Ricoh to acquire ColorGate

Ricoh is buying ColorGate. Acquisition of the print software firm is scheduled for completion on 30 November. The move continues the ‘Ricoh Ignite’ growth plan set out in February this year and designed to expand the company’s printing technology portfolio. This acquisition is designed to strengthen Ricoh’s growing industrial printing business and comes on the back of Ricoh’s recent acquisition of LAC Corporation, a company with inkjet technology that supports printing on 3D surfaces.

Peter Williams, corporate vice president and general manager of commercial and industrial printing business group, Ricoh, said: “By combining ColorGate’s proprietary software technology with our own industrial printers, Ricoh will provide solutions covering the whole printing workflow from pre-press to post-press. This acquisition will enable ColorGate to expand its industrial printing business and global presence as together we become better able to support our customers to accelerate their transition from analogue to digital based production.”   Thomas Kirschner, co-founder of ColorGate, who will continue to serve as CEO, added: “We are delighted to have been selected by Ricoh to contribute to this strong future growth strategy whilst we continue to serve our established customer base, OEM partners and reseller channel.”   Founded in 1997, Hannover-based ColorGate provides software for the wide-format and industrial printing sectors, and is best known for its colour management technology and workflow software in digital print markets, including decor and textiles.