Ricoh Aficio GX3050N User Manual

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Buyer’s Guide for Office Equipment

Ricoh Aficio GX3000

Ricoh Aficio GX3050N

29ppm color

29ppm black & white

Ricoh Aficio GX5050N

30ppm color

30ppm black & white

Sum-up: New laser-quality GelSprinter™

printers are outstanding bargains.

With Ricoh’s rollout of three new color print-

ers using its revolutionary GelSprinter™ tech-

nology, the company has taken a major leap

in the industry-wide quest to develop inex-

pensive laser-quality color systems with the

low purchase price of an ink jet printer.

How did Ricoh do it? Ricoh accomplished

this with its innovative GelSprinter Liquid

Gel™, an ultra-quick drying, sunlight-resist-

ant and waterproof liquid, advanced perma-

nent print head technology (guaranteed to

last for the life of the unit) and a state-of-the-

art Belt Transfer System. These printers are

competitive with today’s cutting-edge desktop

color laser printers in terms of performance,

quality, durability, and perhaps most impor-

tantly, consumables costs.

Just look at the specs: the $199 Aficio

GX3000 and $279 Aficio GX3050N print at

29ppm in color and black-and-white, while

the $369 Aficio GX5050N prints at 30ppm in

color and black-and-white. The difference

between print speeds of these models is mini-

mal. Our assumption is they’re about equal in

terms of speed, and the GX5050N was rated

1ppm faster to differentiate it as a superior

machine for marketing purposes.

Note, however, that as with conventional ink

jet printers, these ratings are for draft quality

(about 300 x 150dpi quality). Still, the speeds

for higher quality levels are good: at 600 x

300dpi quality, the GX3000 and GX3050N

print in color at 8.5ppm and the while the

GX5050N prints in color at 15.5ppm speed;

in high quality mode (1,800 x 600dpi quality),

the GX3000 and GX3050N print color at

4.5ppm and the GX5050N prints color at

7.5ppm.

That’s not all. All three machines print at

native 1,200dpi resolution, which can be

interpolated up to 3,600 x 1,200dpi. First

print speed is under 9 seconds for the GX3000

and GX3050N, and 6 seconds for the

GX5050N. Those are exceptional ratings,

especially when compared to standard ink jet

color machines, which are typically notori-

ously slow in getting out a first

page.

This family begins with the base

model, the GX3000, which has a

200MHz processor and 32MB of

memory. It uses host-based print-

ing. The GX3050N is virtually the

same machine, except it has a

400MHz processor, 64MB of

memory, and PCL compatibility.

The GX3050N, as the “N” at the

end of its name implies, also adds

standard networking, which is

available as an option on the

GX3000. The top of this line, the

GX5050N, offers a paper capacity

of up to 850 sheets (with an

optional 500-sheet paper feed

unit). The GX3000 and GX3050N

RICOH