What does Priport mean or what possessed Ricoh to choose the name Priport? If I had to choose a name for a high-speed duplicator I would have chosen something like DocuPress, Image Print or DupliPress many years ago.
In the last few months I’ve been able to learn more about the Riso Duplicators, and while my heart is still with the Ricoh Priport there are some awesome features with some of the Riso duplicators.
- The first true digital duplicator was developed and introduced by Riso Kagaku Corporation in August 1986.
- Digital Duplicators can print up to 10,800 11×17 pages per hour.
- When printing 2 up on 11×17 media, you can run 21,600 images per hour.
- Digital Duplicators do not use any heat when printing and image, thus the reliability of the duplicator is better than most Production Print Systems.
- Digital Duplicators are now capable of printing two sides in one pass (letter size only).
- If you get a tear in your plate/master you can place a piece of tape on the tear and continue with the print job (as long as the tear is not in the image area).
- Digital Duplicators (some models) can run two colors in a single pass.
- Digital Duplicators can’t print on to Gloss stock.
- When figuring cost per page, Digital Duplicators yields are based on an 11×17 image. Because the Digital Duplicator will wrap an 11×17 plate/master around the image cylinder.
- Digital Duplicators can be used to create raised print with a post print process. Thermography
Digital duplicators are also ideal for printing envelopes, NCR and thick stock. Since there is no heat used in the process of printing and image there are virtually no consumables except for plates/master and ink. You can expect duplicators to run hundreds of thousands of prints without any service calls.
There are three players left in the Digital duplicator Industry now, Ricoh, Riso and Duplo. Years ago I would have bet the ranch that one of these manufacturers would have developed a four-color, single-pass duplicator. Who wouldn’t have been interested in a producing full color prints at 10,800 pages and hour, especially for a cost of about penny? Of course that was my thinking.
With the continued advancement of liquid ink technology it seems that digital duplicators may become extinct in the next few years.
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Good selling!
