Spec Check Reviews

It's been awhile since I had some extra time to write about some of the latest and greatest MFP's from Ricoh.

Just this year Ricoh dropped the old naming convention of MP and replaced it with IM. The IM stands for Intelligent MFP. These new intelligent devices operate with the RICOH Smart Integration platform (RSI).

RSI Remote In

For those of us who have been in the industry for sometime, we can remember having to walk clients through settings on the user screen interface and or helping the client resolve and issue with the copier. I can still remember saying to the client, "Okay, I'm blind and you are my eyes" as I was speaking to them on the phone. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't.  When it didn't meant that it was time to dispatch or tech or I would have to go on-site if it was a user issue.

All of that has now changed the awesome features of RSI.  RSI allows service engineers to connect remotely to the copier, control the operator panel and guide clients in real time!  That's a fantastic feature because the client can have the same type of support for copiers as they have with PC's. Let's remote in baby!

RSI Firmware

Another kick butt feature with RSI is that the copier can check for and download firmware updates Once the download is complete the copier will then start the update process with the latest firmware update.  You may ask what's the benefit to the client?  First there's no need for a tech to be on-site to update the copier(s) which incurs downtime.  Secondly, it facilitates a better client experience. 

Features I Like

Convenience Stapler:  I think I can make the statement that in my almost 40 years in the copier business I've never been able to offer a convenience stapler as an option. In fact I've never been able to offer a convenience stapler standard either other than buying an electric stapler and Velcro the stapler to the copier.

The convenience stapler is offered as an option and has the capability of stapling 20 sheets of paper. We can do a traditional top left hand corner staple or the ability to put two parallel staples at the left margin.  Pretty neat because it creates a document that will open like a book.

Paper Mismatch:  We've all experienced it and we've all hated the experience.  That's when you send legal size print job to the letter size paper tray.  The result is one big pain the butt! I can remember clearing the mis-feed, closing the covers and the same thing happens because the print job is still in the copier.  Thus there was another mis-feed. Eventually we learned to pull out the paper tray before we closed the covers to reset the copier.

Thus this new features will sense the mis-match, feed the sheet out of the copier and then alert the user to change the paper in the tray.

Google Cloud Print Ready: This means that the device is ready to be shared on the web using your Google account.   Once the device is registered on the cloud print platform, users are able to print from any internet connected device. Great feature for a company that has a mobile workforce.

Scanning:  Yay! Single Pass Document Feeder and it couldn't have happened at a better time. Why mention print speeds anymore, most don't care about print or copy speeds.  Especially copy speeds because no one copies anymore!  Letter size will scan at 40 images plus per minute at 200DPI and 80 images per minute at 200DPI.  Note that 200 DPI is fine for scanning text type documents, higher resolution is only needed with very small print or fine lines.  I've always wondered why the scan speed is referred to images and not pages. I'm thinking because one sheet of paper can hold two images one on the front and one on the back.  Someone please correct me if I'm wrong about that.

Built in LED cleaning:  For those not familiar with the term LED it stands for Light Emitting Diodes. For years Oki used LED print technology for their print devices rather than laser.  It's said the LED print technology offers better print resolution. For the life of me I don't see a difference,  however I will take the experts word.  Right, so every time a cover is opened on the MP 430f there's a built-in brush that will clean the LED. Something different and something most reps won't speak about.  Just the reason why you need to mention it.

-=Good Selling=-

It's been sometime since Ricoh introduced the MP 301 (A4 black MFP 30ppm). Five years is a long time to hang on to a model, especially when A4 devices are being introduced left & right.

There's a new kid on the block of A4 devices. Ricoh is now offering the IM 350f (37ppm), IM 430F (43 ppm), and the IM 430fb (45ppm).  All devices come standard with copy, print, fax and color scan.

Anyone can get the speeds and feeds on these devices, but I wanted to dig a little deeper and express what I like about these new Ricoh A4 MFP's.

1. Hard drive is now standard and packs a wallop with a 320GB HDD.

2. All three devices now ship with starter print cartridges. Nine thousand pages for the IM 350F, eleven thousand one hundred pages for the IM 430F and three thousand nine hundred pages for the IM 430Fb.

