The Ricoh IM C4500
Wanting to provide more technology that is reflective of the needs of its customer base, Ricoh kicked off the unveiling of its new RICOH IM C series of MFPs last week with a special press and analyst event in New York City. But the true coming out party was held for the manufacturer’s new Dynamic Workplace Intelligence approach (DWIa), whose coming was foretold at last summer’s ConvergX event.
Steve Burger, the head of engineering and technology marketing for Ricoh, has worked to bridge the needs of dealers and their customers to the OEM’s Japanese development team to produce channel ready, client-driven innovations. The DWIa provides a series of innovations that will undoubtedly be applied to future releases that go beyond the MFP applications. But in the case of the IM C series, it is weaving a little AI magic and leveraging the power of big data to not produce an improved MFP—obviously, the IM C series is loaded with technology enhancements—but rather enable end users and dealers to get the most bang for their buck.
Before we get too deep into the weeds with the DWIa secret sauce, let’s take an overview of the customer-facing product. The RICOH IM C2000, IM C2500, IM C3000, IM C3500, IM C4500 and IM C6000, which print at 20, 25, 30, 35, 45 and 60 pages per minute (ppm), respectively. They deliver printing, scanning, copying, finishing and faxing support for output sizes up to 11×17”, and standard mobile printing support. The IM C4500 was honored with Buyers Lab’s Winter 2019 Pick award for Outstanding 45-ppm Color Copier MFP and the IM C3000, IM C3500, IM C4500 and IM C6000 also were recognized with Buyers Lab’s Winter 2019 Outstanding Achievement in Innovation award for Ricoh Intelligent Scanning.
In tandem with the IM C series release, Ricoh debuted a new and improved Smart Operation Panel, equipped with an upgraded processor that provides faster transitions between applications and a smooth, responsive touch screen. The new, customizable panel delivers a streamlined, familiar look, building on the foundation of the classic gray tiles long-time users will recognize. The interface can be tailored to better adapt to and serve unique workplaces, workflows and needs.
In addition, the IM C3000, IM C3500, IM C4500 and IM C6000 boast a variety of additional features to meet modern business needs. Their standard single-pass document feeder (SPDF) significantly streamlines information sharing, empowering digital workplaces to more seamlessly collaborate. This SPDF goes above and beyond usual hardware in its class with optional double-feed detection capabilities to help prevent missed pages or jams while still delivering the fastest scanning speeds on the market at 240 images per minute.
The included small document scanner aids workplaces where digitization is a frequent ask, such as accounting departments and education administrative offices. Checks, receipts, note cards and other small documents can be difficult to load correctly into a standard-sized scanner, but this specialized tray removes the guesswork for well-aligned, complete scans on the first try. Additionally, these MFPs can each be equipped with an intuitive, efficient internal multi-folding unit, which allows businesses to bring production of folding brochures and other external-facing materials in house.
Always Current
Leveraging feedback from dealer clients, one of the major innovations baked into the DWIa is Always Current Technology. In simple terms, ACT enables regular updates to firmware and other applications available on demand and as needed. Burger notes that Ricoh was inspired by the smartphone concept of an operating system adopted to a cloud workflow, constantly updated with the capability of adding to it.
Steve Burger, Ricoh
“The advantage of Always Current Technology is no matter where you are in a product series, they’ll all have the same technology,” Burger said. “We’ve virtually eliminated change management in the big dealer customer accounts. It’s a value add to the customer and a value-add to the channel.
“You’re still going to want that new MFP technology every four to five years, but we’re going to be able to increase the capabilities and keep your workflow current. It keeps you going until you get the new one, so you can easily transform to the newer platform.”
Customers will be able to download and install new features, applications and upgrades directly to their device as they become available, giving users greater flexibility and allowing them to work with more agility. This empowers digital workplaces to scale their capabilities based on evolving needs, while also keeping security features and software up to date. Additionally, it enables the purchase of premium upgrades the moment they hit the market, eliminating the need to wait for new models to become available. As customers’ businesses grow, they can also tap into future Always Current Technology premium upgrades that will include tools to enhance accessibility and streamline ease-of-use such as natural-speech voice control.
Intelligent Support
The IM C Series is also equipped with RICOH Intelligent Support, a set of roughly 10 tools, apps and services that help fuel productivity while driving increased uptime. One tool, Smart Installation Plus, helps streamline the process of swapping out an old MFP for a new one by converting firmware and device settings.
Other aspects include the ability to allow Ricoh service experts to remote into a device’s Smart Operation Panel for fast troubleshooting, automatic firmware updates to head off known issues before they affect a device, and proactive, detailed email notifications to service technicians when a problem occurs to help provide a faster, better-targeted response.
Ricoh and their dealers also teamed up on a toner gauge. An android app that can run on an MFP allows dealers to receive notifications when the MFP’s toner supply reaches a critical level, which triggers the delivery of a new cartridge. Utilizing every last drop of toner, suffice to say, is a coupe in a managed print environment.
The new Ricoh MFP line boasts more than 100 different sensors, according to Burger, and it uses that data and technology to recommend condition-based maintenance. This form of AI can help dealers and Ricoh’s managed service fleet to gauge usage levels, recommend when to send out toner, and provide more granular, specific information on projected yields.
“Say a developer is rated at 100,000 revolutions. If we find out through AI and big data that we can get 150,000, we’re actually increasing life on our parts and supplies through this condition-based maintenance within the Intelligent Support technology,” he noted. “Our target is roughly half the amount of service time required as opposed to the previous technology.”
Cloud Workflow Solutions
Cloud Workflow Solutions is Ricoh’s collection of cloud-based technologies that delivers streamlined simplicity in affordable, scalable, subscription-based offerings. These solutions help eliminate manual steps, so businesses can maintain their focus on core activities in their business. The portfolio consists of cloud connectors, which are predefined workflows to streamline processes; cloud workflows, which deliver specifically tailored, advanced features such as multi-destination scanning; and cloud services, which are sophisticated workflows and applications with a variety of uses, such as extracting content from documents, integrating with cloud-based line of business applications and creating multiple data routes to support the most complex requirements.
Ease-of-use and Customization
To further aid streamlining and ease of use, features and settings can be standardized across an organization or within cloud-hosted user profiles. These profiles can allow individual users or departments to access tailored experiences that prioritize and support unique needs, such as accounts payable departments’ invoicing and documentation requirements that may require multiple, specific scanning destinations and approvals. The same unique collection of apps, workflows and settings can be rolled over from one device to another when a piece of hardware reaches its end of life, so customers can expect continual capability growth, without the need for retraining when implementing new hardware.
“Our new Dynamic Workplace Intelligence approach combines a variety of new technology innovations which will enable customers to move along in their digital journey,” Burger said. “They will now be able to automatically add features throughout their MFPs’ lifecycle similar to the way a Tesla car is constantly adding features and functions, and we’ll deliver this through a subscription-based business model like iTunes or Spotify. Already known for our superior service, we’re also using AI and big data to revolutionize how our service team – including Ricoh Family Group dealers – are able to manage and support our customers. All of this combined is another example of Ricoh’s continued investment in R&D, with a focus on understanding our customer and dealer needs, and our commitment to enhancing the customer experience.”
