Is a RICOH MPC 2500 the right one for us?

[frederik]

Hi All,

I'am working on a company that has quite some demanding tasks regarding printing color prints.
I think we need to print about 30,000 - 50,000 high quality prints a year, this is an estimation, but I think I'am quite close.
Most important about these prints are that they need to be high quality, without any errors.
We had always a Ricoh Aficio 1224 C for this, but thats not the right machine for the job, it has more problems than it prints (often stripes over the color prints).
The Ricoh Aficio 220 ran always without problems, but is getting more and more problems due to aging (its 6 years old, and creases the paper now now and then).
The Ricoh Aficio 1224C has a four pass color print engine (each sheet of paper needs to cycle 4 times through the printer to produce one colour print), so printing goes slow too.
We have another older Ricoh Aficio, a 220 to print black and white and to fax.
We are about to replace both eventually with a Ricoh MPC 2500 with a fax module, which is also sold as Nashuatec MPC 2500.
As far I know this printer is a single pass print engine so it should be more suitable for high volume printing, but I've not found this in the specifications of the printer. I would like to know that for sure.
Its advertised to us by our printing vendor now, but I would like to know just bit more about experiences with this printer, and the color print quality, its durability and if it is really a single pass printer (four drums for each color one, so that printing color goes as fast as printing black and white).

With Kind Regards,

Frederik

[unisys12]

Frederik,

The MPC2500 is a really good machine, no doubt. To answer your questions about the machine being single pass, thus making it suitable for higher volumes. No! The machine being single pass color will not affect weather the machine is suitable for higher volumes. This machine is rated for around 10 - 15K a month, so I think you are well within range on the machine. Given the 220, combined with the current color machine doesn't do about the same in b/w. Although we had one customer run 21k, b/w, in one day on a savin 3030 (ricoh 3000). Only problem they had was the machine ran out of toner.

As for the high quality prints. Yes! This machine spits out some great prints. Of course to get the best quality prints, get a rim of 28lb Bond (might have to use a converter on that for the weight in your country). The difference is amazing. Expensive, but worth it for your higher quality stuff. If your customer is going to be as picky as you said, the 2500 is good, but the 3500 is even better. This model supports 4-bit printing, buy selecting "fine" in the print driver. On regular paper, the prints are great! On 28lb bond, mind blowing... if the picture is a high enough resolution to take advantage of it. Most of time though, this will only be found with digital photos or high resolution scans.

To take your printing to the next level though... Get a 3500EFI. From here, I can only tell you what I was told in school, because our class did not have a machine with a Fiery controller attached. But this family of machines really takes better advantage of the Fiery than any other machine we sell in this price range.

Our dealership recently upgraded a print shop from a Savin 413c with a Savin 3535 w/o the EFI and the customer is happy. He runs around 10-15k a month in color, with no problems. He is limited though to the types of paper stock he can run in the machine though. None of these machines are going to perform well with heavier stock paper. They can run it and are rated for it, but you will give up some reliability with large runs. We personally have never pushed one to failure, but after playing around with the driver settings, we were able to produce some really good single prints on even Kromecoat paper.

Only other example, from our dealership, I can think of is a law office that has a 2525. They run somewhere around 20k a month, b/w and color combined. The PM cycles come quickly, but if the tech has what he needs on hand, it's not an issue. The customer doesn't mind, because the sales person informed them before the purchase of the situation. This was a case were the law firm needed a 6045, because of their volume of printing, but couldn't afford it. But, the 2525 has run great and holds it's own. Bear in mind that the customer uses plain paper and for the nicer stuff, 28lb bond.

Hope some of my rambling helps. Any other questions, give me a holla!

[Cipher]

A MP C2500 is in a completely different league, it's everything the crappy Aficio 1224C isn't.

The MP Cxxx range are nice machines.

[frederik]

Hi Unisis and Daz,

Thanks for your reply's. The 2500 MPC sounds great to me.
28 lb bond = 105 gr/m2 for metrics like us.
Unisys, I would only like to know you mean with PM cycles come quickly.

W.K.Regards,

Frederik

[unisys12]

Unisys, I would only like to know you mean with PM cycles come quickly.

W.K.Regards,

Frederik

A PM cycle is the number copies/prints a particular item can perform before it is suggested to be replaced. Example; The PM cycle for the drums in the 2500 is 50k. So that means that after 50k prints or copies the drum unit, for that color, should be replaced.

If you have a customer that runs an average of 10k b/w and month and 2k color a month. You could conclude that a tech will have to visit the account every 4 months to change the black drum unit and the color units would have to be replaced every 20 months. Ask a tech at your dealer and they might be able to explain this better than my example above.

This, for me anyway, is the easiest way to dictate what a high volume machine is when comparing two machines together. Using machines already mentioned in our conversation - A 2500's fuser is rated at a 160k PM cycle where as the 3260's fuser is rated at a 600k PM cycle. Which machine would you rather put in an account that is going to be running 100k+ a month? ---- See what I mean?

Hope this helps.

[Paper_Jam]

The Ricoh Aficio 1224C has a four pass color print engine (each sheet of paper needs to cycle 4 times through the printer to produce one colour print), so printing goes slow too.

While this machine is a true piece of shit, the paper still only moves thru once.

[Cipher]

A PM cycle is the number copies/prints a particular item can perform before it is suggested to be replaced. Example; The PM cycle for the drums in the 2500 is 50k. So that means that after 50k prints or copies the drum unit, for that color, should be replaced.

PM cycle is 80k / 160k on the MPCxxxx range.
That's well within tolorence for a estimated 30k - 50k a year.

I don't rate the Aficio 3260 it has some limitations and problems for a machine in it's price and volume class imho.

[frederik]

Hi Unisys and others,

Thank for your reply's. Maybe its due to that my native laguage is Dutch and due to that I didn't realize that PM is probably periodical mainenance.

Paperjam wrote:
While this machine is a true piece of shit, the paper still only moves thru once.

Please explain me then how it can print colour with only a single drum for all colours, I'am thinking it moves the paper along the single drum 4 times, one time for Yellow, one time for Cyan, one time for Magenta and one time for black, this is different with the single pass print engines imo who have for each color one drum, so the way the paper has to go is shorter, and the printing can go more fast?

With Kind Regards,

Frederik

[unisys12]

PM cycle is 80k / 160k on the MPCxxxx range.
That's well within tolorence for a estimated 30k - 50k a year.

God! Your right Daz! I was totally wrong there, so thanks for correcting me.

I don't rate the Aficio 3260 it has some limitations and problems for a machine in it's price and volume class imho.

I agree. We only have one of these in the field and the first year, I had a horrible time with paper handling issues and fusing. But then Gator told me about turning off the paper type detect and double sheet feed detect features and it has been smooth sailing from then on.

[Paper_Jam]

Hi Unisys and others,

Thank for your reply's. Maybe its due to that my native laguage is Dutch and due to that I didn't realize that PM is probably periodical mainenance.


Please explain me then how it can print colour with only a single drum for all colours, I'am thinking it moves the paper along the single drum 4 times, one time for Yellow, one time for Cyan, one time for Magenta and one time for black, this is different with the single pass print engines imo who have for each color one drum, so the way the paper has to go is shorter, and the printing can go more fast?

With Kind Regards,

Frederik

First of all it doesn't have a single drum. It uses a PCU with two belts one of the belts is the transfer belt where the image is made ready to transfer to the paper.