Things have been a bit quiet since the late 2023 launch of Ricoh’s B2 inkjet press, but it turns out plenty has been going on behind the scenes. Michael Walker caught up with the newly trained ‘dragon’ TAMING THE RICOH PRO Z75 B2 DIGITAL PRESS B2 digital print is an odd segment in that several vendors have made attempts to introduce sheet-fed inkjet machines in the popular offset format, but few have succeeded or stuck with it. An early entrant was Screen’s Truepress JetSX announced at drupa 2008, but quietly dropped a few years later. Canon showed a prototype at drupa 2016 code-named Voyager but that too was withdrawn on the grounds of not being ‘commercially viable’. Fujifilm did bring its non-duplexing JetPress to market and sold several hundred, both in the original 720mm sheet length and the subsequent 750mm incarnations, but earlier this year dropped it. Konica Minolta announced its KM-1 UV curing B2 press in 2012 and has also sold several hundred around the world since 2015, with subsequent refinements and name changes appearing at intervals. At drupa 2024, Fujifilm announced a B2 toner press in its Revoria line while Canon also announced another go at B2 inkjet in 2024 and stated at the end of 2025 that the VarioPress iV7 would be available from the second quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, the B2 digital space is dominated by HP Indigo, which has been successfully selling its ElectroInk presses in this format for a good decade or more, since the introduction of the Indigo 10000. Which brings us to Ricoh. After dropping broad hints for some time, the company revealed the name of its B2 ‘dragon’ inkjet, the Pro Z75, back in 2020, releasing a more detailed specification in 2021, followed by an official launch in late 2023 naming a US beta site, quickly followed by two European customers in the following months. Since then it’s been a bit quiet on the publicity front, but speaking to Tim Carter, director at Ricoh UK, it’s clear that plenty of work has been going on, addressing a number of challenges that real-world use of a new press of any kind can present. Carter admits that some of these challenges hadn’t been anticipated, particularly around drying of sheets ready for duplex printing, but is emphatic that the press is now stable and reliable. Ready to Roar What then does a Ricoh Pro Z75 offer? Starting from the format, it’s an oversize B2 with a maximum sheet size of 585 x 750mm (571 x 735mm printable) that suits certain impositions, book formats, and types of step-and-repeat work better than regular B2. The press is rated for 4500sph simplex, UNDER THE HOOD | RICOH PRO Z75 29 www.printmonthly.co.uk Issue 361 - July | August 2026 Michael Walker is a trade journalist, technical writer, and editor with over 37 years’ experience in the print, prepress, photography, and digital imaging sectors, with a particular interest in the digital transformation of processes. In addition to editing Desktop Publishing Todayand Digital Printer magazines, he is co-author with Neil Barstow of Getting Colour Right (Ilex Press, 2004) and Practical Colour Management for Photographers and Digital Image Makers (2009, self-published e-book) and winner of a Communicators in Business Gold Award. Press Format: B2+ 585 x 750mm Ink Type: Water-based CMYK pigment inks Print Resolution: 1,200 x 1,200dpi Speed: Up to 4,500sph simplex, 2,250sph duplex Media Types: Offset coated, uncoated, and digital media to 400gsm Statistics ▲ The Pro Z75 is supplied with a Fiery FS500 Pro digital front end incorporating an APPE 5RIP
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