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Ricoh is a Tokyo-headquartered Japanese multinational corporation and leading global brand focused on commercial imaging hardware, managed print services, document workflow solutions, and enterprise digital transformation tools. It is one of the most established names in the global office technology industry, with operational reach across more than 180 countries and regions.
Key moments
1936Founded under its original name Riken Sensitized Paper Co., Ltd., to manufacture photosensitive paper for early photography applications
1955Released the first camera branded under the Ricoh name, marking the public debut of the official Ricoh brand identity
1968Launched its first in-house developed plain-paper photocopier, the product that became the foundation of its decades-long leadership in the office equipment market
1990sExpanded aggressively into North American and European markets, building regional sales and support hubs to serve multinational corporate clients
2008Completed acquisition of major European print and document service provider Lanier, significantly expanding its global enterprise customer base
2020sLaunched a portfolio of hybrid work-focused solutions, connecting on-premise office hardware to cloud-based document collaboration platforms for distributed teams
Ricoh occupies a unique middle ground in the global office technology ecosystem, competing against long-established imaging hardware peers, low-cost aftermarket print equipment manufacturers, and cloud-native SaaS document management startups. Its decades of B2B market presence have built strong brand recognition specifically among procurement and facilities leadership in large organizations, a key intangible asset that newer market entrants cannot easily replicate.
Key differentiator: Its widespread, geographically distributed on-site technical support network is a major selling point for clients operating large office campuses, healthcare facilities, and public government sites that require minimal downtime for core print and scan infrastructure
Primary hardware segment competitors include Canon, Konica Minolta, and Xerox, all of which offer comparable photocopier, printer, and large format printing product lines for commercial use
The brand faces growing margin pressure from low-cost consumer and small business printer manufacturers that sell entry-level hardware at steep discounts, a segment Ricoh largely exited to focus on higher-value enterprise clients
A core strategic weakness is Ricoh's slower pace of innovation on native cloud document workflow tools compared to dedicated SaaS providers, leading it to pursue targeted third-party integrations and acquisitions to catch up to evolving post-pandemic hybrid work demands
The brand's early investments in energy-efficient hardware and circular economy print asset recycling programs create a strong niche positioning for public sector and large enterprise clients with mandatory net-zero operational targets
Electronics, imaging
products
Copiers (such as plain paper copiers (PPCs)), printers (multi-functional printers (MFPs), laser printers), production printing products, facsimile machines, digital cameras, and film cameras
brands
Ricoh, Pentax
revenue
(Year ended March 31, 2018)
net income
(Year ended March 31, 2020)
num employees
90,141 (on consolidated basis, as of March 31, 2020)
founded
February 6, 1936
location
Nakamagome, Ōta, Tokyo, Japan
subsid
Pentax
homepage
http://www.ricoh.com/
Ricoh Company, Ltd. (株式会社リコー) is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronicscompany.It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the Riken Concern, on 6 February 1936 as Riken Sensitized Paper (理研感光紙).Ricoh's headquarters is located in Ōta, Tokyo.[1]
Ricoh produces electronic products, primarily cameras and office equipment such as printers, photocopiers, fax machines, and projectors, and also offers Software as a Service (SaaS) document management applications such as DocumentMall, RicohDocs, GlobalScan, Print&Share, and MakeLeaps. From the late 1990s through the early 2000s, the company grew to become the largest copier manufacturer in the world. During this time, Ricoh acquired Savin, Gestetner, Lanier, Rex-Rotary, Monroe, Nashuatec, IKON and most recently IBM Printing Systems Division / Infoprint Solutions Company. Although the Monroe brand was discontinued, products continue to be marketed worldwide under the remaining brand names. In 2006, Ricoh acquired the European operations of Danka for $210 million. These operations continue as a stand-alone business unit, under the Infotec brand.[2]
History
1936: The company was founded. Before it relocated to Chūō, Ricoh was established in Minato, Tokyo.[3]
1955: Ricoh made its first diazo copier. Ricopy 101 was a diazo wet copier for desktop blueprint duplication.[4] The model received certification of Mechanical Engineering Heritage #54 by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) in 2012.
1960s and 1970s: Ricoh made wristwatches for both the Japanese domestic market and international markets, briefly entering into a partnership with Hamilton Watch Company, for the creation of the Ricoh Hamilton Electric watch.[5]
1980s and 1990s: Ricoh was the primary manufacturer of Pitney-Bowes copiers. They have also manufactured copiers for Toshiba
Operations
The Ricoh Group has sales and support, production, and research and development operations in nearly 180 countries. It has its world headquarters in Tokyo, Japan and regional headquarters in Japan, the Americas, Europe, China, and the Asia-Pacific.
Regional headquarters
Ricoh USA, Inc., located in Exton, PA, USA, covers the United States and Canada while Ricoh Latin America, located in South Florida, covers the Latin American countries Ricoh International B.V., located in Amstelveen, the Netherlands and London, U.K. covers Europe, Africa and Middle East Ricoh Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., located in Singapore, covers South-East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and China
Americas Regional Headquarters
Europe Regional Headquarters
Asia/Pacific Regional Headquarters
Research groups
Ricoh has 272 subsidiaries (72 national and 200 overseas) which specialize in technology- and customer-research groups around the world.
