The KM costs 5% more, but is there really a difference or just personal preference? C5300s or C4070

[billp]

So I sort of felt myself veering toward a C5300. Now the decision is imminent I'm attracted to back to the 4070 to print 50k sra3 'posters' pm

I've read every thread, I just feel the 4070 is a bit more 'heavy duty'. It weighs more, uses more power, & afaik isnt related to office photocopier line (C5300 = IM C6500). But it could be the colour, or that Ive been on KM's for a long time.

Not very scientific but on paper they're pretty similar, cheers! bill

 

[kslight]

I think it’s fair to say that any printer in this segment regardless of brand is more or less a turbo office copier.

More important than machine weight (realize that KM needs the IQ unit to register well…this will add to the weight and size), power consumption (most people would see a reduction in power consumption as a benefit) I think you should look at rated speed across all materials and sizes and the recommended average monthly duty volume of the machine, and the user interface. Power consumption is more dependent on the toner formulation - heat required to put it down - etc, I wouldn’t equate more power used as a better machine.

When looking at price also be sure to note the click charges per size as well as if they have written them to increase after a period of time (this adds up quickly)….they probably have if you didn’t say not to. I always make sure the click prices are locked for the entire term.

Obviously print quality is important but I would be surprised if there is a drastic difference between the two that couldn’t be caused by different default RIP settings / color / paper profiles and thus easily tweaked to user preference. IMHO the machines I’ve tried all produce sellable image quality - the biggest differences are in registration, color stability, and overall reliability. But print your toughest and most common materials on each and decide which is closer to your needs.

Finally if the machine you prefer is more expensive, then you should always try to get the sales rep to sharpen their pencil to make the deal you want. Price is not always the most important factor, but everything is negotiable and you wouldn’t believe the amount of markup on these they can make disappear if they want your business enough.

 

[kdw75]

Not an answer to your question, but we have two 72xx Ricohs and the techs have told me more than once that the 5300 is a big downgrade from the 72xx machines and that you are better off getting stripped down 7200 than a good 5300. Just wanted to pass this along.

 

[Mike the Print Man]

Not an answer to your question, but we have two 72xx Ricohs and the techs have told me more than once that the 5300 is a big downgrade from the 72xx machines and that you are better off getting stripped down 7200 than a good 5300. Just wanted to pass this along.

I agree. From what I've seen the c5300 is glorified copy machine. The quality looks good, not as smooth as a c7200 or c9200, but passable. However, it's a small box, so registration will be a huge issue and duplexing thicker stocks is a no-no. At the same token a KM 4070 is going to be about the same. You're in the middle ground between a "production" machine a copier. I think either would be a good starter unit, but you'll quickly find the limitations in both and probably wish you went with a heavier duty machine.

 

[Ynot_UK]

With all these machines, performance is largely influenced by your chosen configuration. Any machine in its most basic form of an engine with just the trays beneath and an output tray is no more than an office printer on steroids.
It's adding the air fed paper decks, QC & relay units, etc. that makes it a production machine. In fact, other than for occasional 80/100GSM A4 copy paper use, I'd say forget the paper trays under the engine.

We've had the KM C4080 for a couple of years now and, whilst there were some early firmware issues - probably to be expected, as ours was the first C4080 in the UK - in terms of the key measurables of registration accuracy, colour consistency, de-curling, duplexing heavy stocks and accepting synthetics, it has delivered 100% The PF-707m air fed paper deck is an absolute must with this machine. Our C4080 is at its best when working hard, and when comparing sheet #1 with sheet #2000 there is no registration nor colour difference to the eye.

We have no Ricoh experience, so I can't benchmark one against the other.

 

[billp]

Appreciate your thoughts - we print & distribute posters - the C1060 has chugged along, & somehow I threw the dice & (finally) got a much needed price breakthru on the C4070, altho the C5300 is still a tad less, we'll stick with what we know, and their Techs, round here, are #1.

Strictly beer err RocknRoll budget....

cheers bill

 

[Shawnd]

Good service is worth its weight in gold when you are down. Does KM offer a program where they will train you how to fix the machine and leave parts onsite? Ricoh does this and it is an absolute game changer for machine uptime if you are handy.

 

[billp]

afaik km dont. And altho i imagine ricoh techs are also good the km techs in sydney are awesome. in 10+ years i dont remember being down longer than 1 nite and usually they are on site in 2-3 hours. when toner was short we used their machines (not having to manually feed long sheets was very convenient).

And no sooner have i whinged about salespersons reneging on verbal agreements & i tell km all systems go (4070), & then ricoh call back, might have a refurb 7200 that will just sneak into our budget, oh man.

ps i heard ricoh are taking orders on C7500...

 

[Ynot_UK]

Good service is worth its weight in gold when you are down. Does KM offer a program where they will train you how to fix the machine and leave parts onsite? Ricoh does this and it is an absolute game changer for machine uptime if you are handy.

They do. From their site:
"Customer Maintenance Service (CMS) Training
Our Customer Maintenance Service training enable print providers and commercial printers to carry out preventive system care, Fully trained key operators will be allowed to change parts without needing any technical assistance from Konica Minolta. Allowing you to maximise your up-time and support your continuity of service for your business."