The Ricoh Commercial & Industrial Printing Team has been a long term partner of the DVLA Output Services Group . Thirty years ago we were the provider of high-speed mainframe printers , today we are a systems integrator and technology enabler providing workflow solutions that have underpinned and evolved with the DVLA operation for almost 20 years .

Ricoh ( formerly InfoPrint Solutions ) was at the forefront of the drive in the UK to turn the Gartner Automated Document Factory concept into a practical reality . DVLA was among our first customers to embrace both the concept and the Ricoh approach . Our earliest workflow implementation successfully focussed on the secure production of DVLA ’ s array of paper-based products . The tracking of data , logical pages , physical pages , documents and envelopes all ensured that driving licences and tax discs were accurately delivered to the intended recipient .

When the DVLA introduced its new photo card driving licence , a highly competitive tender process showed that it made clear sense to build on the system already in place – evolution , not revolution . The security , reliability and availability of the system was already proven . What needed to be proved next were scalability and flexibility . The system was extended to provide DVLA with two unique capabilities : a secure stock control system and a new class of output device – a laser engraver .

Every UK Driving Licence has a unique identifier built into it during the base card manufacturing process and the enhanced system tracks every card through the manufacturing process : booking cards into and out of a secure vault ; matching a driver to a unique card number ; engraving data and image onto each card ; matching the finished licence with the correct paper carrier prior to enveloping ; providing an audit trail for every card for every step of the process and finally feeding other DFT systems with any necessary production data .

Having set the benchmark for secure licence production , the Output Solutions Group was confidently able to use the same technology to offer additional services both within the DVLA and externally to other Government departments . Consequent evolutions have seen the introduction of other digital technologies on the same workflow platform .

Smart Tachograph cards and Biometric Residency Permits both now emerge from the same production system and both contain a chip for encoded personalised information . Secure card production is now a key offering for DVLA .

In meeting stringent Home Office requirements for tracking and audit for the Biometric Residency Permit , the DVLA production facility has shown itself equipped to meet the demands of even the most exacting customers .

The recent migration to Ricoh ’ s latest generation of workflow software has positioned the DVLA ready for another decade and for the adoption of other new digital technologies . Building on tried and trusted technology , Ricoh Process Director is the result of over 20 years of research and development into workflow and process automation . There is no doubt that other physical products produced by OSG will evolve to include more digital content and Ricoh Process Director will continue to be the core enabler that facilitates the expansion of digital , but in a secure and managed way .

Ricoh is delighted that the strong and close partnership with the DVLA is now set to move into a fourth decade . We look forward to continuing to work together to design , develop and deploy solutions that handle the complexities of mission critical communication in a fast changing world .

Ricoh and DVLA share a passion for excellence and innovation and that shared passion has been the cornerstone of our partnership and our joint success .