Koji Hirakura, a Ricoh executive engineer, won the Johann Gutenberg Prize for the year 2010

The Johann Gutenberg prize, has been given since 1987, is awarded to person world yearly. It is awarded to one or two persons who made a significant contribution in science and technology for the printing, and is presented by IS&T under sponsorship of Hewlett-Packard Laboratories.

Hirakura has consistently been engaged in research and development of electrophotography since he joined Ricoh in 1970. Development of the world’s first "Four-Drum Tandem Digital Color Laser Electrophotographic System," which Hirakura led from the middle of the 1980s, was highly evaluated and won him this award. This system has also been adopted by other companies for their color multifunction copiers, color laser printers, or for color production printing systems; it is firmly established as a standard printing technology.