The Printing Systems Division of IBM became InfoPrint Solutions Company on June 1, 2007, a joint venture of IBM and Ricoh. The company, which is entirely based on IBM’s Printing Systems Division, is 51% owned by Ricoh and will acquire the remaining 49% over the next three years, as the joint venture is expected to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Ricoh. The billion-dollar joint venture foresees investments in Research & Development and Professional Services. InfoPrint Solutions Company (IPS) has 1,200 employees worldwide and operates in 18 countries. The joint venture, based on the activities of IBM’s Printing Systems Division – with 2006 revenues of around one billion dollars – will continue to benefit from IBM’s global distribution and sales network. IBM sales teams, business partners, and dealers will continue to offer InfoPrint solutions for output and printing, and InfoPrint Solutions Company will be IBM’s preferred global provider for printing solutions. Included in the joint venture are the InfoPrint product brand and IBM’s expertise in developing printing solutions.
Since June 1, 2007, Moreno Tartaglini has been CEO of InfoPrint Solutions Italy and Managing Director of the Mediterranean Region. Born in Perugia in 1960, Moreno Tartaglini began his professional career in 1980 at SIRTI, later moving to Olivetti in 1982, where until 1997 he held various roles, always in the commercial area, managing relationships and negotiations with some major Italian companies. In 1997 he joined IBM, where he developed his career mainly in commercial functions. Primarily focused on services, Moreno Tartaglini took on several leadership roles at IBM before becoming sales director of the services division in Italy. In 2005, Moreno Tartaglini became Manager of Printing Systems at IBM Italy, responsible for operations related to PSD division products. From 2003 to 2005, he was Sales Director of Global Value.
How does the Italian Peripherals market present itself and what are the prospects?
Contrary to some predictions that paper is in decline, InfoPrint Solutions Company believes its customers are still strongly attached to this sector both functionally and emotionally. It is therefore our intention to provide them with solutions geared toward the future, whether traditional paper products, electronic devices, or a seamless combination of both worlds.
What is the relationship of companies with this market?
Customers need printing solutions of the highest quality capable of optimizing productivity with an efficient workflow, while ensuring lower operating costs and a greater return on investment.
What is InfoPrint Solutions Company’s vision in this sector?
The exponential growth of digital information challenges companies to manage the increased complexity and cost of printing this information, which must be integrated into current workflows to optimize costs and improve overall productivity. Furthermore, such information must be delivered accurately, timely, and with controllable costs. Needs for personalization, color use, and regulatory compliance – now essential in any business communication – can dramatically increase the cost per printed copy. Consequently, companies and digital print service centers are seeking to achieve competitive differentiation through personalized output while maintaining cost control. Since consumers respond with interest to “transpromo” communications — highly personalized messages — these must be personalized and in color.
Moreover, compliance with regulatory requirements compels print centers to use intelligently designed, feature-rich output solutions. Customers also demand that print jobs be executed more quickly and at a lower overall cost.
Who is your typical customer?
InfoPrint Solutions Company has all the prerequisites to become a leading provider of printing solutions for companies of all sizes – from small businesses to large enterprises. Leveraging the combined strengths of IBM and Ricoh, InfoPrint Solutions Company can offer customers genuine added value by further investing in research and development, enhancing its product range, sales expertise, and offering professional services, support, maintenance, and financing.
Who are your competitors?
All those vendors that offer printing solutions.
What does InfoPrint Solutions Company offer more than competitors present in Italy, why choose you?
InfoPrint Solutions Company guarantees customers a constant upgrade of their infrastructure while containing management costs. InfoPrint Solutions Company is capable of offering one of the widest ranges of IT output solutions. The product and service range will be significantly expanded over the next three years. Additionally, about 200 patents belonging to Printing Systems Division have been transferred from IBM to InfoPrint Solutions Company. This will allow InfoPrint Solutions Company to further refine its product line to the benefit of Ricoh and IBM customers worldwide. Last but not least, IBM and Ricoh boast a strong presence and consolidated experience in printing for forty years.
What are the industry’s innovations?
There are many innovations addressing different sectors. For transactional printing, billing, invoicing, and direct mailing, the availability of InfoPrint 5000 has been announced in Europe; the innovative technology incorporated in this printer allows production of color prints with variable data at speed, quality, and price levels unmatched in the industry, offering up to 64 meters per minute printing speed. The target market for this printer consists of so-called outsourcer companies that print bills, statements, direct mail, or banking institutions or marketing service providers in volume.
InfoPrint has recently also announced a new thermal printer for RFID label printing, featuring long life, reliability, and quiet operation, capable of optimizing supply chain and asset management operations. Two new full-featured multifunction printers have recently been introduced to the market, offering high productivity with excellent quality thanks to an array of advanced standard and optional functions, necessary for printing graphic jobs and aligned with market demands.
How did the first quarter of 2007 go and what are your future goals?
The joint venture became operational on June 1, 2007. InfoPrint Solutions Company will focus on offering value solutions in the office area, which increasingly arouses
the interest of customers aiming to implement a real “device consolidation” and “end to end” document management that ensures integration with corporate systems in
an “on demand” perspective. Furthermore, IPS will continue with technological innovation, proposing high-speed solutions both in four-color and black-and-white in the high-performance “Production” area with costs in line with market expectations.
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