3. Google Cloud Print equals yippee, I now have another tool in the belt for cloud printing.

4. Ricoh Intelligent Support means that help for support is just a click away. Our support specialists can use remote access to fix issues. In addition we'll be able to operate the Smart Op Panel (GIU) to guide clients in real time for using the device.  How cool is this!

5. Auto firmware updates are awesome also, our new models can periodically check and download the latest updates.  This is big! No more waiting for a tech to arrive to perform updates.

6. Ricoh Smart Integration is another win, win for us. Clients can now get quick access to apps. No longer do we have to talk about speeds and feeds. New discovery questions will lead to increased client satisfaction.

7. I stated I wouldn't mention speeds and feeds, but I'm pretty stoked about the  convenience stapler.  We'll be able to corner staple and book staple.

8. Videos can now be accessed from the Smart Op Panel for how-to maintenance tasks.  Can't wait to demonstrate the video feature, I'm thinking it's going to add quite a bit of sizzle with a demo.

9. Installation Wizard makes it easy for the setup, and network installation. Dang, I could probable do this now.

10. Security equals DataOverwriteSecurity System (DOSS) and Ricoh-only OS helps to provide direction and cushion from OS specific threats. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Security is something we don't talk about enough.  Older devices in the field present a higher security risk to every company. 

Would you allow your iphone not to have the latest security patches? The same thinking should be applied to copiers. I use the security talk track with every client.

There's a ton of other speed and feed improvements for these devices. Maybe another blog in the near future about the speeds and feeds is in order.  Hat's off to Ricoh, we now have a very strong A4 presence with these additions.

If you get some time check out the P4P Hotel forums. I'll be writing some addition comments in the near future.

-=Good Selling=-

It's not often that I'm intrigued by a competitors color MFP.  It was two or three weeks ago when a prospect asked, "what do you know about the Canon C356iF?".  Well, I was kind of embarrassed because I knew nothing about that Canon device. The only thing I could mutter out was that I would have to do some research and get back to them (not good).

It's not like me to not know about my competitors devices, thus I started my quest to know as much as I can about the Canon C356iF. 

I'm not going to address any of the copying features and the reason for that is almost no one copies anymore. I can't remember the last time I visited an account and saw someone at the copier and producing copies.

The Canon C356iF-C256iF is an A4 engine. The device will not support 11x17 for scanning, printing, copying or fax.

Paper Trays

• Supported paper sizes for printing & copying with tray 1 is letter, legal, statement (5.5x8.5), along with envelopes #10, Monarch and DL. Users can also custom size tray to 3-7/8" x 7-1/2" to 8-1/2"x14".
• Supported paper sizes is identical with tray 1 except that the custom size will accept 3-7/8" x 5-7/8"
• Available tray options include Module -AE1 (just a second tray option and has a 550 sheet capacity), Cassette Feeding Unit-AJ1 (550 sheet capacity also includes cabinet for storage) and Cassette Feeding Unit AK1 (adds additional three paper trays with a max capacity of 1,650 sheets).  

While we're on the paper trays, I noticed that both the stack tray and the by-pass tray support envelopes.  Typically envelopes are a little thicker than 20lb bond paper. When looking at the envelope, there is a front, rear and then the flap. Basically you're looking at three sheets of paper. When accounting for the extra thickness of the paper. I'll make mention that one envelope can take up to 6-10 pages of space (envelopes are also puffy, holding air in the space) in the paper tray.  Thus a 100 sheet stack tray (by-pass), will allow the user to only place 10-15 envelopes in that stack tray.   

Printing

• Print speed for C356iF for Black & Color is up to 36 pages per minute for letter and up to 29 pages per minute for legal.  

Did you ever wonder why manufacturers use the words "up to"? There are a variety of reasons, but most have to do with the applications (word, excel, powerpoint, publisher, adobe, etc..) you are using to print those documents.

• Print resolution (dpi) 1200x600
• PDLs for UFR II, PCL 6 and Adobe PS 3 (many other competitors are using a generic post script driver, if you're printing complex pdf's from any graphics programs make sure you have the real deal with Adobe PS3)
• Directing printing from USB, Advanced Box, Remote UI and Web Access* (PDF print from Web sites is supported)

Printing Mobile Devices & Cloud-based Services

• Canon offers a wide range of software and their own MEAP-based solutions to provide printing from mobile devices or internet connected devices.  Need to know more?  Check out https://www.usa.canon.com/mobile-app

Toner Yields

Keep in mind that all toner yields are estimated at 5% coverage. If you're not sure what 5% looks like you can go here. Color coverage would be 20%.

