Technical Bulletin PAGE: 3/7
Model: Model AL-C1 Date: 19-Apr-12 No.: RD009064
Action referenced in the Flowchart above:
A. Responding to the Customer
1. The first step in handling an inquiry about Ricoh device odor is to explain the following to the
customer:
z Ricoh takes our customers’ health and the health of our planet very seriously. This is
highlighted by the fact that Ricoh products receive the German “Blue Angel” and Japanese
“Eco Mark” certifications. This level of dedication is standard at Ricoh.
z This means that a properly used and maintained Ricoh product should never be the source of
problem in the office environment, including those related to employee health. However,
keeping the device in a small, improperly ventilated space or sitting directly in the path of the
exhaust fumes has been reported to cause unpleasant odors, head and throat pain, and
general discomfort. Therefore, we strongly urge customers to make sure that their devices are
placed in areas with proper ventilation, and that the exhaust is pointed safely away from
anyone sitting nearby. Ideally, this should be done during initial installation, but working with
existing customers to improve the quality of their office environment should be done whenever
possible.
z However, brand new devices have a particularly strong odor that might worry some customers.
This odor is significantly reduced by the end of the first week of use, so please ask for the
customer’s patience. See Figure 1 below for an example using the Aficio SP 8100DN.
z Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are particles of the component materials (glues, plastics,
chemicals, etc.) that Ricoh devices are built with. VOC are the primary source of the odors
produced by Ricoh devices, so tracking VOC levels produced by Ricoh devices is a good
indicator of the strength of the odors. Figure 1 shows the VOC levels of a brand new Aficio SP
8100DN during the first 5 days of use. As the graph shows, the amount of VOC has dropped
by almost 60%.
Fig. 1
*1: Measurement was performed using a ppbRAE3000 from RAE Systems.
*2: “VOC Level (%)” shows the VOC level on a given day as a percentage of the first day’s level. Mathematically,
this is expressed as [Level detected on a given day] / [First day’s level]
2. After the customer understands the above, work with the customer to ensure that there is enough
ventilation and that the Ricoh devices are installed in a safe and proper manner.
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