Data Corporation, an OKI Group company specialising in B2B printer manufacture and managed print services, acquired all the shares of the Seiko Instruments Inc subsidiary and created a new company, OKI Data Infotech, on 1 October.
OKI sees the trade print market as an important sector, as well as seeing cross-selling opportunities with clients buying its existing range of office printer products, particularly in the retail sector.
UK-based OKI marketing director Graham Lowes said: “We’re obviously extremely excited about the acquisition. It gives us new exciting opportunities to bring products to the market and gives us a wider outlook.
“We believe the wide-format market has got major opportunities and is a growth area. It’s a new opportunity for us. We wanted to move the print business more into the graphic arts and short-run production space.
“Acquiring this technology is complementary to our own portfolio. It’s a completely new technology for us as OKI has never had inkjet technology, we have been toner-based only. It takes us into the graphic space and the wider market place using eco-solvent inks. The print can be placed outdoors and is suitable for point of sale and retail environments.
“We’re looking to be able to sell the wide-format products and our own products into new markets.”
Lowes said OKI would cross-sell to existing corporate clients.
In a retail environment, for example, he said, instead of printing centrally and needing to worry about shipping and storage, staff can print on-site.
“You can change your prices and you can react really quickly to changes in the market, which gives you a competitive advantage.”
He said SIIT’s range of ColorPainter wide-format products, such as the recently launched eight-colour wide-format ColorPainter H3-104s which is aimed at the signage and indoor graphics markets and its Teriostar scanner/copier/printers, aimed at professional CAD, AEC and GIS users, would be rebranded at some point in the future.
However they will continue to be available in the UK from distributor Systems 2 Digital Graphics and resold by Signmasters, based in Whitchurch, Shropshire.
“From the customers’ perspective there will be no change,” Lowes added.
OKI Data Corporation describes the high-value-added printer business as its major growth area with the professional printer market being an important sector.
President of OKI Data Corporation Takao Hiramoto said: "Through this acquisition, we have not only acquired a portfolio of wide-format inkjet printers for signs and LED graphic plotters, but also the corresponding technologies, development resources and sales channels.
"By offering one-stop printing solutions targeting the printing, distribution, and retail industry sectors, we will strengthen our printer business in the professional printer market.”
OKI Data Infotech is part of Japan-headquartered OKI Group, which has 236 employees worldwide.
