Solopress has begun installation of the UK’s first Ricoh Pro VC80000 continuous feed inkjet press, marking a significant expansion of the company’s digital production capability.



Installation started at the end of February 2026 at the company’s Southend-on-Sea production site. The £2 million plus investment will see the roll fed press run inline with Hunkeler unwinding and finishing equipment alongside a Horizon Mark V stitching line to produce stapled brochures in a continuous workflow.

The Ricoh Pro VC80000 is capable of printing at speeds of up to 150 metres per minute with resolutions of up to 1200 × 1200 dpi, combining high throughput with consistent print quality on coated and uncoated stocks.

The investment is expected to increase Solopress’ digital print capacity by around 80%, with brochure production the primary application. More than half of the company’s brochure output is planned to run on the new line.

Jack Clifford, Operations Director at Solopress, said:

“We have seen strong and consistent growth in brochure printing, so increasing capacity in this area was a priority. The Ricoh Pro VC80000 allows us to produce longer digital runs much more efficiently while maintaining the quality our customers expect.”



“The press runs at roughly twice the speed of our next most efficient digital machine and the inline finishing will significantly increase throughput on stapled brochures. When we analysed the figures, we calculated it could reduce our cost per page by around 20%.”

The installation adds additional production capability rather than replacing existing presses. As part of the transition to the new workflow, two Horizon StitchLiner 5500 systems previously used for brochure finishing have now been sold.
Several members of the Solopress production team have also completed specialist training at Ricoh’s UK headquarters in Telford in preparation for operating the new press.

Experienced press operators Tony Sullivan, Jim Wellard, Geoff Holliss and Darren Brown attended a three day training programme covering safety procedures, paper transport through the press, drying and cooling systems, ink management and on-screen controls.

The training forms part of the commissioning process for the new production line, which will play a central role in Solopress’ stapled brochure manufacturing once fully operational.

www.solopress.com