中文Ricoh Company has announced a significant investment in a new manufacturing facility at its Atsugi site in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, designed to more than double its industrial inkjet printhead production capacity over time.
Construction of the four-storey, approximately 39,000-square-metre building is scheduled to begin in November 2026, with completion planned for the first half of fiscal 2028. The expansion is engineered to provide capacity for more than twice Ricoh’s current printhead output, supporting rising demand as manufacturers migrate from analog to digital production.
Growth opportunities span sign and display graphics, labels, packaging and textiles, alongside functional printing applications such as printed electronics, batteries and automotive coatings. Ricoh views the investment as a strategic step in expanding its inkjet business while improving supply reliability for equipment makers and industrial customers worldwide.
The new facility will consolidate manufacturing functions currently spread across multiple Atsugi buildings, creating a more integrated, automated production environment. Ricoh plans to introduce robotics and flexible lines capable of producing different printhead products while maintaining the micron-level precision industrial inkjet demands. A central element is the use of AI to capture and digitise the specialised knowledge of experienced technicians, making that expertise available to support production and quality decisions.
Production equipment, quality-management systems and logistics will be digitally connected, with automated material handling intended to improve the flow of materials and information through the factory. The approach aims to increase flexibility, reduce operational complexity and preserve critical technical expertise as volumes grow.
Koji Miyao, president of Ricoh Graphic Communications and senior corporate officer of Ricoh Company, described the project as a strategic investment in long-term inkjet growth. Ricoh intends to combine precision engineering developed over decades with AI and digital technologies, creating a production environment where employees and intelligent systems work together to improve quality, productivity and consistency. The company also plans to extend the technologies developed at Atsugi across the wider Ricoh Group.
For the printing industry, the investment is a leading indicator. Printhead capacity is the bottleneck that determines how fast analog-to-digital migration proceeds in labels, packaging, textiles and functional printing. Ricoh’s more-than-doubling of output suggests it expects that migration to accelerate — and wants to be the supplier that removes the constraint.
The decision to locate the new factory at Atsugi, consolidating functions now spread across multiple buildings, is as much about process as capacity. Ricoh plans robotics and flexible lines capable of making different printhead products while holding the micron-level precision industrial inkjet demands. A defining feature is the use of AI to capture and digitise the tacit knowledge of veteran technicians, preserving expertise that might otherwise walk out the door as the workforce ages.
That knowledge-retention angle speaks to a broader manufacturing challenge: how to scale without losing hard-won craft. By digitally connecting production equipment, quality systems and logistics, Ricoh aims to raise flexibility and consistency as volumes climb. Koji Miyao, president of Ricoh Graphic Communications, described the project as a strategic bet on long-term inkjet growth, blending decades of precision engineering with AI and digital tooling.
For the printing industry, the investment is a leading indicator. Printhead capacity is the chokepoint that determines how fast analog-to-digital migration can proceed in labels, packaging, textiles and functional printing. Ricoh’s more-than-doubling of output suggests the company expects that migration to accelerate — and wants to be the supplier that removes the bottleneck. Equipment makers and converters alike will be watching Atsugi’s 2028 completion as a signal of where industrial inkjet supply can go.
The decision to locate the new factory at Atsugi, consolidating functions now spread across multiple buildings, is as much about process as capacity. Ricoh plans robotics and flexible lines capable of making different printhead products while holding the micron-level precision industrial inkjet demands. A defining feature is the use of AI to capture and digitise the tacit knowledge of veteran technicians, preserving expertise that might otherwise walk out the door as the workforce ages.
That knowledge-retention angle speaks to a broader manufacturing challenge: how to scale without losing hard-won craft. By digitally connecting production equipment, quality systems and logistics, Ricoh aims to raise flexibility and consistency as volumes climb. Koji Miyao, president of Ricoh Graphic Communications, described the project as a strategic bet on long-term inkjet growth, blending decades of precision engineering with AI and digital tooling.
For the printing industry, the investment is a leading indicator. Printhead capacity is the chokepoint that determines how fast analog-to-digital migration can proceed in labels, packaging, textiles and functional printing. Ricoh’s more-than-doubling of output suggests the company expects that migration to accelerate – and wants to be the supplier that removes the bottleneck. Equipment makers and converters alike will be watching Atsugi’s 2028 completion as a signal of where industrial inkjet supply can go.
The functional-printing dimension is especially intriguing. Ricoh explicitly cites printed electronics, batteries and automotive coatings as growth markets for its heads. Those applications move inkjet far beyond decoration into fabrication, where deposition precision translates directly into device performance. A capacity expansion aimed partly at that frontier signals confidence that industrial inkjet is graduating from a printing technique into a general-purpose manufacturing process – with consequences well beyond the graphic arts.
Source: https://inkish.news/en/article/ricoh-plans-new-japanese-factory-to-more-than-double-inkjet-printhead-production-capacity
