Post 4: Open New Worlds Photoshoot – Commercial and Corporate Print
Published March 16, 2016
The location
The location we selected for the Commercial and Corporate shoot was a strikingly beautiful and dramatically designed home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, UK. The home of a renowned artist, it has been used as the setting for great brands and will feature in a forthcoming series of Cold Feet, the UK TV drama. It also appeared in the March edition of Grand Designs magazine. The house is also right around the corner from Lindow Common, where the body of a mid-first century AD man was found, preserved in a bog. The Lindow Man can be found on permanent display at the British Museum.
In order to accommodate both shoots in one location, we needed flexibility of space, with one room that could be dressed to replicate a fashion student’s bedroom and one that could be used as a gallery space. We were fortunate that the house actually had its own gallery space so we could remove the contents and use gel lighting to create the desired vibrant shades on the wall.
The idea
Commercial Print – we wanted to capture the wonder of seeing colour for the first time, to highlight the breathtaking print quality available through Ricoh’s digital print technology.
So we created an image of someone entranced by amazing colours.
Corporate Print –
the idea was to focus on a fashion designer of the future, working in their bedroom, to illustrate how Ricoh’s intelligent digital print technology can help universities attract new talent, and enable other corporations to communicate effectively.
The Results
Post 3: Open New Worlds photoshoot – Rock Band
Published February 19, 2016
The location
These shots were taken at Blueprint recording and rehearsal studios in Manchester. Loved by many leading artists, Blueprint has played host to Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, Duran Duran, Moby and it is where Elbow recorded their massively successful album – The Seldom Seen Kid.
The idea
Use a Rock Band to illustrate how Ricoh’s variable printing helps you respond to the most variable of needs.
Therefore we created a made-up band, called – appropriately – the Fake Dolls. Each member of the band was holding a different piece of Ricoh print collateral, in the form of the covers of their latest album, all printed using Ricoh technology. And so highlighting the quality and possibilities offered by Ricoh’s digital print solutions.
The Results
 |
 |
 |
Post 2: Open New Worlds photoshoot – pixelstick
Published February 18, 2016
The location
These photos were shot on London’s iconic South Bank, alongside the River Thames, on a wet evening in late December This location allowed us a panoramic view view of many of London’s most famous landmarks as well as the graffiti walls of the South Bank, the backdrop to London’s most well known skateboarding scene.
The idea
Using the latest technology in light painting – the ‘light stick’ – and overlong camera exposure, we created a unique piece of actual art painted in light. We commissioned the artist Ben Hughes and used a Pixelstick – a new technology that consists of 200 full colour RGB LEDs inside a lightweight aluminum housing.
The Results
The finished piece was composed of patterns of colourful light dancing against the city backdrop.
Post 1: How Ricoh’s new ways to transform your business will Open New Worlds for you
Benoit Chatelard, VP Production Printing Group, Ricoh Europe explains the thinking behind Ricoh’s new messaging…
Published February 8, 2016
Can you explain the concept behind “Open New Worlds”
Our world is changing. Change brings challenges. It also brings opportunities.Especially when it comes to print based communications. There are major changes in the world of Marketing where major brands are now looking for more integrated communications across multiple channels.And, in the world of Publishing, publishers and printers alike are struggling to adapt to the “new normal” of smaller print runs, fast delivery and new distribution models.Nobody knows this better than Ricoh.Dedication to innovation and client insight has seen Ricoh grow from its first development of diazo photosensitized paper to becoming a global document management leader. Today we offer a wide range of solutions which can harness the power of digital print and data and are creating innovative new technologies for omnichannel environments.We are also a leader in the rapidly growing Additive Manufacturing / 3D print market. Many of our leading innovations in this field will benefit print service providers directly.In this way Ricoh is creating new ways to manage, maximise and grow any print service and marketing provider’s business. This is what we mean by Open New Worlds.
What will the campaign look like?
The campaign is based on the theme of “Open New Worlds”. It’s about how Ricoh’s technologies and innovations are – quite literally – opening up new worlds of opportunity for our clients.
We’re taking a different approach with the campaign creative, with new photography which illustrates new ways of doing things or new innovations. At first sight the images aren’t obviously related to print – but that’s the point. We live in an omnichannel world where everything is connected, there are no longer silos of communication or innovation.
For instance, the first image shows a street artist creating a new art form using new technology – a pixel stick.
Or in the Fake Dolls rock band image we’re illustrating how Ricoh’s digital print technology makes the personalisation and tailoring of print and direct mail to each individual (e.g. band member) so easy.
Can you give some examples of how Ricoh is helping to grow Print Service Providers’ business ?
Integrated workflows – Ricoh’s new solutions can now connect easily and effectively with almost any system or platform, both hardware and software, as well as offering easy and effective digital migration, whilst supporting efficiency and productivity through automation if required.
Production inkjet – since its recent launch the Ricoh ProTM VC60000 high speed inkjet platform has established itself as the leader in print quality and versatility. We already have announced five installations– in Europe alone, and some of these clients are completely new for Ricoh. Our success in production inkjet is directly related to our expertise as a leading developer of inkjet heads and our unique drop on demand jetting technology.
Value-added creative print effects – many of our clients are getting very excited about the new capabilities of the ProTM C7100x with its white and clear toner options, and how it has been engineered to run metallic and other unusual substrates. Some of the applications our clients are creating are – quite honestly – amazing. It’s no wonder that this product has been a huge success for them.
How would you sum up Ricoh Production Print’s business in Europe
Ricoh stands alongside the world’s best when it comes to digital printing which means that we offer high value print supporting a wide variety of media, right across a wide spectrum of applications.
Which means that, along with our widely respected business development programmes and thought leadership, with Ricoh as your partner, you can discover new ways to seamlessly manage workflows, maximise productivity, increase profitability, and access whole new markets. Let’s just call it Open New Worlds with Ricoh.