Ricoh AC204

With a 30-page ADF, color scanning, and standalone fax machine and copier features, the 16-ppm Ricoh AC204 has a lot in common with the much less expensive Ricoh AC104. It also adds significant paper-handling capability, with a 650-sheet input capacity, a built-in duplexer, and a legal- rather than letter-size flatbed. Unfortunately, it shares some limitations with the AC104 as well—most notably, sluggish performance for the price.

On our performance tests, the AC204 proved slow even for the rated engine speed. The total time on our business applications suite was 20 minutes 46 seconds, compared with 14:13 for the $500, 17-ppm AC104; 13:55 for the $500, 15-ppm HP LaserJet 3030; and 8:42 for the $600, 21-ppm Brother MFC-8840DN. Also, the 3030 beat the AC204 on every individual test.

On the plus side, text quality was excellent, with more than half of our test fonts easily ... // 50% Remaining