RICOH AFICIO AP610N TONER CARTRIDGE

Ricoh Aficio AP610N Review

Overview:

The large format Ricoh Aficio AP610N is a fairly simplistic printer designed to do one thing: provide 11 x 17 inch print capabilities in a small, single function piece of print hardware. The device’s built in network card and high print resolution further round out this respectable monochrome printer that successfully achieves its intended product goal.

Pros:

The Ricoh Aficio AP610N’s 35 page per minute print speed is not exactly breaking any records, but still lands the printer in the high performance category, especially for its reasonable price range. The device’s first page out time is also pretty impressive on its own, with the device putting a completed first page in hand in about 6.5 seconds. Printing to larger formats will, or course, result in longer print times, but the device is still competitive in its speed relative to other Ledger sized printers.

With dimensions of 18.8 x 17.2 x 13.5 inches (W x D x H), the Ricoh Aficio AP610N is actually surprisingly small for a large format device. The printer would still sit quite awkwardly on a desktop, but individual use is an option for those with the room. A built in network card makes the printer as easy to share amongst a group as it is to hook up to a single host PC, making it a very inexpensive way to add 11 x 17 inch print capabilities to an entire workgroup or even household.

A warm up time of only 19 seconds furthers the device’s high marks as a speedy little printer, and its paper handling abilities are somewhat remarkable as well. A standard 500 sheet paper tray is good for holding an entire ream of Ledger, letter, or legal sized paper, while an additional 100 sheet multipurpose bypass tray can hold an additional stack of standard paper, or can be used with special media such as envelopes and card stock.

Additional paper trays with 500 sheet capacities can be added to bring the Ricoh Aficio AP610N’s total potential paper supply to 1,600 sheets made up of four paper trays. Incorporating all the trays into the device converts it into quite a tall, floor standing device which, ironically, could help to save space. The unit’s memory is expandable as well by way of a 144 pin DIMM slot that accepts a type C 256 Mb card to boost the unit’s ability to handle complex print material.

Another accessory available for the Ricoh Aficio AP610N is a duplex unit. While it would be nice if the duxplexer was a standard feature, leaving it as an option does help to keep the unit’s initial price tag down. The only other optional piece of hardware of note is an envelope feeder which, though not for everybody, is sure to be a great help to a certain group of buyers.

Cons:

The large format aspect of the Ricoh Aficio AP610N raises its initial price tag considerably. In fact, users who do not require frequent Ledger or Tabloid style printing should literally not give this printer a second glance, as buyers certainly do end up paying for the inclusion of large format compatibility.