Konica Minolta bizhub C224
22ppm color & black and white
Konica Minolta bizhub C284
28ppm color & black and white
Konica Minolta bizhub C364
36ppm color & black and white
Sum-up: Impressive office copier-MFPs with some of the features of higher-end machines.
The new Konica Minolta bizhub C224, C284, and C364 succeeds the older C220 series. These newer models feature Konica Minolta’s recently-launched INFO-Palette Design control panel, which consist of a 9″ color screen that has a touch-and-swipe functionality commonly found on mobile devices. You can customize commonly-used workflows right on the screen. Also new to this family is an increased scanning speed on their optional document feeders – the single-pass dual-scan document feeder scans up to 160ppm duplex.
This family consists of three members:
* The bizhub C224 prints and copies at 22ppm. It has a list price of $9,500 and a maximum monthly duty cycle of 80,000 pages per month.
* The C284 runs at 28ppm and has a list price of $11,140. Konica Minolta rates it for a maximum monthly duty cycle of 100,000 pages.
* The C364 runs at 36ppm and has a list price of $14,700. Konica Minolta rates it for a maximum monthly duty cycle of 125,000 pages.
These MFPs offer standard copying, printing, and scanning, along with optional faxing. The C224 uses an 800MHz controller, while the C284 and C364 have a clock rate of 1GHz. All three models come with 2GB of memory and a 250GB hard disk drive. PostScript and PCL printing support are standard. USB and Ethernet are supported. The upgraded Emperon controller controls the copy, print, and scan functionality. The one exception is fax, which is handled by a separate controller board.
Paper handling: The machines have dual 500-sheet paper cassettes, and a 150-sheet bypass unit — all standard. All the standard paper drawers are heavy-duty. The 500-sheet cassettes support 11″ x 17″ paper and handle up to 140lb. index in weight. The bypass handles paper up to 100lb. cover (over 150lb. index).
You have the option of adding a single 500-sheet tray ($913), two additional 500-sheet trays ($1,191), or a 2,500-sheet large-capacity tray ($1,402). Maximum paper capacity with options is 3,650 sheets.
In addition to a flatbed platen for scanning, these models offer a 100-sheet reversing document feeder (RADF) which allows you to scan up to 80 sheets per minute. Note that the feeder is optional and lists for $1,631. You can also purchase a single-pass dual-scan document feeder for $1,802.
On the output side, there’s a standard 250-sheet tray. Beyond that, there are several options.
First, there is an internal finisher that features 50-sheet multiposition stapling for $1,553. It holds 300 pages. You can add a 2/3-hole punch unit.
Secondly, there is an external finisher ($1,855) that also performs 50-sheet multiposition stapling and has a 200-sheet upper tray and a 3,000-sheet main tray. To that basic finishing unit, you can a 2/3-hole punch unit. The external finisher can also be equipped with a booklet maker with saddlestitching for $1,450. This latter unit can staple up to 80 pages and support tri-folding.
Functions: The machines support scan-once/print-many copying and full electronic collation. They also have a User Box function that allows you to store scanned documents on the models’ 250GB hard drive using a series of mailboxes. You can create up to 1,000 user boxes on the hard drive and hold up to 3,000 documents in total. The user boxes can be assigned by user or group, and they can be password protected.
The models come standard with printing and scanning, including scan-to-email as well as scan-to-user-box, USB drive, FTP, and several other formats. LDAP addressing is standard. Scanning allows you to produce files in a variety of formats, including encrypted PDF and compact PDF. The optional faxing function is supported by a 33.6kbps modem with JBIG compression.
Security features are extensive. They include hard disk encryption, job encryption, watermarks, IP filtering, secure print, encrypted PDF, and secure fax. An improved job logging system is included as well. Optional copy guard is offered. These MFPs make use of IPv6, the latest version of the Internet protocol, which makes for improved job sending with added security.
An optional Fiery IC-412 image controller ($4,500) is also available for the C284 and C364 models. This controller has a 2.6GHz processor, 2GB of memory, and a 160GB hard disk drive. It includes Adobe PostScript, excellent workflow tools and color management tools. It adds features like color profiles, hot folders, and defined workflows that can add to productivity. You can also upgrade those with EFI’s imposition software and professional color control software.
Conclusion: Konica Minolta continues to improve its already strong color copier/MFP line with frequent upgrades, especially utilizing its newest INFO-Palette design. These powerful and nicely featured models are well worth considering for a small-to-midsize workgroup. We give the C224, C284, and C364 our Editor’s Choice Award.
http://betterbuys.com/konica-m...-choice-award-review
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