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Ricoh Pro C9500

Pro C9500 boasts a CMYK dry toner print engine with 2,400dpi resolution, says Simon Eccles

C9500 are a mix of technical progress
together with responses to requirements
identified in user feedback on earlier
machines, plus ideas about where markets
are headed.
The core is a CMYK dry toner print engine
with 2,400dpi resolution. Image quality is
improved and the media handling is
beefed-up for a wider range of stocks –
40-470gsm – as well as provision for
longer stocks up to 960mm. Even longer
banner lengths can be handled up to 1.2m
if the optional Plockmatic feeder is pur-
chased. These maximum lengths can be
duplex printed, then handled at the output
end by the optional Plockmatic create-
trimmer. Another finishing option is the
GBC Streampunch.
New fuser technology improves image
quality across the full range of media. The
Ricoh’s new flagship toner press, targeted When was it announced and what
at high-volume commercial print opera- are the target markets? gloss level of the toner can be adjusted to
tions, boasts a new print engine and sig- Specifications The Pro C9500 was announced at the match the media, from high gloss through
nificant improvements to quality, speed, beginning of August, with a UK introduc- to matt for uncoated litho grades.
automation and media range. Colours CMYK tion at Ricoh’s Print Evolution Live event Some of the paper transfer hardware has
been changed, such as a larger and harder
Resolution VCSEL in Telford at the beginning of October.
What does it do? 2,400x4,80dpi The Pro C7500 announcement followed nip drum and larger and softer transfer
This is a new flagship dry toner digital in September. Heidelberg announced its rollers. There is better front-to-back regis-
press in the Ricoh Pro C9xxx series, Speed 115 or 135ppm versions in late September. tration that takes different coverage (and
replacing the C9200 first seen in 2018. It Target markets for the Pro C9500 are so potentially uneven distortion) into
is a long-SRA3 format CMYK printer built Monthly duty cycle much the same as for previous models: account. The digital front-end is still Fiery
for high volumes and duty cycles, available up to 1m A4 pages commercial printers that need a solid reli- based, but on a more powerful platform.
in either 115ppm or 135ppm configura- Max media size able performer for high monthly volumes. There are two options, for mid-range pro-
tions; for the first time from Ricoh you can 330x960mm with Tim Carter, commercial print director at duction and VDP requirements.
field upgrade from the slower configura- option for up to Ricoh, says that the ROI will be “more Workflows supported include Ricoh’s own
tion to the faster. It has a new print engine 1.2m length aggressive” than the C9200. “Ricoh is TotalFlow, but also third parties such as
and significant improvements to quality, going after litho markets with this new Prinect and Prinergy can be seamlessly
speed, automation and media range. Media weights machine and wants to make it attractive to integrated.
Ricoh followed up with the announce- 40-470gsm printers considering migrating into digi- A new C9500 option is Auto Color
ment of the Pro C7500, replacing the Pro tal. The more cost effective it is, the Diagnosis, on-the-fly colour management
C7200. This is slower than the C9500 at quicker the migration will be.” that reads the characteristics of each sheet
75 or 95ppm, while having the same qual- The C7500 is likely to appeal to commer- and compares it to the original ripped file.
ity characteristics, but with the option of a cial or inplant printers with lower volume If there is a difference it automatically
fifth unit for extra colours or embellish- needs, or those that would like to add adjusts it for each sheet. This is particu-
ments. Heidelberg will rebadge these value through the fifth unit’s choice of larly relevant to brands that want to avoid
presses as the Versafire LP and LV, replac- extra colours and embellishments. varying appearances. A further option
ing its 2018 EP and EV models. Note too Current toner options are white, silver, involves the new Auto Color Adjuster, an
that Ricoh is currently counting down to gold, fluorescents or clear gloss. ICC profile-based system which can
the European introduction of its B2 for- match appearance between different
mat sheetfed inkjet press, the Pro Z75, How does it work? printers, even different processes such as
towards the end of this year. Carter says that improvements to the digital-to-litho, or toner-to-inkjet.

“The Pro C9500 was announced at the beginning of August 2023, with a UK introduction.”

34 PrintWeek MENA December 2023 www.printweekmena.com