"For years we've offered postal optimization solutions for our customers," explained  Humberto Prospero, Ricoh Production Print Solutions director of consulting and integration services to PrintWeek during an interview on the NPF exhibit floor.

"But as demand for cloud services became more apparent, we've been looking for partners who can step in and be our-back end provider for list management and cleansing and all of that."

Prospero added most of what Ricoh Print Solutions does is provided as a value-add to Ricoh press customers, many of whom are commercial printers.

"What we're looking to provide is a solution that can work not only for small mailers who want to send up a list for cleansing, but also for very large customers who want workflow management - and all of that through the cloud.

Working with TEC Mailing Solutions will enable Ricoh to offer name and address hygiene along with bulk mail sorting for web-to-print, CRM and variable data printing jobs.

Prospero said the goal is to provide a low-cost solution for commercial printers who don't have the resources to purchase the software and hire in-house personnel themselves.

"That way they can then turn around and offer these services as a value add for their customers," he added.

In a press release announcing the new partnership TEC Mailing Solutions President Brian Euclide suggested the deal has the potential to dramatically expand his company's customer base. "We believe our portfolio of services in an effective complement to Ricoh's software and services and will enable use to deliver increased cost-efficiency to Ricoh's broad range of customers."