Black cartridge 23,000 pages and Color at 18,000 pages for each color cartridge (Cyan, Magenta & Yellow)

Security

I've stated this over and over to clients with older MFP's. "yes, your current MFP is working fine, however, the security technology is behind the times. Even though your current MFP is only 4 years old the technology for security was developed a year or so prior to the MFP coming to market. You need to be up to date with the latest security advancements with copiers also.

Below is just a few of the security features. You can access the brochure here

• Hard Disk Password Lock
• Hard Disk Erase (great for lease returns)
• Hard Disk Encryption 
• Mailbox Password Protection
• User Authentication
• Encrypted Secure Print
• Secure Print
• Secure Watermark

What Impresses Me

• Color & Black prints speeds of up to 36 pages per minute (xclint speed for an A4 MFP)
• 550 paper trays,  which means you can always add a full ream of paper to the trays.  (one of the items I recommend to my clients especially those at the Jersey Shore is to place a anti-humidity desiccant bags in the paper trays to rid the paper of any moisture)
• Document Feeder capacity rivals some A3 MFPs with a 100 page capacity, in addition the doc feeder will support letter, legal and statement (keep in mind that not all document feeders will support statement size)
• TWAIN scanning or Pull scanning.  It's a great feature to have to import documents into your business line of software
• Single sided scanning at 50 images per minute @300 dpi (this is big since 300 dpi should be the desired scanning resolution when scanning contracts). Most other devices tout their speeds at 200dpi
• Double sided scanning at 100 images per minute.  It's all about the single pass dual scanner. The scanner is scanning both sides of the two sided document in a single pass
• Color 10.1 inch intuitive touchscreen
• Stapler Finisher (500 Sheet capacity and up to 30 sheets of corner stapling)

What I mentioned in this blog is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to specs and features for the new Canon C356/C256IF II A4 devices. 

As reps we always need to take some time to read every page of the brochure. if you have questions than you need to ask them.  The brochure and specs never tell the entire story.

If you're a consumer reading this, please keep in mind that specs can be deceiving at times.  What you read may not be what you comprehend, when in doubt get a hold of a sales person that can give you additional information on this product and the services that they offer.

In closing I had asked some of my Canon peeps to give me a few reasons why they like the Canon C356IF. I only received one back, however I'm hoping some peeps can put some addition info in our reply section.

From @Jason H

"I place these in a large amount of apartment complexes. My developer clients love the small footprint it has. They also love the large screen that comes with it compared to the older models that had the small display (C250/350). Clients love the doc feeder, single pass 100 sheets - I don't know what the competition offers but it's helped me win some deals. Other than those, the price point is what really is attractive. I can sell this for 75.00 a month on 60 months and make good margin."

-=Good Selling=-

It's been some time since I've blogged about a print device and there's a couple of reasons for that.  One is the fact that there has not been a device in recent months that has piqued my interest, and the second reason is that I've tried to enjoy more of my summer evenings and not be tied to a PC.  At my age, you're just not sure how many more summer evenings you're going to have.  Thus, it's time to start enjoying!

The new SP8400DN could prove to be a valuable asset while we're in the process of knocking out competitive devices in the field.  Below you'll find my top five talking points that I will point out to prospects.

1)  If there is no need to copy or scan, but there's a need to print at a high speed then the Ricoh SP8400DN would be an excellent choice.  The print speed rolls in at an astounding sixty pages per minute.  Thus, the SP8400DN can fill some print only workflows in the office.

2) The optional 4-bin mailbox also makes a lot of sense when there are multiple users that need to print to the device.  Just this AM, I grabbed a print job off our work group copier and I was surprised when I picked up another employees bank transactions.  Having your own dedicated print mailbox would eliminate the chance of picking up someone else's print job.

3) Black toner yield of 51,000 pages and the MSRP is $93 for the cartridge.  Thus, the cost per page for toner comes in at .00183 per page. The SP8400DN would be perfect under a "device billing" maintenance plan. Not sure what device billing is?  Post a comment in the reply section and I can tell you more about that.

