News

Ricoh have just refreshed their whole range of A3 copiers.  Across the board you just need to add "10" to the old reference:  the IM C2500 becomes the IM C2510, the IM C4500 becomes the 4510 and so on.  The new range declines as the previous range did, all SRA3 12x18" colour machines running at 20, 25, 30, 35, 45, 55 and 60 pages per minute.  They probably run at the same speeds in duplex mode, and we will let you know for sure when we have tested them.  

 

New range, new toner - and it melts at a lower temperature, which saves electricity.  This is borne out in the specification for electrical consumption when running, at least for the 55 ppm machines, reducing their consumption when printing by a very substantial 22%.  Ricoh have also managed to shave some off the stand-by mode amperage.  The lower the stand-by consumption, the less services left switched on when the devices are asleep, and the longer it takes them to wake up.  The new machines do take a little longer to come back from stand-by, but not a lot.  The trade-off seems worthwhile.  Comparing typical weekly electrical consumptions, the 55 ppm machines will use 25% less than their predecessors, the 20 ppm about 12% less than the generation which precedes them.  Wake-up times do not affect first-page-out times, which the manufacturer claims are slightly faster than for each of these machines' predecessors.  

 

Ricoh's stated sustainability goals have led the increased use of recycled materials in the plastic outer casing, and particularly to reduce the plastic in packaging by a half. Sul Koralege, Product Manager, RICOH Australia (the launch of the new ranges has been most visible in Australia) said, “Today, there is an increased focus on carbon neutrality and the circular economy, and many Australian businesses are expected to increase their Environment, Social and Governance investments and financing.  We’re delighted to provide businesses of all sizes with eco-friendly IM Series devices which come with a range of features that reduce their impact on the environment and at the same time help customers achieve their own sustainability goals.”

 

The US and Pacific models (which have the "A" suffix in Europe) have been given a faster single-pass document feeder.  The new feeders run at 150 ipm for single-sided originals and 300 ipm in duplex at both 200 and 300 dpi, a marked improvement on the 120/240 ipm feeder from the previous generation.  They can scan extremely thick originals (up to 220 gsm, 60 lb Bond) and extremely fine ones too (38gsm, 10 lb), a great improvement on the previous series which could only handle as thick as 128 gsm, 34 lb Bond originals.

The new 2-point stapler unit has a slightly higher capacity (60 sheets), but cannot handle covers: the maximum paper weight for the new unit is 105 gsm, 28lb bond.  

 

Whilst the document storage capacity seems to have decreased, do not be deceived:  this is because the 256 GB solid-state disk is now available as standard, and there a 1TB SSD as an option.  A hard-disk 350GB is available.  Most of the range get a lot more RAM as standard too.  The interface runs on Android OS 10.2, and overall users should appreciate increased smooth functioning.

 

It's a pretty major refresh.  We are looking forward to testing these MFPs very soon.

 

Full specifications are available on DataMaster Online, with one-click Smart comparisons between the new and older machines, and with all their competitors.  




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