RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Grumpo]

I have been in the office machine&nbsp;business for about 25 years, and have worked on several different brands of copiers and MFP's. The one manufacture that I have a problem with is RICOH! I have worked on Ricoh machines in the past and thought they were crap then, but I was also young and inexperienced then, and thought that over the years they would improve, well I was WRONG, they haven't gotten any better and what they thought worked back then still doesn't work today. For example: the toner adding system on most of there machines still uses a bottle and a paddle&nbsp;mechanism to deliver the toner to the toner hopper, I have had more customer complain about having to handle the toner bottle and getting toner all over them, most of you Ricoh techs know what I'm talking about,and this applies to color and b&amp;w machines. Some of their machines use tubes and toner pumps to get the toner where it's supposed to go but usually winds up in the machine all over the front door or the toner add system&nbsp;doesn't work at all and you have to go through a long procedure to get it back to normal. Most manufacturers have gone to a sealed toner cartridge where the customer just slides out the old one and slides in the new one "no fuss no muss".&nbsp;<br><br>A lot of the manufactures have also gone to modular&nbsp;design, so for us techs it saves time in the field, less time the machine is down for maintenance, the happy the customer is, and the more copies that are&nbsp;being&nbsp;made witch means more&nbsp;profit&nbsp;for our bosses/owners. Example: one&nbsp;particular machine Ricoh has(and it's a new model) has a web roller to clean the fuser,( as does other manufactures machines&nbsp but it doesn't take 45 minutes to an hour to replace it, and that doesn't include the rebuilding of the fuser unit.<br><br>Anyway, I know other manufacturers machines are no picnic either but it just seems to me that the ricoh machines have more issues and problems with the things that the other&nbsp;manufactures have overcome or&nbsp;re-engineered.&nbsp;<br><br>So if any one is having the same issues ( or any issues ) or feels the same way I do about Ricoh machines let me know!<img src="http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/images/smilies/mad.png" border="0" alt="" title="Mad" smilieid="8" class="inlineimg">&nbsp;<br><br>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br><br>

[ptrflrs]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

why so grumpy grumpo? think job security, its all good. they all have their weak points and their strong points. i have only been working on ricohs about 5 years and i find them easy to work on -messy? yes but for the most part easy.

[rav555]

[Ianizer]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bad attitudes, bad attitudes.
Tsk tsk tsk
Wish I still had a B023 to play with.
-I

[fixthecopier]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel ya brother. i am a Konica tech and we sell the Ricoh line. They are cheap pieces of crap, but they are sometimes easy to work on. I guess if it is all you work on it is OK, but if you have a better brand, the Ricoh starts to look like crap. When I had 2 contracts on base, I had 1000 machines. At the end of one of the contracts, the 650 machines for that contract were 7 year old Minolta's, and my second contract was 300 2 year old Konicas. Once a month I would handle all service on the 1000 plus machines while the other guy did meters on the 650 old machines. The big contract went to a competitor who placed Ricoh's out here. That contract is now 2 years old and has swelled to 1000 machines. My competitor has 3 full time techs, sometimes a 4th, an I.T. person and a lot of times I see a field supervisor out there to smooth out problems. This is all to cover the same amount of machines I was doing myself. Oh, and they bought a giant UPS style truck to fill with supplies and park in the middle of the territory so they do not have to make the 10 minute ride to the shop. The 330 Konica Bizhubs I have left are 3 years old and I may get 4 or 5 work orders a week on them. Sadly I have to spend my extra time working on Ricoh's. If you go into it knowing they are cheap, it may help. Yesterday I learned that Ricoh will use plastic as bushings on fusers. Plastic bushings wear out and the pressure roller loses pressure. Never had that on a Konica.

Also try not to intimidate your Ricoh by staring at it, as I have had parts fall off by looking at it wrong!

[prntrfxr]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started out in Ricoh machines. They were great. At the time, I was also working on Toshiba's. I would have to have half my body in a machine (clamshell type) to rebuild a fuser and Ricoh fusers came out and you could rebuild them on a table in a comfortable chair. I'm not saying they were the best built, mind you, and they have their weak points just like everyone else, but I would never say they were difficult to work on. You should try working on a Canon. You sure you aren't working for a competitor of Ricoh trying to give them a bad name?

[Hemlock]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You sure you aren't working for a competitor of Ricoh trying to give them a bad name?

Look at the formatting of the post, the unsupported tags; I'm thinking this was a hit job that someone created and plans to copypasta across the web rather than one of our own simply venting.

Bad form, Grumpo!

[Grumpo]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just to ease the conspiracy theory copier brotherhood....this was not a hit. I in fact work for a Ricoh dealer. But having been in the field for 25 years and extended experience on many brands of machines, this was a vent.
This was in no way intended to crush anyone's love affair with Ricoh. I say to each his own. I was merely observing some of the workings of the machines that are less than efficient. Other brands have been guilty of some of the same flaws but have dealt with or overcome these issues as I stated before.
A shout of congratulations to HEMLOCK for so eloquently pointing out "Look at the formatting of the post, the unsupported tags;" I do have to point out you didn't catch your misspelling of "copypasta" unless this is a new term that I am unaware of, if so, thank you for the 411.
This was simply a venue for me to state my opinions based on my experience as allowed by my constitutional rights. I had no idea there would be a test for my knowledge regarding the usage of this site. Geez...good thing not every reply came with a twist in their panties.
@fixthecopier...yes, I did stare at a Ricoh one day...that kind of deep, deer in the headlights, wth (what the hell) kind of stare. It suddenly shut down completely and....hey, how did you know about that??