4) Internal Multi-Folding Unit FD3000 allows for Z-Fold, Half-Fold & Tri-Folding with the options for folding the printed side in or out.  The FD3000 can be installed with or with out a finisher. In addition the device can fold letter, legal and tabloid size paper.  The folding settings can be viewed and changed from the SP8400DN printer properties settings or in the detailed settings page that is located on the tablet style interface of the device. 

5) Hybrid 1,000-sheet Staple/Stapleless Finisher is interesting to say the least.  In order for clients to take advantage of stapleless finishing, clients could only purchase a stapleless finishing device.  There was no option to have stapleless and staple finishing in the same device.  That's changed with the new Hybrid finisher.  Clients can now choose whether the want staples or to use the stapleless feature.  Please keep in mind that the stapleless option will only bind (stapleless) documents between 2-5 pages.

There you have, five really cool items to have a conversation with your client(s) for the new Ricoh SDP8400DN printer.

One more neat feature for you

The mandatory security information print can be a great selling feature also.  Especially for those administrators that want to control security for all of those printed pages.   With the mandatory security print turned on, the SP8400DN will lay down a security stamp on every printed page.  Data such as time, date, owner, IP address and serial number of the device can be stamped on every printed page.  Nice way to deter from distributing secure information.

-=Good Selling=

Over the last few months, I've been able get up close and personal with the Epson WorkForce C20590.  I'm a fan and a believer that this device and others like it will be a better fit for Enterprise accounts.

Keep in mind that this is a spec check and by the time this device comes to market (soon) that some specifications may change.

Scanning

• Color Scanning
• Dual head, single pass scanner means that you can scan duplex (two sided) documents in a single pass up to 110ipm (images per minute)
• Maximum scan resolution is 9600 dpi
• Scan to PC (USB & Network)
• Scan to cloud
• Scan to email
• Scan to network folder
• Scan to memory card and flash drive
• Scan to PDF
• Density adjustment
• Remove shadows/punch holes

Almost everything you'd ever want in a color scanner right? But wait, there's even more!

• The optical resolution is 1200 dii
• Max scan bed size is 11.7"x17"
• ADF simplex scan speed is 60 ipm (images per minute)

Printing

• Who can argue with 10o letter sizes pages a minute in full color & black!
• Maximum print resolution is 600x2400
• PrecisionCore 4-color drop-on-demand line head ink technology (pretty cool technology, the print head is stationary and the paper moves under the print head)
• Print features include simplex (dingle sided), duplex (two sided), collating, rotate-sort, mixed paper sizes, secure printing, watermark and poster printing (I would love to see the poster print, thinking this might be a neat feature for 13x19 in house signage).

Copying

• Maximum Copy size is 13x19
• Maximum Copy resolution is 600x1200
• Device can produce up to 999 copies at a setting
• Additional copy features included ID Copy, collate, auto reduction and enlargement, fit to page (unique feature), automatic one sided to two sided, adjustable copy density, one sided to two sided, two sided to one sided, two sided to two sided. 
• Adjustments for density, contrast, color, sharpness, text enhancement and mixed size originals

Some really nice features for copying, but who copies anymore?  I can't remember the last time I made a copy and I'm in the business.

Connectivity

• SuperSpeed USB 3.0
• Wireless (now this is something you don't get as a standard feature in most A3 MFP devices)
• Wi-Fi Direct
• Ethernet 1000Base-T/100Base-TX/10Base-T
• NFC (near field communications)
• Operating systems Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7  (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows XP SP3 (32-bit), Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2016, Mac OSX 10.6.8 - mas OS 10.12.x

INK

• DURABrite Pro pigment ink
• 5 individual cartridges (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black x2)
• Fade resistance and print longevity is up to 84 years (that's pretty incredible number of years)
• Replacement ink cartridge yield for black and color is 50,000 pages

ECO Features

• Uses up to 50% less power than color laser printers
• Saves up to 50% of your paper with automatic two sided printing
• Energy Star qualified
• RoHS compliant

There are many additional features for the Epson WorkForce C20590. If you'd like to glean additional data, I suggest you go here for the press release from Epson.

-=Good Selling=-