Color - 17 ppm Mono - 17 ppm Color - Parallel, Serial - Fast Ethernet - PC, Mac, SPARC - MPN: 420116
Strengths: Ease of use. Everything from set up to toner changes.
Weakness: Does not hold a ream of paper in drawer.
We have bought 3 of these machines now because we like them so much. Toner is easy to change out and not overly expensive. Color quality is very good. Front panel display always tells you what needs to be corrected, so troubleshooting is not difficult.
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TopStrengths: Price, speed, relatively low cost for consumable s, quick warmup from standby, toner cartridges change from the top
Weakness: N/A
The CL2000N has exceeded my expectations. It produces high quality color text/business graphics at speed. I was expecting mediocre graphics quality (from other reviews) and instead the quality proved to be good. I have only put a few thousand double sided pages through it. My print mix is approximately 70% black and white text, 20% color text and business graphics, and 10% color images. The paper feeding has been flawless. I have had one jam (on the last piece of paper in the feed tray) in the more than a year I have owned it. Almost all of my printing has been on 8.5 x 11 business paper and envelopes. I cannot comment whether the CL2000N can process transparencies or card stock well. I recommend this printer for day to day business graphics or text use. It is not a photo printer. The basis for my high rating is the good value for money this device provides and a year of excellent performance.
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TopStrengths: Fast, great color and no jams (of course, one must use paper within the specs). Relatively inexpensive consumables.
Weakness: A bit loud but one get's used to it quickly.
We've been using this printer (Lanier flavor) for the last 8 months in the IT department where I work (110 people) and it works just fine, even with a heavy load. I just placed an order for a CL2000N based on personal experience.
By the way, Gestetner/Infotec/Lanier/NRG/Savin re-brand and sell this printer also. So you may be using one at work and just don't know it.
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TopStrengths: Post Script 3 1200x1200 Low cost consumables Low cost printer 500 sheet feeder Networking built in Cheap memory upgrade No warping duplex on card stock Full toner cartridges 1 Pass
Weakness: High cost of duplexer Slightly noiser More long than wide
I looked at competition before deciding to buy this printer. I considered the models in the same class and price ranges which included OkiData, Panasonic, HP, Minolta, Lexmark, Xerox and Samsung.
What my primary needs are printing hundreds of postcards with color. Not to be confused with printing color postcards. The color is primarily used for text. I want to replace my Brother HL-1850 (excellent printer) with color laser and still MUST be able to duplex as well as have sharp laser print.
Lexmark is a 4 pass color solution with "PASS" being the primary reason I did. Also users complain of warped duplexing on cardstock which is also a problem on my HL-1850. Have to flatten the card stock before I can print on the opposite side. Not a problem with plain paper though.
This printer has better specs than the OkiData for similar cost plus the consumables for this printer a MUCH less.
The Panasonics are the same printer as the Ricoh except they cost more and the memory can be upgraded to 512MB instead of 384MB. There is currently a $100 rebate on the Ricohs
HP cost more and the consumables cost more. I need duplexing and the value of Ricohs is much better.
Minolta consumables are TWICE the price of the Ricohs and with the duplexing options cost more. I also do not want to have to use Windows to print which is required on some of the lower end models. Again the Ricohs won here again.
Samsung from what users say it cannot print on postcard stock. Also there are quality issues reported. I did a test print from a local store and was NOT impressed. The print looked like inkjet output but is was laser toner instead. And this was not even a good inkjet printout.
Xerox solid ink printers users say it can be scraped off. Not good for postcards going thur the mail.
I upgraded the printer to 256MB for $45 with standard PC laptop memory. PC133/SDRAM 144 pin samsung low density chips . The "offical" 256 memory cost as much as $750!!! INSANE.
I have printed several hundred postcards and have not had one paper jam. I dont know what the others users are complaining about. The lack of specifics in the area of the complaint and the telling of the whole printer should be avoided sounds more like a spin from the competition placing slanted reviews.
This printer has shown me quality from start to finish. It is well constructed. The 500 sheet page feed is standard (Just open a ream of paper and put the whole thing in there)
It does not bend cardstock at all. I print the postage on one side and the content on the other. It has native 1200x1200 printing. My Brother printer states 19ppm black laser and this one 17 but this one clearly prints black laser faster. Duplexing does NOT slow the ppm rate. I use linux also so postscript is very nice.
The toner cartridges where FULL and not starter ones. Which can be another $250-$500 very soon so that should also be considered. I can find the color toners for about $70 each color. Some manufactures are as much as $140 for each color.
Also this is a 1 pass color printer. Some of the others are 3 and 4 pass color.
Built in networking and http interface also come with the printer.
As for color quality I printed the same image from this printed and an HP D145. The image on this printer was better that on the D145. The color was more accurate and a LOT faster to print. If a used the ricoh RPCS driver and set the printer to print photo quality, the result was even better. Maybe the people who complained of problems either used inkjet paper(very bad), did not install the cartridges correctly. Or scratched the printing drums putting them in.
Do it right after you open them, a few minutes, and dont touch the drum with your fingers. Slide it out as shown. Its easy to install them, but sometimes the "I know it all" mentality of us humans makes us not do the simplest things correctly.
Cons - It is slightly more noisey when printing than the brother.
Clunks a little when picking up paper from the bypass tray. Bypass tray not good for legal size, will "hang over".
Duplex unit cost $200. Cost of parts about $20. Not cheap construction, just not worth $200. Entire printers are less than that. What can you do. Still cheaper to have bought it separately than buying another unit with duplex included.
The printer is longer than my brother. 20" front to back. I have to turn it sideways on my table. Kind of a bummer but the duplex unit is internal and does not change the printer size.
Also I cannot set the power save mode to less than 5 minutes.
Summary, this printer is the BEST in value, quality of construction, quality of print and features and I am VERY happy with it. You will be too. I actually signed up on this site just to post this review since this printer was getting unrightfully slammed by some questionable comments.
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TopAfter you've had the printer ahile you may not think it is so cheap to operate. After much research I finally contacted Ricoh to cross examine them on what the consumable costs really are. They rate the toner cartridges at 5500 pages. You say you can get them for $70. Prices I've seen are 34 for black, 89 for colors.
There is also a black photoconductor, $85@13,000 pages; color photoconductor, $334@13,000; waster toner bottle, $30@44,000; fusing unit, $350@83,000; intermediate transfer unit, $105@80,000.
After doing the math it puts the cost per page at 9.3 cents. This of course is assuming one gets the yields Ricoh is advertising. 9.3 cents would still be cheaper than anything HP is putting out by 20 to 30%.
I would be interested to know how you fare with the additional consumables. Also, could you post where you found toner for $70?
G6789
- Dec 23, 2004
Strengths: Color is excellent, extremely close to photographic quality, speed, ability to handle card stock upto 90lb. Highly professional output.
Weakness: None so far. I have called Ricoh support as the manual is not clear on the specifications of consumables, and they got back to me in less than one hour.
I am surprised to read the review of the other user who graded this product as poor. I have had nothing but good results from this printer. I do not find it noisy have had no misfeeds and am using it to print photographs from a 6mPixel image. The quality is great. I am extremely happy with this printer.
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TopThis is not what I experienced. Perhaps this reviewer has a vested interests in writing this review. Check what all the PC magazines have been saying..........
Thanks
CIO
Mr. CIO,
We've been using this printer (Lanier flavor) for the last 8 months in the IT department where I work (110 people) and it works just fine, even with a heavy load. I just placed an order for a CL2000N based on personal experience.
Thank you,
CTO
Strengths: Great color, speed, it's a real workhorse
We use this in our small business office and it has dramatically cut down on our trips to Kinko's. Handles all of our color printing and graphics work. No maintance reuqired, we have not experienced any of the problems outlined regarding misfeeds or bad color.
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TopStrengths: Resolution, speed, low cost of toner
Weakness: Noisy, PCU are expensive and fragile
At first I was impressed by the speed of this printer: it's much faster than the HPs I previously owned. Print quality is good at maximum resolution, but there is quite noticeable horizontal banding.
After a few months begans the problems: I had to change both PCU because I was getting vertical dark or white streaks in my prints.
My first black PCU last 1k pages, after 2k pages I have to replace color PCU; recently I changed both PCU together (they last about 8k pages). And now I have a broken color PCU after only 500 pages.
The PCUs are expensive (a color PCU costs as much as a new printer!!), so I can't keep going this way. I am very upset by the poor reliability of this printer (and I think CL3000 and CL3100 will have the same problems because they use the same parts...)
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TopStrengths: Low price
Weakness: Color output was not accurate, noisy operation, numerous misfeeds, high cost per page, Ricoh tech support was lousy and photo conductor was defective and loud!
I purchased the CL2000n because of the great specifications and the low price. I ended up with a color laser that did not work well at all! The color output looked dull, the photo conductor made such a loud cosistent noise that I called Ricoh Tech support only to be placed on hold for 30 minutes and eventually they alluded to me that all their color laser printers to include the CL2000, CL2000n, CL3000 and the CL3000e all had the potential for defective photo conductors. Expect 5 misfeeds during a 50 page print job. PLEASE stay away from this color laser and look at the respected tier 1 companies! They stand behind their product as Ricoh does not. I ended up with an Oki and it works well. I also own a HP laser jet and several Samsungs. They all work as advertised! Not sure if I will renew my lease on the Ricoh copier now....
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TopAs someone who has to install and support RICOH products I must say that your issues are not what my customers say about this unit. I have installed about 200 or so in the last 8 months and have had very few complaints and even less issues about jamming. I have a about 3 units reported with defective PCU's out of the box and these were replaced in about 3-4 business days. I also install RICOH MFP's and other software and equipment and find that RICOH has one of the better reputations for equipment reliability in the business environments I work in.
Have a great life!
I have never had a complaint on any Ricoh CL1000, CL2000, or CL3000 printer I've been responsible for in the last year. This includes several hundred that have been installed in the Portland/Beaverton area. They rarely ever jam, the color is great, and warranty service is included from Ricoh National for the first 90 days. I've been running cardstock through a CL2000 heavily for the past 2 years without any problems. Most issues i've encountered with printers and MFP's are user error--junky curled paper from office depot/econosource, incorrect size of paper, and overloaded trays. As well, if you are feeding inkjet labels through your laser printer or recycling your junk fax pages through your laser printer, you WILL encounter jams because of abuse of the printer.
Our CL2000N started printing a line down the page right after the warranty expired. The response from Ricoh is that it is probably the PCU. I understand that this is quite expensive and am in the process of setting up a repair at this time. It looks like the repair will cost almost as much as the original machine.
It is a shame, as this machine worked beautifully...until the warranty ran out.
Strengths: Cheap Price!
Weakness: Color looked dull with white lines going through images, constant misfeeds, extremely noisy, envelopes do not feed through printer, super high cost per page, and poor tech support.
Got the printer for less than $600.00 dollars at CDW for the network model. ( WOW!) Rep told me that they get additional dollars from ricoh and they can lower the price below any other competitor. Color is not good with white lines going through all my images. Ricoh tech support was useless. Misfeeds are constant and I find myself constantly openning the printer to pull them out. Recently it has been having phantom paper jams that require me to open the printer up and I find nothing there. Supplies are expensive and hard to get. The printer has a loud clicking noise, so do not plan on keeping it near you cubicle or place of work. Duplexer option jams as well. I got what I paid for and I believe now that I got a whole less than what I paid for. I only print black text now with it and I recommend that you stay away from this product and others from Ricoh. How could I be so naive?
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TopFunny, she says she bought the printer for $600 and the duplexing jams. You dont get the duplexing unit with the CL2000N you must pay extra for it. So how can there be paper jams from it. As far as consumables are concered, huh, how can you find this site and not know how to find consumables on the internet. Also people to PROVE that points of this review are false is simple. Look up the cost of consumables here on the internet for the Ricoh and compare them to the cost of HP, OKI, especially Minolta and Samsung and see for yourself the Ricohs ARE cheaper. It will take you 5 minutes. My questions is how come this "reviewer" came to a totally opposite conclusion. Makes you wonder of their motives. They are not just saying this printer but "I recommend that you stay away from this product and others from Ricoh". Seems clear to me WHO is saying this. Condeming products they have never even tested.
Also officemax and officedepot are local chains you can get cosumables from.
"Duplexing" unit is separate. Does kanthony even know what a Duplex Unit is?
Supplies are available from Ricoh at 503 636 7696.
"Does kanthony even know what a Duplex Unit is?"
Apparently you did not read my lengthy review. Duplexing was one of the MAIN reasons why I purchased this printer.
I am looking a reasonable priced printer that can duplex postcard stock. My Brother printer can duplex but can't with postcard size stock. Will be telling my clients what to buy for duplex process of postcards. Price must be under $1000, as always, clients don't like to spend money. Will the Ricoh handle duplex of postcard stock?
Brand name is not a factor, what will work is.
Thanks for any help/suggestions.
Gary
Strengths: Lower price than most B&W lasers
Weakness: Noise,Paper Jams, Instructions, Image Quality, High cost per page
My experience was consistent with the other two one star ratings. We had three of these printers for 8 months and we finally convinced our purchasing department to return them for several Minoltas. So far we have had no issues or problems with the Minoltas. I would most definately stay away from Ricoh products based on our experience.
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TopSo not only do you not like this printer but you say "I would most definately stay away from Ricoh products based on our experience." I use and review products all the time. The is not one company that make all products for all people. Some HPs are good some are not, some Minoltas are good some are not. But to blanket and entire companies products as bad with unexplainded claims with little to NO detail clearly shows this review is only to condem Ricoh and has no public usefullyness and should be disregaured. I have this printer and find it to be WELL worth the cost with NONE of what you claim. The "High cost per page" argument anyone reading this comment can check on for themself as proof of what I am saying. Check the cost of consumables for yourself and you will find Ricoh to be one of the CHEAPEST costs per page.
Strengths: crisp copies
Weakness: low life on consumable parts making expensive to run
within a few months of purchase and low usage, both PCUs for Black and Color had to be replaced under warrantee. About a year later, again the same vertical lines began appearing, I have been living with it and will NOT replace them since purchase price was less than $400 and cost to replace PCU's will be ~$430 (Blk ($80) and Color ($350)) that is more than the price of the unit itself. I have only used it for two and a half years. Total usage has been 4021 pages.
Stay away from this machine. It's a money pit.
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Top
Ricoh Aficio CL2000N Laser Printer
Strengths: Fast. I added the duplex and the HDD, and it screams through small and large files. Never had a mis-feed.
Weakness: Isn't the quietest when duplexing.
I love this printer. Haven't owned a whole lot of printers, but have been very happy with this one. Duplex option is a must. Did not print without the HDD, but I'm sure that helps with the large files.
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