Products
A partial list of products marketed to the public under the Ricoh brand includes:
Digital cameras
Compact
Ricoh RDC-1 (1995, 0.41 mexapixel)
Ricoh RDC-2 (1996, 0.41 megapixel)
Ricoh Theta (360-degree compact - 14.5 megapixel)
Ricoh Caplio G3 (3.24-megapixel)
Ricoh Caplio G4 (3.24-megapixel)
Ricoh RDC-5300 (2.30-megapixel)
Ricoh Caplio Pro G3 GPS Camera, Network ready (3.24-megapixel)
Ricoh Caplio RX (3-megapixel)
Ricoh Caplio R1 (4-megapixel, also available as Rollei DR4)
Ricoh Caplio R1v (5-megapixel, also available as Rollei
Sponsorships
Ricoh were shirt sponsors of Stoke City from 1981 to 1985.
Ricoh Arena, a football and rugby stadium complete with a concert hall and conference facilities, opened in Coventry, England in 2005, bearing the company's name due to a naming rights agreement. Renamed City of Coventry Stadium during the 2012 Summer Olympics due to strict sponsorship rules.
Ricoh Black Rams, a Japanese rugby union team owned by Ricoh.
In 2007, Ricoh acquired title sponsorship of the Women's British Open, one of then four major championships recognized by the world's dominant women's golf tour, the U.S. LPGA Tour.
In November 2008, Ricoh unveiled the first eco-friendly billboard in Times Square, NY—entirely powered by the sun and the wind.[34]
See also
Ricoh Theta a lineup of 360-degree cameras by Ricoh
and Omnifax, as well as a wide variety of equipment for numerous other companies including duplicators for AB Dick. Ricoh manufactured several electronic components for video game consoles – the
2003: Ricoh bought naming rights to the CNE Coliseum (now known as Coca-Cola Coliseum) in Toronto.[7]
2004: Ricoh acquired Hitachi Printing Solutions, Ltd creating a new company, Ricoh Printing Systems, Ltd.[8]
2005: Ricoh bought the naming rights to the stadium/entertainment complex, home to Coventry City Football Club, called the Ricoh Arena until 2021.[9]
September 2005: Ricoh launched its newly-designed logo for the Ricoh brand, designed by Landor Associates. The prior logo designed by PAOS had been introduced in 1986.[10]
November 2006: Ricoh announced the integration of the head office of Ricoh Europe B.V. (REBV) in Amstelveen, Netherlands, with NRG's European headquarters in London. This was completed on April 1, with the former NRG HQ in London becoming the Strategic HQ and the former REBV HQ in Amstelveen becoming the Operational HQ. This mirrors a similar process which took place in the US with Lanier and Ricoh USA. This integration was the first step within each country in Europe.
July 1, 2007: A single country organization was created in Austria, with integration also taking place in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
January 25, 2007: Ricoh announced purchase of IBM Printing Systems Division for $725 million and investment in a 3-year joint venture to form the new Ricoh subsidiary, InfoPrint Solutions Company, with a 51% share.[11]
February 2008: Ricoh partnered with PrinterOn to set up two new HotSpot printers: The SP C410DN-KP color printer and the SP 4100N-KP monochrome printer which allows Wi-Fi enabled users to print documents from any location.[12]
August 27, 2008: Ricoh announced its intentions of acquiring IKON Office Solutions for $1.6 billion; on November 1, Ricoh completed the acquisition.[13]
May 2011: Ricoh announced a cut of 10,000 jobs worldwide up to March 2014 from the 40,000 workers in Japan and 68,900 others overseas. The company would also shift 15,000 workers to areas with more growth potential.[14]
July 2010: a confidentiality agreement involving Ricoh was found to be unenforceable by the High Court of England and Wales, as it breached Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits agreements which had the object or effect of distorting competition. Judgement was made in favour of Ricoh.[15]
July 1, 2011: Japanese optical glass-maker Hoya Corporation said it would sell its Pentax camera business to Ricoh, in a deal the Nikkei business daily said was worth about 10 billion yen ($124.2 million).[16] On July 29, 2011, Hoya transferred its Pentax imaging systems business to a newly established subsidiary called Pentax Imaging Corporation. On October 1, 2011, Ricoh acquired all shares of Pentax Imaging Corp. and renamed the new subsidiary Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd.[17][18]
October 1, 2011: Ricoh announced the establishment of Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company, LTD.[17] On August 1, 2013, the company name was changed to Ricoh Imaging Company Ltd.[19]
January 8, 2016: Ricoh India stated it partnered with Siemens to offer digital lifecycle management software.[20]
July 19, 2016: Ricoh India admitted to an estimated ₹1,123 crore accounting fraud.[21] CEO and Managing Director Manoj Kumar, and Chairman Tetsuya Takano resigned from Ricoh India as a result.[22]
January 18, 2017: Ricoh Limited announced the acquisition[23] of Avanti Computer Systems, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, a leading provider of Print MIS (Management Information System) targeted for the production print market.[24] In 2025, Ricoh sold Avanti to eProductivity Software.[25][26]
2019: Ricoh announced a partnership with Cisco Systems.[27]
