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Latest range of Ricoh A3 multifunctions gets full 5 stars from DataMaster

22 January 2024

Ricoh refreshed its range of A3/SRA3 colour copiers last year, and DataMaster Lab was able to test them through one of our test partners. We are very pleased to give the full 5-star rating to the Ricoh IM C2010A, IM C2510A, IM C3010A, IM C3510A, IM C4510A, IM C5510A, and IM C6010.  
These models carry an "A" in the reference in Europe, signifying that they have the fast document feeder.  In other markets, such as North America, all models have the faster feeder, and the reference does not include the "A".

The print quality is excellent, particularly for very fine black lines but also for photographs’ contrast. Solid blocks of colour are of high quality for the whole range, and here the 20 and 25 page per minute machines are far better than most of their competitors in this segment of the market. It is rare to see such excellent, unblemished solid areas in prints from machines at this lower end of the A3 range. All the machines we tested gave great results in all our print quality tests.

The whole range of machines print faster than the manufacturers suggest, on simple colour or monochrome jobs, and some of them up to 14% faster. Complex jobs such as booklet imposition slow some competing machines down, but not these ones. RIP times are very fast too. Some first copy out and first print out times are actually faster than those specified by the manufacturer, which is almost unheard of here at DataMaster Lab. Most manufacturers exaggerate their FCOTs by quite a margin. All these machines perform very well in this regard. The machines with an “A” in the product reference have a very fast scanner with a high capacity (220 sheets) which can process a wide range of media up to 220 gsm / 60lb Bond.

The new interface keeps all the strengths of the old one, but the addition of some colour, and some hints and other new features make it super easy for someone who knows their Ricoh, and for new users to easily master the machines too. The means to allow remote technical support agents to fully control the interface will prove extremely useful, and security-conscious users will be pleased that this feature comes with different levels of control which can be authorized individually.

The important Trusted Platform Module is available as an additional option, and the whole range offer the passive security feature of the watermark which precludes unauthorized copying. Another passive security feature that other brands overlook, but which is extremely useful to anyone handling sensitive documents is the means to print a copy number onto each set. Should a document be leaked, the culprit can easily be identified using this feature.

DataMaster Lab is completely independent of the printer manufacturers, and our results and evaluations are free from brand interference. We test machines for you courtesy of our test partners. The local reseller of Ricoh devices which opens its doors to us is the Générale de Bureautique in Nantes, France. The machines are impeccably prepared, and the high print-quality scores in particular that these Ricoh machines achieved is testament to the skill of their technicians. We are grateful to the whole team at GdB, and it is always a pleasure to share a workspace with a truly excellent technical support team who are both highly competent and lend excellent support to their customers.

You can download all the certificates and rosettes attributed to these machines below, and the full test results are available to subscribers to our DataMaster Online service.