventional printers cannot easily match.

PW: Any new launches in the coming years?　

KM: We are preparing the ground for our high-speed inkjet product. Our roadmap involves a phased introduction of these technologies to ensure that as Indian customers grow their volumes. We have the right inkjet solutions ready to support their next level of business expansion.

PW: Which are the digital printing segments and geographical areas of India you are going to focus on in the coming years?

KM: Geographically, while we maintain a strong presence in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai, our primary focus is to expand into tier-II and tier-III cities where the potential for digital migration is immense. Segment-wise, we are targeting commercial printing, photo printing, and the rapidly growing ;abels and packaging sectors. By leveraging Minosha’s extensive service network, we aim to provide reliable support to the customers in pan-India.