Canon vs Ricoh Photocopiers: Which Is Best In 2026?

Canon and Ricoh are the two names that come up most when UK offices replace a copier. Both are Japanese, both sell direct and through dealers, and both make machines from small desktop devices up to production presses. If you've got a quote from each and can't see much between them, you're not imagining it. At the mainstream end, they're close.

But they're not identical. Here's where they differ, and how to decide.

At a glance

All figures from each manufacturer's product pages, checked October 2026.

	Canon	Ricoh
Current A3 colour family	imageFORCE (C3100, C5100, C7165 and others)	IM C series
Colour speed range (A3 office)	Up to 26, 30, 35 and 50 ppm on C3100; 65 ppm on C7165	20 to 80 ppm
Smallest A3 colour model	imageFORCE C3026 (entry level)	IM C2011 (20 ppm)
Mid range example	C3130 / C3135 (30 / 35 ppm)	IM C3011 / C3511 (30 / 35 ppm)
Fastest office mono	imageFORCE 8100 series, up to 105 ppm	Various IM models
Standard scanner on mid range	270 ipm single pass (C3100)	Varies by model and option
Recent award	BLI 2026 A3 Line of the Year	Not cited here

Prices

Neither Canon nor Ricoh publishes UK lease prices for office copiers. Prices come from dealers or direct sales teams and depend on model, finishing, term and volume. As a published market guide, a new mid sized floor standing A3 colour machine leases for about £49 a month, and a desktop A4 colour machine for about £22 a month (Midshire, checked October 2026).

In practice, equivalent Canon and Ricoh machines at the same speed tend to be quoted within a similar band. The bigger price differences usually come from:

• The sales route. Both brands sell direct and through independent dealers. Prices and service terms can differ between routes for the same machine.
• Finishing options. A booklet finisher or high capacity tray can add a meaningful amount to the lease on either brand.
• How hard you negotiate. Getting a Canon quote and a Ricoh quote, then telling each about the other, is one of the most effective ways to lower both.

For the best comparison, ask both for a quote on the same speed and specification, over the same term, and compare the total cost over the term rather than the quarterly payment. Our price guide has more on what goes into a quote.

Running costs

Click charges are set by the supplier, not the manufacturer, so a Canon from one dealer can be cheaper to run than a Canon from another. Published UK ranges, checked October 2026, put mono at roughly 0.35p to 1.5p a page and colour at roughly 3.5p to 10p (Digital Office).

One useful public benchmark: a Ricoh rental agreement published on Contracts Finder, let to an NHS trust under the government's RM6174 framework, shows 0.37p mono and 2.85p colour. That's a large public sector deal, so treat it as a best case, but it does show Ricoh will go low for volume.

What should you compare between the two?

1. Mono and colour click rates, side by side
2. Any minimum volume, and whether it's realistic for you
3. Annual increases on the click rate
4. What's included: toner, parts, labour, travel, staples

Whichever quote wins on those four points over five years is the cheaper machine to run, regardless of brand.

Features

Canon

Canon's big story is its new imageFORCE range, which replaces much of the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX line. The C3100 series, which replaces the iR ADV DX C3900 series, comes in four speeds up to 50 pages per minute, with a standard 270 image per minute single pass scanner and 4800 x 2400 dpi print resolution (checked October 2026). Canon also describes some imageFORCE models as "AI enabled", mainly around scanning and workflow.

The scanner is the stand out. If your office scans a lot, such as invoices, signed contracts or patient forms, a fast single pass feeder saves real time every day.

Canon's software platform, uniFLOW, is widely used for print management and secure print release, and many larger organisations already run it.

Ricoh

Ricoh's strength is breadth. Its IM C colour range runs from the IM C2011 at 20 pages per minute to the IM C8010 at 80 (checked October 2026), with models at most speeds in between. If you need a small machine for a branch and a big one for head office, Ricoh can give you the same family at both.

Ricoh also has a large services business beyond hardware, including managed print and document workflow. For organisations that want one supplier to run their whole print estate, that can be attractive. See our managed print guide for more on that route.

Service

This is where your decision often gets made, and where brand matters less than you'd think.

Both brands have national direct service operations and networks of authorised dealers. The quality of service you get depends heavily on who supplies your machine, how close their engineers are and what response time is written into your contract.

Ask either supplier:

• What's the engineer response time, and is it a target or a guarantee?
• Where is your nearest engineer based?
• Is there a loan machine if mine is out of action for more than a set time?
• Can I see recent reviews or speak to a local customer?

A four hour response promise from a dealer 20 minutes away is worth more than an eight hour target from a big operation whose engineers cover half the country.

Which should you choose?

Choose Canon if:

• scanning speed and quality matter to your office
• you want the newest model generation, with the longest support ahead of it
• you already use uniFLOW or Canon software elsewhere

Choose Ricoh if:

• you need a very small or very large machine, or both, in the same family
• you run several sites and want consistency across them
• you're interested in a broader managed print or workflow service

If neither of those lists jumps out at you, the deciding factor should be the quote: total cost over the term, the click rates, the contract terms and the local service promise.

Verdict

At 30 to 45 pages per minute, Canon and Ricoh make machines that are more alike than different. Canon edges ahead on its newer platform and standard high speed scanner. Ricoh wins on range and fleet consistency. Neither is a bad choice.

Get a quote from each for the same specification, compare them on total cost over the full term, and pick the supplier you trust to turn up when the machine jams on a Friday afternoon. Our Canon guide and Ricoh guide cover each brand in more depth.

FAQs

Is Canon or Ricoh more reliable?

Both make reliable office machines. Canon's imageFORCE range holds BLI's 2026 A3 Line of the Year award. In day to day use, the quality of your service provider usually matters more than the brand.

Is Ricoh cheaper than Canon?

Not consistently. Prices depend on the supplier, model and your negotiation. Get quotes from both for the same specification.

Which is better for a small office?

Ricoh's IM C2011 at 20 pages per minute is one of the smallest current A3 colour copiers. Canon offers the entry level imageFORCE C3026. If you don't need A3, both brands also make A4 devices.

Can I switch from Canon to Ricoh at the end of my lease?

Yes. Check your current agreement's notice period and any automatic renewal clause first. Our lease cancellation guide explains how.

Get Canon and Ricoh quotes

Use the form on this page to tell us what you need. We'll put you in touch with suppliers who can quote, so you can compare Canon, Ricoh and other brands side by side.