[Hemlock]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do have to point out you didn't catch your misspelling of "copypasta" unless this is a new term that I am unaware of, if so, thank you for the 411.

copypasta

[Lagonda]

Re: RICOH!.. may I say a word in their defence?

After 25 years of working on the Big Red R I've just gone numb to all their bad points.

However I'd rather work with Ricoh Tech Support then with any other brand we have to deal with. I'm on first name bases with all the guys that matter in Ricoh Oz head office, all the way from the storeman to Dealer Support Manager. If I have a problem, it may take a while, but someone will get back to me with some information to point me in the right direction.

If I have dramas with HP or Lexmark I dread ringing their helpdesk knowing I'm going to end up in a third division country trying to explain a complex problem to someone that hasn't got english as their first language. And as for waiting for them to get back to me, don't hold your breath.

[fixthecopier]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ricoh are easy to work on, which is good as they get worked on a lot.
If Ricoh uses 2 screws to hold a piece on, Konica and Cannon Probably use 12 screws.
Some things should not be made of plastic
I will give props to the small tabletop copier, the 1515 and newer versions of it, are the best tabletop copier I have seen.
Ricoh color drums for printers fail at a higher rate than others I have used.
Tech support in America is 50/50 shot, some good, some not so good.
I have never had so many broken plastic parts as are on new Ricohs
Yes it is job security, but that can backfire. Customer sees techs too much, goes shopping for a new brand.

[Hemlock]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really, the only complaint I have is that my two (C900, 1357) are a bitch to get paper jams out of. Made for much smaller hands than mine.

[Mark Bbb]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grumpo,
sorry for you, but i think you are a lazy technician and not creative!
One must learn how to resolve problems on a Ricoh.
Aficio 3030 is the best machine ever bilt for technicians! mp4000, at start was a big disaster, but noweday it runs much better.
mpc2800, best you can get! mpc2050 is a little bit tricky with thick paper, that's true...
I service Ricoh now for 25 years, perhaps there are better brands, but our clients are very satisfied about the Ricoh machines.
Again, if you haven't got the knowledge to service a Ricoh, you are nowhere, you will never get your customar be satisfied. Indeed then it is easy to put the blaim on Ricoh... and that is precisily what you are doing here!
You must learn carefully about the Ricoh problems and think them over. I usually write down all the facts i know about the problem, and read it over again and again, it helps.
Greetings,
Mark

[copymutt]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not bragging, but I think I've more time & front line Ricoh technical than most here. I wrote the P.M. procedure for the liquid 750/770 back in 1973. When Xrox's patents expired I got one of the first two Savin 300's to come in from Japan. Started taking out the extra 5 fusing rollers & sticking felt wicks near the coronas to block the toner clouds in the drum cavity. Talk about a P.O.S. I did receive over $1200.00 bonuses for improving the machine. Any tech that made it through the life cycle of this product deserves a soilid gold star.

Fast forward to today. Ricoh still has a bass akwards toner system. Worse is what they have done to the dealer community. They set out to destroy as many dealers as they could by undercutting prices through direct competition and giving away the service below cost.. They were so successful at this that Cannon is now emulating their plan. As a result my dealership contract was not renewed, no reason given. I have some great memories of working w/ Hamonoson, Suzukison, & other international engineers & R&D but a very bitter,sour taste for any calling the shots in marketing & distribution. Direct control over every placement w/o the dealer is the goal & they are close to achieving this grand scheme. So goes all things technical. Any one want to buy a still profitable copier business in a wonderful town?

[allan]

Re: RICOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grumpo,
sorry for you, but i think you are a lazy technician and not creative!
One must learn how to resolve problems on a Ricoh.
Aficio 3030 is the best machine ever bilt for technicians! mp4000, at start was a big disaster, but noweday it runs much better.
mpc2800, best you can get! mpc2050 is a little bit tricky with thick paper, that's true...
I service Ricoh now for 25 years, perhaps there are better brands, but our clients are very satisfied about the Ricoh machines.
Again, if you haven't got the knowledge to service a Ricoh, you are nowhere, you will never get your customar be satisfied. Indeed then it is easy to put the blaim on Ricoh... and that is precisily what you are doing here!
You must learn carefully about the Ricoh problems and think them over. I usually write down all the facts i know about the problem, and read it over again and again, it helps.
Greetings,
Mark

Put a Konica Minolta B350 up agains the AF3030 i work on both. Compare running cost aswell. AF 3030 is a good machine KM B350 is better?. Draw backs on the B350 where the AF3030 is beter is on fuser rebuilds, clutch replacement and feed wheel inatalation. B350 has got a milion screws in it, but its mutch cheaper to run.

My favorite Ricoh must be the MP6500 but then again compare that with a BH B601. The machines i worked on that feels like a good middel ground is Kyocera Mita machines i took a liking to those 3500i machines.