Both are four-colour, and both are production machines that turn out clean commercial work. The difference between them is one of scale: the C7100S is for a print shop with steady, medium work, and the C9100 for a print shop whose work never stops.
The question you have to answer: has your work really reached the volume that keeps a C9100 busy, or not yet?
The short answer
- Take the Ricoh Pro C7100S if you are a medium digital print shop or an advertising agency, and your daily work is brochures, flyers and cards.
- Take the Ricoh Pro C9100 if you have high daily volume, or print paper up to 400 gsm, or long formats up to 70 cm.
Number by number
| Ricoh Pro C7100S | Ricoh Pro C9100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 80 pages per minute | 110 pages per minute |
| Colours | 4 colours (CMYK) | 4 colours (CMYK) |
| Print resolution | 1200 × 4800 dpi | 1200 × 4800 dpi |
| Maximum paper weight | 360 gsm (duplex) | 400 gsm (automatic duplex) |
| Maximum size | SRA3 | 33 × 70 cm |
| Monthly volume | up to 700,000 pages | up to 1,000,000 pages |
| Paper capacity | 2,500 sheets standard, up to 16,200 | 4,400 sheets standard, up to 18,150 |
| Full line length | about 3.18 m | about 4.57 m |
| Total weight | about 897 kg | about 1,332 kg |
| Power | two 16 A lines, under 5,000 W | two 30 A lines, under 9,000 W |
| Warm-up time | under 300 seconds | under 420 seconds |
Difference one: speed and load
The C9100 is faster by 30 pages a minute. Over an eight-hour shift of continuous work that means about 14,400 more pages a day.
Its main trays hold 4,400 sheets against 2,500, so the operator loads paper less often. And its monthly volume is up to one million pages against 700,000.
These numbers mean something if you have the work to fill them. If your monthly work is far from hundreds of thousands of pages, the C7100S will serve you comfortably.
Difference two: paper
- Weight: the C9100 takes up to 400 gsm, automatic duplex, and the C7100S stops at 360. If your work is light packaging and heavy cards, that difference matters.
- Size: the C9100 prints up to 33 × 70 cm, and the C7100S goes to SRA3. So the open catalogue spread and long covers are on the C9100 only.
Difference three: quality
Both have the same resolution (1200 × 4800) and a 40-beam VCSEL laser. The difference is that the C9100 processes each dot at 256 intensity levels, so gradients, shadows and dark solids come out smoother and richer.
On text and ordinary brochures the difference is small. It shows in photographs, dark solids and gradients.
Difference four: toner cost
Both run on a toner set at the same price (EGP 26,500 in Egypt), but the C9100 uses about 20% less toner on the same job: its set prints about 15,000 sheets, and the C7100S set about 12,000. This is the toner of each job, by order, on the two machines:
| Job | Order | C7100S | C9100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poster one side · 1 per sheet100 posters | 100 posters | EGP 99 | EGP 79 |
| Folded A4 brochure two sides · 2 per sheet1,000 brochures | 1,000 brochures | EGP 520 | EGP 416 |
| Product stickers one side · 35 per sheet5,000 stickers | 5,000 stickers | EGP 192 | EGP 154 |
| A5 flyer two sides · 4 per sheet1,000 flyers | 1,000 flyers | EGP 374 | EGP 299 |
| Book or magazine cover one side · 1 per sheet500 covers | 500 covers | EGP 762 | EGP 610 |
| Wedding cards one side · 4 per sheet500 cards | 500 cards | EGP 222 | EGP 178 |
| A3 menu two sides · 1 per sheet100 menus | 100 menus | EGP 279 | EGP 224 |
| Business cards two sides · 24 per sheet1,000 cards | 1,000 cards | EGP 143 | EGP 115 |
| One sheet of everyday press work33 × 48 cm, one side | 33 × 48 cm, one side | EGP 2.21 | EGP 1.77 |
The figures come from everyday press work on the 33 × 48 cm sheet, a quarter of the full sheet. A job printed on both sides is counted with both sides. All prices are in Egyptian pounds.
Work it out on your own volume of everyday press work:
- 10,000 sheets a month: the difference is about EGP 4,400.
- 50,000 sheets a month: the difference is about EGP 22,000.
So the toner saving on the C9100 becomes a meaningful number when volume grows. At small volumes it is not what justifies the price difference. Prices change; for the exact calculation on your work, ask us.
Difference five: space and power
The C9100 line is about a metre and a half longer (4.57 m against 3.18) and more than 400 kg heavier, and needs two 30 A power lines instead of 16 A. Check your floor and your distribution board before you buy.
A site prepared for a C7100S is not necessarily ready for a C9100.
How do I choose?
- Is your monthly work in the hundreds of thousands of pages, and growing? C9100. If it is far below that, C7100S.
- Do you print paper above 360 gsm, or formats longer than SRA3? C9100.
- Can your space and power take a line of 4.57 m and 1,332 kg? If not, C7100S.
Before you decide
Come to the showroom with a file from your work, print your sample on both, and see the difference in photographs and dark solids yourself. Tell us how much you print a month and we will say honestly which one suits you.
