Let's be honest, talking about office photocopiers, printers and fax machines is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But sit in a room with Aaron Yim for an hour to discuss the subject, and his passion for office equipment, or "total document solutions" as he likes to call it, becomes contagious.

"Office equipment has come a long way since the days when everyone would trudge over to a corner of the office to copy or fax a document," the Managing Director of Ricoh Hong Kong Limited says. "We have been using multifunction digital solutions since 1995, which basically revolutionised the way we work in the office."

The next big thing in office document solutions will be colour, he says.

"The cost of colour laser printers and copiers has come down by about half over the last two to three years, and companies are really finding it extremely useful for promoting their business," he says.

Public relations agencies, restaurants, hotels, and just about any business that uses colour in its printed literature and promotions are finding they can save time and money by using colour laser printers instead of sending everything to the traditional printer.

Nice as they are, and with a printing speed of 28 pages per minute in full colour, companies are not always convinced that investing in this expensive equipment is worth the cost.

Throughout its 40-year history in Hong Kong, Ricoh has learned that businesses do not just want to buy a product, they want a solution to their problem.

Mr Yim says many of the innovations that Ricoh has developed have been a direct result of it working with a company to find a solution to its needs. The company puts great emphasis on training its technicians who maintain its customers' equipment to not just keep the machines running smoothly, but also keep its customers running smoothly as well.

"Most of our customer feedback comes from our 300 technicians. They are the ones who interact with our customers, so it is important that they keep them happy as well as listen carefully to any problems they may be experiencing," he said. "This is a value-added part of our relations with our customers, which we work very hard to build and maintain long-term relations with."

In recognition of its "Customer for Life" mission, the company won the 2002 HKMA Quality Award.

"We are always looking to go beyond customers" expectations, and to do this we have to understand their business, which will allow us to try and solve any problems they may be having," he said.