RICOH AFICIO MPC3000 COLOR TONER CARTRIDGES SET

Ricoh Aficio MPC3000 Review

Overview:

With 30 pages per minute of print and copy speed and full color multifunctionality, it really is just the Ricoh Aficio MPC3000’s poor print quality that keeps it from being a top notch color laser device. The unit, which is now quite old as far as the standards for technology go, is still competitive in the areas of expandability, speed, and versatility. Unfortunately it just cannot hold a candle to the newer 1200 dpi color laser MFCs that are not only available now, but similarly priced.

Pros:

With a color print speed of up to 30 pages per minute, it is tough to beat the Ricoh Aficio MPC3000 as far as color print performance goes. The device also boasts a full color first page out time of only 9.7 seconds, while black and white prints will be ready in 6.7 seconds. It cannot be argued that the machine is fast, which is why it’s even more of a shame that its maximum print quality is so low.

A major bonus to the Ricoh Aficio MPC3000’s feature set and one that is not often seen in inexpensive color multifunctional units is its ability to print to oversized paper. Copies can be made on the device in 11 x 17 inch and 12 x 18 inch formats, though the device’s copy glass is only 11 x 17 inches. The built in 50 page automatic document feeder also takes a maximum paper size of up to 11 x 17 and all the way down to as small as 5.5 x 8.5 inch. Anything smaller will have to be scanned by hand, using the document glass.

There are various paper handling expansion options to supplement the already sufficient paper storage specifications of the device. A 1,000 sheet finisher is available to bring the Ricoh Aficio MPC3000’s paper output capacity from 500 sheets up to 1,500 sheets. Two standard paper storage trays hold 550 sheets a piece and are supplemented by a 100 sheet bypass tray that is compatible with thick, non standard media types that the regular paper trays cannot cope with. Additional paper trays can boost the printer’s total potential paper storage capacity up to 3,200 sheets.

Copy zoom ratios range from 25% all the way up to 400% and can be adjusted directly from the printer with no PC interaction, making the device a capable stand along color copier as well as fax machine. As a scanner, the Ricoh Aficio MPC3000 truly excels with its applause worthy 50 page per minute black and white scan speed and 35 page per minute color scan speed. Unfortunately, these speed reflect 200 dot per inch scans and higher quality scans will take considerably longer to complete.

Cons:

The copy and print resolution of the Ricoh Aficio MPC3000 is nothing short of a major drawback. The device’s measly 600 x 600 dot per inch print quality places it on par with cheap monochrome document printers and no where near the current standard of color laser and LED printing. With only 600 dpi, users will definitely see a noticeably weaker image quality when printing in color, thus diminishing the value of having a color laser printer on the whole.