Guest blog by professional photographer Alan Shapiro
Over a year ago, Ricoh came to me with a story to tell about their new flagship products.
They were looking for a photographer that had a colourful, vibrant, and diverse body of work to help showcase the power and quality of their new commercial printing presses.
I was very humbled and thrilled that my work was chosen for this project and even more excited to see how Ricoh was going to showcase my art. It got even better when I was invited to attend drupa 24 to experience my work being used to showcase the power of print.
The team at Ricoh created a beautiful coffee table book called “Look Up” which features a few hundred of my favorite images across a wide range of genres. Let me jump ahead: The final product is magnificent!
My images were also transformed into postcards and posters produced on the new RICOH Pro™ Z75 B2 sheetfed inkjet press and the RICOH Pro™ VC80000 high speed webfed inkjet press.
To see these high speed printers in action, producing my work in real time, was thrilling and the exceptional quality achieved was simply mind-blowing to me.
As a visual artist, it is one thing to work toward a vision. It is quite another when that vision is entrusted to a print partner. That my vision was not just maintained but heightened and made tangible through the power of print is a testament to Ricoh’s new presses and the craftsmanship of those manning them.
As a professional photographer, I work with a broad range of clients who invariably utilise my work in print to help bring their stories to life. The quality of the final printed product is important, but let’s be honest...it can vary. I am lucky in that my experiences have always been good to great. Until now
I can say with certainty that I have never before seen my work printed so exceptionally. Holy wow!
I also very much liked Ricoh’s decision to theme its presence around HENKAKU – the Japanese word for “Transformational Innovation”.
It was something I had not heard of before, yet it immediately resonated with me. Ricoh said it formed the foundation for its approach to innovating advances, as well as its commitment to Co-innovation with their partners and clients.
This has deepened something in me that I already believe and value: the way we work and share with each other can result in beautiful and radical change.
During my days at the show, I saw how that message inspired visitors, from when they arrived at the DRUPA 24 Ricoh booth to how they engaged and interacted with the various printed products and the Ricoh teams.
The quality of these interactions is fundamental to HENKAKU and I am thrilled that my work has been reproduced in such an unparalleled way by Ricoh. Their care, attention to detail and spirit of collaboration has been exceptional during the entire process and culminated for me at the show. Wow.
I look forward to continuing to Co-innovate with Ricoh – a partner that is as passionate about vibrant, high quality results, as I am.
www.ricoh-europe.com
