Choosing between ricoh mp6000 and ikon 550 or 650

I have a commercial printing shop and I started running small digital work on a ricoh aficio c811dn. I really have enjoyed the machine for the most part, but soon figured out I was running way too many clicks for the machine. I want an ikon 550 with a efi fiery (hope I spelled that correctly). Ricoh has me on a lease and of course it would be easier to stay with them. Does anyone have experience with the ricoh mp6000. My fear is if I get that machine, it will some of the same problems I have with the c811 dn, streaks, and it does not duplex gloss text consistently at all. It also will only run a brand that is twice as high as our house brand that other digital printers are running. It streaks bad on matte or dull paper after 20 to 100 sheets also depending on the drum conditions. I really want to make the right decision for a step up that we can afford. A machine in the 50 to 60k range. Any help from a commercial printer would be greatly appreciated.

 

Just getting Ikon 550 sample prints myself. I like the fact that it can handle 12 x 18 with ease for full bleed 11 x17 output. I'm surprised the ricoh seems limited to 11 x17 from the drawers and if I'm reading it right with an image area of 11 x 17 even from larger sheets from the bypass, so no margin to cut? That pretty much rules out the Ricoh for me.
I don't do much thick paper right now but customers always ask for it, so I like the CPP 550's ability to run heavier stocks too. And the CCP's larger than 12 x 18 sheet size acceptance is an added bonus. I also like the fact that it should be quite economical to run giving me an incentive to find new jobs to run on it.

 

MPC6000 specs

Thanks for your thoughts. I have run the 550 at our local dealer and it is great. Solids are greats on the machine and I have run all types of paper through it. They are really pushing to sale these right now also. I just hope the ricoh buyout does not affect the service prices later down the road. I do think the trays have the ability to take a 12 x 18 sheet on the ricoh but will not handle the thicker stocks like the ikon. So you can get the bleeds on the 11 x 17. They also will be throwing in a large capacity tray that is air assisted which the ikon isn't. The ricoh will handle 12pt. through the large capacity tray or bypass. I want the ikon, but I also wonder if the I shouldn't consider a xerox docucolor 242? It seems like there are good reviews on that machine and they have some good deals right now also. The brochure is not clear on the mpc 6000, but I have seen the 7500 and I think it is the same with the trays holding 12 x 18.

 

Re: the ricoh: Thanks for the correction -- I was confused by a pdf brochure but I see that the website overview table too says 12 x 18 14 lb. Bond - 80 lb. Cover from the drawers on the Ricoh now (makes sense, phew!) What does it mean when it says "Maximum Image Area Up to 11" x 17" though? Is that just for copying from the glass? I assume the maximum image area on a 12 x 18 sheet must be 11.5 x 17.5 or or slightly smaller but enough for easy bleeds from the RIP?

I honestly just started looking at the Ricoh models out of curosity when I heard of the Ricoh Ikon purchase... my first fear was the same as you mention: if Ricoh now controls Ikon will canon and KM still provide the same deals / support to a company controlled by their competitor? I suspect though that Ikon has all the R&D support they need from KM at this point and their techs are already fully up to speed on it. And I suspect even if Ricoh ultimately wants to convert the majority of Ikon customers over to Ricoh machines in the decade to come they'll have to keep everyone happy and not lose them to xerox for example. So I think I'll continue looking at the KM 550. I'm curious how good the registration is and how nice the samples look compared to our existing lower-end canon color imagerunners -- looking forward to seeing the samples any day now.

Can't comment on the xerox as we don't have a local xerox service agent so xerox is a no-go here (almost got a 3535 5 years ago and then learned there would be essentially no service on it here). Hopefully someone else will jump into the conversation.

 

P.S. I am curious how good the "enhanced gloss modes" of the Xerox 242 are.

 

242

I have been to a demo of the machine about a year ago. It was impressive, but there was a lack of knowledge on the production front from the people there. With ikon, I have a guy that owned his own printshop and knows what I am looking for. So I will see if xerox has changed at all here anyway. The ricoh I have now is an office machine, but it has been surprisingly good for postcards and business cards. It looks great on the kromecote stock.

 

good information