Richo Pro C550EX and C700EX

[jrsc]

I'm new to these forums but have found a lot of useful information but nothing on the new Ricoh machines (c550ex and c700ex). My company is a small print shop. We are looking to upgrade our slowly dying canon c3200 that we have had for 5 - 6 years. We had purchased this from Ikon and now that they are owned by Ricoh they want the canon's out of the field and are really pushing these new ricoh and offering some good promotions to trade in the canon.

I know Ricoh is advertising these as production level machines (I know they would be at the lower end of production level) but I was wondering if anybody actually knows how they would perform in a production environment. I know the the engine is based on the older mp c7500 business color machine. I have not heard the greatest things about that machine, but Ricoh claims they have made improvements to make it more production level, but the ikon sales rep didn't tell me what those changes are. Do anybody know what changes they have made and if it actually has been improved.

We run about 10,000 pages a month with about 2/3 of them being 12 x 18. Most things we run are 80lb cover or less but I would like to be able to start running more heavier paper. Front to back registration and registration from sheet to sheet are important to me. Ikon claims that the front to back registration for a 12 x 18 sheet of 24# paper is +/-.5mm and slightly more on heavier paper. It would be very helpful if there were user adjustments for registration and skew (both major problems with our current equipment).

I am going to their showroom next week to look at one and speak with their color guy. They offered to install one for me on a contingency sale where they would take it back if I don't like it after 3 weeks. The initial pricing they offered me for the c700ex is $38,000 with my trade and an option for a 0% lease. The service and supply pricing is $0.055 for color and $0.01 for black with single click on 12 x 18. This pricing is all before I have done any negotiating so i'm sure i can get it down more especially since they really want to get rid of the canon's.

Any information on these new machines would be greatly appreciated.

 

[msaeger]

My experience with the MP C7500 has been reliability depends a lot on the coverage. I have a couple in copy centers that print lower coverage business type stuff and they have very few problems and go a long time between calls.

There are registration and skew adjustments in the service mode some models like the Pro c900 have them in the firey as well. I don't know about this one yet because we have not gotten in one.

You can do up to 300 gsm from the wide lct which holds up to 12 x 18. You can do up to 216 gsm from the internal trays. The max for the auto duplex is 163 gsm.

 

[mikeatlbc]

JRSC... do yourself a favor, get a Xerox

 

[kire]

JRSC... do yourself a favor, get a Xerox

Yes it is very important to support us companies and their stockholders. And if possible try to get a couple of big us cars included in the lease also. This is rubbish - if a Ricoh engine is within your spec go for it. Ricoh is today the largest vendor in the us market and that is maybe a answer to the statement!!

Regards Kire

 

[Craig]

JRSC, I will second mikeatlbc on that. Xerox's numbers will be higher, you might get sticker shock, but look at the big picture, you'll see why they have the most color boxes installed in production environments.

 

[kire]

JRSC, I will second mikeatlbc on that. Xerox's numbers will be higher, you might get sticker shock, but look at the big picture, you'll see why they have the most color boxes installed in production environments.

This is also wrong-both Canon and KonicaMinolta are above if you take installed base in production environments from engines over 30 ppm and and above installed last 5 years. If you look in the ultra segments HP is the leader so Xerox is not the overall leader, but in a few segments they are and they have good products/solutions but also other vendors have good solutions so other options is available. Xerox is not the holy grail!!

Regards Kire

 

[msaeger]

How about check out several options and pick which one you like best. Who cares who is number one in whatever category every brand says they are best chosen by someone for something it's a bunch of crap.

My advice would be look at the actual spec sheets whuch every manufacturer has online and not go by what sales tells you it wil do. Also don't try something it's not rated for during the demo then buy based on it working in the demo even though it's out of the spec. There is a difference between doing a few sheets at a demo and running it for real.

 

[Craig]

The spec sheets are NOT the holy grail either. It may perform up to specs for a while, but can it do it for the life of the machine when run at the upper level of the specs day in and day out! If you know your work will push the upper level of the specs. ie. duplexing 220-300gsm on a regular basis, or 98% coverage on 12x18 sheets, you may want to look at a beefier machine. It may look like overkill, but fast plastic will not last under that type of abuse.

I know the OP's expectations with the IR3200, I have one. It will run chipboard if you remove the finisher (although it wont register worth a crap). If his clients are anything like mine they keep asking for heavier substrates all the time, he will want something that can not only run it, but run it with some type of consistent and repeatable output.

My opinion is that the Ricoh boxes he is asking about are a lateral movement from his current 3200. The will perform to the same level, with the exception that image quality may be better. If you want to grow your volume, you surely won't do it with ANY business color boxes from ANY manufacture. They are designed to run pretty pie charts on 28lb text, not business cards and invitations on cover weights.

 

[msaeger]

The spec sheets are NOT the holy grail either. It may perform up to specs for a while, but can it do it for the life of the machine when run at the upper level of the specs day in and day out! If you know your work will push the upper level of the specs. ie. duplexing 220-300gsm on a regular basis, or 98% coverage on 12x18 sheets, you may want to look at a beefier machine. It may look like overkill, but fast plastic will not last under that type of abuse.

I agree with that too. What I see more though is people running something outside of the spec that doesn't work and I get to hear how it worked in the demo or sales told them it would work even though it is outside of the spec. So what I am saying is if it says the max duplex is 163 gsm just because you can get a couple 216 gsm sheets to go through at the demo don't expect me to be able to fix it when it jams after you buy it.

 

[jrsc]

Thanks for the suggestions. I know that I should be looking around at several manufactures to find the equipment that fits me best. I have been doing this. The reason I am asking about these machines is because they just came out there is almost no information about how they preform. It is very easy to find information on Xerox, Canon, and Konica. I know very well what these manufactures have to offer but can't figure out how the Ricoh compares from someone that has used or tested it.

 

[X33]

Ricoh is today the largest vendor in the us market and that is maybe a answer to the statement!!

just out of curiosity, what is this statement based on?

From Ricoh Americas website (includes North and South America, from Canada to Chile), Ricoh sells $2.8 billion anually.

From Xerox.com, Xerox sells in the U.S. $9.1 billion anually.

 

[Graphics Center]

I am also trying to find out how the Ricoh Pro 550ex performs in actual usage, and not just the glowing descriptions of the salesman or glossy brochures designed to sell the machine.

I am coming to the end (THANK GOD!) of a 5 year Xerox Docucolor 240 lease. The machine has been a nightmare. I'm curious if I'm the only one who has had problems with this machine, I just found this forum today but after spending a fair amount of time doing searches in the forums, didn't find anything like what I've been through. Initially it had a bustled Fiery, to make a very long story short, they actually gave me a (used) CREO RIP which has been a vast improvement, but again, to make a long story short, there are still issues. I've worked with quite a few machines in my day from quite a few companies, I have NEVER seen a machine like this. My Xerox Color Technical support professional asked me if this place were built on an ancient burial ground. It is just that weird.

Anyway, Ikon suggests the Ricoh Pro 550ex, but someone on one of the forums said it can't do solids, which would not work for me. I operate a combination design studio and print shop through the Student Activity Association for a college, and I am open to anyone on the campus. They got rid of the color printers in the student labs, so now the Art & Design and Media Communications students, among others, come to me for color output. I work in the Adobe Creative Suite, and tend to do very graphics rich layouts, lots of full coverage. This is not a pie chart kind of place; I also do a lot of work that was previously outsourced to offset, such as brochures, manuals, booklets, posters, post cards and such. In the past 5 months, my average number of impressions is just over 14,000, and, on average, 12,000 of those clicks are color.

Like jrsc, I know I will look at several manufactures. But I want to know what others have experienced with the Ricoh pro 550ex or comparable machines in the real world! And I'm curious if there are other Xerox Docucolor 240 disasters out there or if I am "special."

 

[[email protected]]

Ricoh C751 Series

Ricoh C751 Series

I am also trying to find out how the Ricoh Pro 550ex performs in actual usage, and not just the glowing descriptions of the salesman or glossy brochures designed to sell the machine.

I am coming to the end (THANK GOD!) of a 5 year Xerox Docucolor 240 lease. The machine has been a nightmare. I'm curious if I'm the only one who has had problems with this machine, I just found this forum today but after spending a fair amount of time doing searches in the forums, didn't find anything like what I've been through. Initially it had a bustled Fiery, to make a very long story short, they actually gave me a (used) CREO RIP which has been a vast improvement, but again, to make a long story short, there are still issues. I've worked with quite a few machines in my day from quite a few companies, I have NEVER seen a machine like this. My Xerox Color Technical support professional asked me if this place were built on an ancient burial ground. It is just that weird.

Anyway, Ikon suggests the Ricoh Pro 550ex, but someone on one of the forums said it can't do solids, which would not work for me. I operate a combination design studio and print shop through the Student Activity Association for a college, and I am open to anyone on the campus. They got rid of the color printers in the student labs, so now the Art & Design and Media Communications students, among others, come to me for color output. I work in the Adobe Creative Suite, and tend to do very graphics rich layouts, lots of full coverage. This is not a pie chart kind of place; I also do a lot of work that was previously outsourced to offset, such as brochures, manuals, booklets, posters, post cards and such. In the past 5 months, my average number of impressions is just over 14,000, and, on average, 12,000 of those clicks are color.

Like jrsc, I know I will look at several manufactures. But I want to know what others have experienced with the Ricoh pro 550ex or comparable machines in the real world! And I'm curious if there are other Xerox Docucolor 240 disasters out there or if I am "special."

I am biased but you really ought to check out the newly-introduced C751 Series. The output inc solids is unreal.

YouTube - ‪Ricoh launches three new best-in-class light production digital presses‬‏

 

[Graphics Center]

Wow-I don't think that machine would fit in my room, much less my budget. I know the university's budgets are being slashed, and I am a staff of one who has to provide significant design services, while somehow also operating a copy center. So there is no possibility whatever that I could run enough work to afford such a printer!

 

[msaeger]

Get pricing before you think it will be too expensive.