As of 1 October 2020, Ricoh’s Process Director workflow automation software will be made available via a subscription pricing system that includes multiple-year subscription options and so decreases the up-front investment required.

Process Director is designed to streamline operations, improve process integrity (in transactional mail operations, for example), reduce errors and increase efficiencies in multi-printer or multi-site operations. It is not tied to Ricoh print hardware, or even specifically to PDF/PostScript-driven printing systems, and supports digitally delivered documents as well as printed ones, with capabilities to meet SLA/compliance and audit requirements. The subscription model will allow Ricoh customers to class its cost as an ongoing operational expense rather than a capital one.

‘As print providers adapt to the new world of work, a robust tool like Ricoh ProcessDirector is invaluable,’ said Clive Stringer, director, continuous feed and high-end software sales, Commercial Printing Group, at Ricoh Europe. ‘Our clients have told us that they’re looking for more flexible ways to access the power of Ricoh ProcessDirector’s capabilities to fit into their various business models – either subscription-based or as a perpetual licence. With this new offering we are pleased to say that this choice has now become available.’

Version 3.9 of Process Director is planned for release on 2 November 2020 and will be ‘Cloud-ready’ to improve scalability and flexibility, including the option to be hosted in a client-managed virtual computing environment rather than on Ricoh’s Cloud servers. Other upgrades in this version will include improved data collection and reporting plus enhanced ease of use and productivity.