Ricoh Aficio GX3050N - Manual (Page 2)

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offer up to 250 sheets (with the 100-sheet multi-bypass tray).
All three machines have a optional 100-sheet bypass tray that
can handle various paper stocks and sizes including
envelopes, postcards, transparencies, glossy paper, and ban-
ners, and up to 68lb. stock. This tray can handle sheets up to
51" in length for banners. The standard maximum paper size
is 8-1/2" x 14".
Ricoh will distribute these machines through its regular
dealer network, but also will increase its market penetration
by selling them (and their supplies) through retailer CDW
(www.cdw.com). That’s a significant change for Ricoh,
which typically has only sold its consumables through Ricoh
dealers.
As the “Gelsprinter” name implies, these machines use a
thicker, gelatin-like ink that is conveyed by the machines’
print head as droplets via two rows of nozzles. Since the
droplets are larger than those of a conventional ink jet
machine, they fill in images better. Since these machines
don’t need to heat up the gel to convey it to the paper and
therefore run “cold,” their print quality isn’t compromised by
the wet prints, smudging, or paper misfeeds that can result
from the heating process associated with many ink jet
machines.
The company is trumpeting the machines’ permanent print-
head as an innovation that will contribute to their long life
and minimal maintenance. Ricoh claims these printheads
will never need replacing, and due to the durability of their
nozzles, their quality won’t decline over time.
Ricoh hasn’t announced consumables prices, but we esti-
mate black pages will run around 2.2¢ apiece, while color
pages will cost about 13¢ each. They compare favorably with
those of color laser desktop machines this family’s price
range.
In fact, these GelSprinter machines stack up very well
against similarly priced competing color laser printers, such
as the $399 OKI C3400n, which prints at 16ppm in color
with consumables costs of nearly 18¢ a page, or the $299
Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet 1600, which prints at 8ppm
in color and costs 15.5¢ per color page for consumables.
The ink is noteworthy for being a step above much of the
conventional ink used by ink jet printers. The GelSprinter vis-
cous ink dries fast, doesn’t smudge, blur, or bleed, and is
waterproof.
Ricoh has achieved something truly special with this fami-
ly of printers. They offer outstanding value for the money,
with excellent speed, crisp quality, and consumables that are
at least in line with similarly priced, slower color laser mod-
els. They get our Editor’s Choice Award.
Excerpted from The Color Laser Printer & Business Ink Jet
Printer Guides, volume 188, November, 2006. © 2006
Progressive Business Publications, Inc.