Ricoh GX3050N User Manual

RICOH

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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

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 minimal. Our assumption is they’re about equal in terms of speed, and the GX5050N was rated

Sum-up: New laser-quality GelSprinter™ printer

s are outstanding bargains.

1ppm faster to differentiate it as a superior machine for marketing purposes.

Note, however, that as with conventional ink

With Ricoh’s rollout of three new color printers using its revolutionary GelSprinter™ technology, the compan

y has tak

en a major leap in the industry-wide quest to develop inexpensive laser-quality color systems with the

w pur

chase price of

an ink jet printer.

How did Ricoh do it? Ricoh accomplished this with its innovative GelSprinter Liquid Gel™, an ultr

a-quick drying, sunlight-resistant and waterproof liquid, advanced permanent print head tec

or the life of the unit) and a state-of-the-

last f

hnology (guar

anteed to

art Belt Transfer System. These printers are competiti

ve with today’s cutting-edge desktop color laser printers in terms of performance, quality, durability, and perhaps most importantly, consumables costs.

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 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 a

4.5ppm and the GX5050N prints color at

7.5ppm. That’

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, especiall color machines, which are typically notori-

he $279 (street) Ricoh GX3050N Gelsprinter prints at 29ppm using

color ink.

oof

ter

, the GX3000 and GX3050N

s not all. All three machines print at

y when compared to standard ink jet

ousl

y slo

w in g

etting out a fir

page.

his family begins with the base

T model, the GX3000, which has a 200MHz processor and 32MB of

It uses host-based print

memor ing

The GX3050N is virtually the

. same machine, except it has a 400MHz processor, 64MB of memory, and PCL compatibility.

t the

also ad

he GX3050N

T end of

its name implies

as the “N”

standard networking, which is available as an option on the GX3000. The top of this line, the GX5050N, offers a paper capacity

up to 850 sheets (with an

eed

optional 500-sheet pa

per f

unit). The GX3000 and GX3050N

Editor’s

Choice

Reprint

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or Business allo

ws both pr

int and electronic reproduction of this document.

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 banners, 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

efore run “cold,” their print quality isn’t compromised by

ther the wet prints, smudging, or paper misfeeds that can result from the hea machines.

The company is trumpeting the machines’ permanent printhead as an innovation that will contribute to their long life and minimal maintenance. Ricoh claims these printheads

ting process associated with many ink jet

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 estimate 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 viscous ink dries fast, doesn’t smudge, blur, or bleed, and is waterproof.

Ricoh has achieved something truly special with this family of printers. They offer outstanding value for the money,

xcellent speed, crisp quality, and consumables that are

with e at least in line with similarly priced, slower color laser models. They get our Editor’s Choice Award.

pted fr

Excer

Printer Guides

Progressive Business Publications, Inc.

The Color Laser Printer & Business Ink J

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Ricoh GX3050N User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual