Hard on the heels of the Pro C9500, Ricoh has announced its new mid-volume production printer, the Pro C7500, which is also more of an evolution with broadly similar specifications to the outgoing C7200/x models.
The C7500 should be able to handle a typical monthly volume of 240,000 A4 pages. The base model can produce up to 85 A4 pages per minute or 49 A3 ppm in full colour or monochrome. However, this can be upgraded through a license unlock to 95 A4 ppm or 53 A3 ppm. It uses Ricoh’s standard VCSEL laser technology, which uses 40 laser beams to write images and can achieve up to 2400 x 4800 dpi resolution and 256 shades of gradation.
This is matched by an internal transfer belt with an oil-less fusing system. The new press is using the existing PxP toner though Eef de Ridder, vice president of Ricoh Europe’s Graphic Communications Group, says that the transfer process has been improved to increase the toner yield.
Ricoh has added a new elastic intermediate transfer belt to improve printing on rough or uneven textured media. It can be harder to get a consistent result on some media but the elastic belt gets around this by following the contours of the media.
It takes sheet sizes from postcard to A3 but can also produce banners up to 1260mm long and 330mm wide. However, it can only duplex posters up to 1030mm long though that’s an improvement on the 700mm length of the older models and very useful for producing tri-fold brochures.
The C7500 can take substrates down to 40gsm from the 52gsm of the older model, as well as heavier media, up from 360gsm to 470gsm, without affecting its ability to run at the full rated speed. Ricoh says that this should enable it to print to some packaging applications. However, de Ridder points out: “Print speed depends on media type or print mode. For instance, printing on synthetic media or printing with a special colour.”
The fifth toner unit that was introduced with the X-models is now standard and Ricoh has added two extra metallic effects, gold and silver, as well as white, clear, invisible red (for security applications), neon yellow and neon pink. These additional toners can produce some quite stunning printed effects. However, some of those effects will require more than one of these toners, which means that you either have to use a different process or re-run the job through the same press.
I asked de Ridder why Ricoh hadn’t included an extra toner station to avoid this issue, just as the Xerox Irridesse and Fujifilm Revoria PC1120 have. He replied that Ricoh has simplified the process for switching between the different toners in the fifth colour station, which doesn’t really address the issue.
These mid-range production presses have traditionally been sold to both implants and commercial printers. These markets have similar but different needs so having both a four-colour and five-colour version allowed Ricoh to appeal to both from what is essentially the same machine. De Ridder says that Ricoh is still targeting both markets “but with expectations that commercial printers in particular will find the new model highly attractive.”
The C7500 also gains the same Graphic Communications Operating System that was introduced with the higher production C9500. This is said to be more intuitive making it easier for operators to set the machines up. It also allows remote access over a web browser and allows Ricoh to continually improve the press with software updates to add new functions.
There’s a choice between two Fiery DFEs, with the basic N50A and the faster and more powerful N70A, both of which are based on Fiery’s proven FS500 Pro platform. The N70A uses Fiery’s HyperRIP architecture and comes with a more powerful Intel Xeon processor as well as some additional features such as imposition.
As with the existing models, there are various options available including a finisher that combines stapler, saddle stitcher and punch module, as well as modules for folding, stacking and trimming.
Heidelberg, which rebadges some Ricoh production printers, has also introduced two new versions of its VersaFire digital presses. The Versafire LP is based on the Pro C9500, which I’ve covered here. The Versafire LV is based on the new Pro C7500. Heidelberg differentiates its versions by adding its own digital front end, which is based on its Prinect workflow and can be easily integrated into any offset litho set-up that’s also using Prinect.
The C7500 should be available across Europe from early November 2023. Ricoh Europe did not want to comment on pricing but it’s worth noting that the price in Japan is ¥15,540,000, roughly equivalent to £86,000 and a further ¥2,750,000 or £15,000 for the speed upgrade from 85 to 95ppm.
You can find further details on Ricoh’s production printers from ricoh.co.uk, which will hopefully be updated soon to include the C7500, and on the Fiery DFE from efi.com. In the meantime, you can find details on the Heidelberg versions from heidelberg.com.
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