Summing Up
Ricoh Aficio MP1350
The Ricoh Aficio MP1350 enters a tough, aggressively fought market armed with an armada of user friendly features and design attributes.
As mentioned at the beginning of the report, the device can be considered both a high end front office device and as a production device destined for CRDs, quick printers and printshops.
In the configuration tested during this evaluation, which included the lower cost Ricoh designed controller, BERTL’s evaluation had been focused on the front office environment.
In this scenario, user productivity is of paramount importance closely followed by ease of use and workflow flexibility. A unit of this type in the front office will be expected to be everything to everyone handling the walk up and desktop digital imaging demands of, in many instances, multiple departments.
The Ricoh Aficio MP1350 is admirably equipped to take on this demanding environment with a heady selection of finishing options, a large full color interface for fast, accurate data and job entry plus
Scanning, already a strong point on the previous generation of Ricoh departmental MFPs, has been taken to the next level with color scanning and advanced PDF encryption and compression capabilities. This further expands the scanning capabilities of the device and ensures fast, efficient, and successful scanning. New features also include the Preview mode, allowing users to check scan images before they are sent to their final destination. Another new feature that BERTL appreciated seeing make an entrance onto Ricoh’s headliner MFP products was the scan to URL function. This allows users to use email as the address medium (rather than trying to find a SMB or FTP route), but not send large files across to the mail server, which could create bottlenecks or worse still get rejected for being over the threshold that the IT administrator set up for the mail server. This is even more important when you consider the file sizes created during color scanning tasks.
There is still a way to go before the device can go toe to toe against production scanners at the higher end with single pass duplex scanning and ISIS driver support, just two of the factors that may put off service bureaus and high volume scanning environments from getting too excited.
Productivity, as expected, was performed at the high standard we have come to expect from Ricoh. Fast scanning into memory limits user waiting times, fast processing of a wide range of print jobs through the choice of PCL, PostScript, or RPCS drivers, and innovative print-
Security is well catered to with a diverse range of features designed to make the device a good network security citizen, to allow for efficient auditing and control of user access, and to maintain privacy of confidential information through the device. As with all devices, there are areas in which security can be further enhanced, including the disguise of a secure print job name during its output phase and integrating personal digital certificates with active directory personal profiles.
Those concerned with accessibility and Section 508 compliance will find the large tilting
As with many Ricoh devices we have tested recently, many of the ‘What we would like to see’ comments are features that are not found on any device currently in the market and are not criticisms versus its peers, but are suggestions for how the next generation of product could be further enhanced. This reflects the changing market where user productivity is everything and is much more than a simplistic speed and feed buying decision.
The Ricoh Aficio MP1350 might have its weaknesses, but to many it will open up new doors of document productivity and is fully deserving of the special recognition a BERTL 5 Star status grants it.
Copyright © 2006 MCA Internet, LLC dba BERTL. | 13 November 2006 |
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