Print
easy.
Although
our daily lives, be they at home or at work, are becoming
increasingly paper-less, we all still have the need for a printer. If
your printing needs extend only to knocking out a few pages of text
once in a wile, buying a huge and multi-faceted colour printer with
all the bells and whistles would probably be a waste, both to your
pocket and to the environment. Enter the Ricoh SP150SU Printer.
First things first, the Ricoh SP150SU is a black and white printer, meaning it is aimed squarely at those of us who need only to print text and basic documents – which is pretty much most people if we're being honest. Unless you're a designer, or wanting something to print family photos, we can't think of all that many reasons to print in colour.
But
just because it the printer seems limited in one way, doesn't mean it
isn't at the cutting edge of technology. The Ricoh SP150SU is WiFi
enabled, being able to connect to a wireless network in the home or
office, or for a single computer or mobile device to connect to
directly, router or not. It also can be sent stuff to print via USB,
and Ricoh were kind enough to chuck in a nice long cable.
It
can also scan, with the top opening scanner plate easily accessible.
The scanner does capture colour, thankfully, with the A4-sized plate
capturing images in resolutions up to 1200dpi and saving them as
either TIFF, jpeg, or PDF. Because of the scanner, the Ricoh SP150SU
can claim to be a 3-in-1 printer, offering print, scanning and –
obviously – copying services.
Because
there are no mixed colour cartridges to faff about with, changing the
black toner is a breeze (and a hell of a lot cheaper) by simply
pulling out one complete unit to replace. Due to the reduced energy
and components required to maintain it, the Ricoh SP150SU is both
great for the environment and for your bank account.
In
use we found that the set up was easy (you download a virtual control
panel to check the likes of toner levels and connectivity) and from
the first time hitting print on the computer screen, to the document
jumping out the front of the printer, took about five or six seconds.
Everything we printed was exceptionally clear, and even after letting
rip on a large 150 page document, the toner level had hardly reduced
at all.
For
a quick and easy printer, that is both reliable and versatile, we
really can't fault the Ricoh SP150SU. Being unable to print in colour
might seem like a compromise, but actually ask yourself what it is
you need to print the most. If it is full colour images and dazzling
pie charts, this ain't for you. If you need to print text for
letters, postage labels, documents, and forms, while also scanning
colour images to save or email, this is for you.
Around
£80