How to clear the fax memory on a Ricoh Aficio MP series multifunction printer

If the fax memory on your Ricoh Aficio MP series copier/printer is full or almost full, you can delete some (or all) of the faxes stored in the reception file to can make room for new faxes.

• On the fax screen, press the button toward the top labeled Change TX / Info, TX / RX Status, or something similar. (Wording varies by model.)
• On the menu that appears, select the option for printing or deleting the reception file.
• The list of stored faxes will be displayed. From here, you can either print out or delete (or both) old faxes, and make room for new faxes to come through. If you want to delete old faxes, you can select multiple files at once to delete.

How to set up fax forwarding on a Ricoh Aficio MP 301 copier

On Ricoh multifunction copiers that have both a fax and network connection, you can set up fax forwarding that will allow incoming faxes to be routed to a network destination, such as a shared folder or an email address.  This guide walks you through how to set the fax forward feature up on a Ricoh Aficio MP 301SPF, but the steps will be similar for other Ricoh models.

- Press the User Tools/Counter button
- On the screen, select Facsimile Features
- Select Reception Settings
- Select Reception File Settings
- Select Forwarding
- Select On
- Select either Email or Folder, depending on which type of destination you want to use
- Select the email address or network folder from the list shown
- Select OK
- Select OK again
- Select OK again
- Select OK again

Once you exit User Tools and the change takes effect, all incoming faxes will be forwarded to the folder or email address you specified.  As you can see from the instructions, the folder or email address must already be present in the machine's address book in order to use it as a forwarding address.  If you haven't set up the destination you want to use yet, these articles can help you with that process, depending on whether you want to forward to an email address or network folder:

- How to set up scan to email on a Ricoh MP series copier
- How to save an email address on a Ricoh MP series copier
- How to link to a network share folder from a Ricoh MP series copier

In order to have faxes forward to an email address, you will also need to have a default sender specified, and have Auto Specify Sender enabled.  If those options haven't been set up yet, you can find step-by-step instructions for doing so here:

- How to specify a default sender on a Ricoh Aficio MP series copier

How to enable fax confirmations on a Ricoh MP series copier

If you have a Ricoh MP series copier (MP 4000, MP C5000, MP 6002, etc.) with faxing capability, your machine has the option to print out a confirmation page after you've sent a fax, to let you know whether or not the fax went through successfully.  This setting is not always turned on by default, so if you want to enable the fax confirmation page on your Ricoh MP series copier or printer, you can do so by following the steps below.

Ricoh uses parameter switches to control many of the fax settings, which are only labeled with numbers.  To get to these parameter switches, press the User Tools/Counter button, then select Facsimile Features.  Choose the option for Initial Settings, then select Parameter Settings.

Inside the parameters settings, be careful what you change because it can affect various aspects of fax operation.  For the confirmation page, select Switch 03, then change bits 0, 2, and 5 all to 1 (On).  If any of these three bits are already on, then you don't have to change them at all.  Just select the others that are off (set to 0).  Then select OK to save the change, and exit out of User Tools.

(Originally published on Bubblews.com, November 2013)

How to add a fax destination to a Ricoh Aficio MP series copier

You can store fax numbers in the address book of your Ricoh Aficio MP series copier (MP 4002, MP C5503, MP 9001, etc.) so that when you want to send a fax to that number, you can just select it on the screen instead of having to type it in each time.  Saving a fax number to the address book is very easy to do, and the steps below will guide you through the process.  (These steps will vary slightly for MP series copiers with smaller screens, such as the MP 171, MP 201, and MP 301.)

To start, press the Facsimile button on the left side of the screen.  (On newer MP series copiers, you can select Facsimile from the home screen as well.)  Then, select the Prg. Dest. button on the touch screen.

On the screen that pops up, select the Change button to the right of where "Fax Destination" is displayed.  Here you can type in the fax number you want to save, complete with any prefixes it needs (9 to dial out, 1 for long distance, etc.).  If you need to insert a pause, you can do so by selecting Pause on the screen.  Once you have finished typing the number, select OK.  Then select OK again.

Next you'll be prompted to enter a name for this fax number.  This name can be anything you want; it's just the name that will be displayed on the screen to represent this particular number.  You can use upper case letters by selecting SHIFT at the bottom left of the screen.  When you are finished typing the name, select OK.  Then select OK once more to finish the process and save the fax number in the address book.

Now, when you look at the fax screen, you should see the fax destination you just programmed appear in the bottom half of the screen.  (If there are already a lot of fax destinations programmed, you might have to scroll down to find yours.)

(Originally published on Bubblews.com, January 2014)

How to print a fax journal from a Ricoh MP series copier

On a fax machine, the fax journal (or fax log) is a list of all the recent faxes, both sent and received.  The fax journal can be handy to have for reference, to see if a fax went through or to check if a fax was really sent.  Follow the steps below to print a fax journal from any Ricoh MP series copier/fax machine that has a touch screen.  (For machines without a touch screen, such as the MP 201, the steps will be a little different but basically the same idea.)

- Press the Facsimile button, or select Facsimile from the Home screen
- At the top of the screen, select TX/RX Status, or TX/RX Status / Print, or Change TX / Info, or Information, or Comm. Status/Print, depending on your model
- Select Print Journal
- Select All
- Press the Start button

The fax journal will be broken up into two sections: TX and RX.  TX stands for transmission, and it lists the faxes that were sent.  RX stands for reception, and it lists the faxes that were received.

(Originally published on Bubblews.com, March 2014)

How to set up email faxing from a Ricoh MP series copier

If your Ricoh MP series copier (MP 4001, MP C3503, MP 7502, etc.) has the capability to scan and fax, then you can use to it send faxes to an email address.  Setting up faxing to email is a fairly easy process, and if you have already set up scanning to email, then it should only take a minute or so.

These instructions are standard for almost all Ricoh multifunction copiers in the MP and Aficio MP series.  The only exceptions are a few of the smaller copiers (such as the MP C305 and MP 201) that either don't have touch screens or have smaller touch screens, and a few of the older copiers in the Aficio MP series, which might have the buttons on the screen arranged slightly differently.

The first step for setting up email faxing is to configure the SMTP settings for the copier so it is able to send emails.  If you've already done this, then you can skip this step.  Otherwise, step-by-step instructions for setting up scan to email can be found here:  How to set up scan to email from a Ricoh Aficio MP series copier.

Once you've set up email scanning, the only thing left to do to set up email faxing is to enable it.  Press the User Tools/Counter button (or the User Tools button on the high-volume copiers) and select Facsimile Features.  Select the Initial Settings tab, then select the Email Setting option.  Select On, the select OK to save the change.

You have now set up email faxing.  When you exit User Tools and go to the fax screen, you will see a tab on the screen labeled Email.  To send an email fax, select this tab and choose the email destination to fax to.  If everything is set up correctly, it should go right through.

(Originally published on Bubblews.com, March 2014)

How to send a fax from a Ricoh copier

These instructions will walk you through how to send a fax using a Ricoh copier or multifunction printer.  The steps are meant for any Ricoh copiers with a touch screen; for copiers that don't have a touch screen (such as the MP 161 or MP 2500) the steps will vary slightly.

- Plug an active fax line into the LINE port on the back side of the copier, if it's not already connected.
- Press the Facsimile button (or select Facsimile on the Home screen).
- Select the fax destination from the preset list shown on the screen, or enter the fax number manually using the number pad.
- Place your document(s) in the document feeder (face up) or on the glass (face down).
- Press the Start button.

If you want to send an email fax, you can find instructions for setting that up here:

- How to set up email faxing from a Ricoh MP series copier