How to change the output trays for a Ricoh Aficio MP 5500 copier

A typical Ricoh Aficio MP 5500 copier (as well as the other copiers in the series -- the MP 6500 and MP 7500) has two options for paper output -- the finisher upper tray and the finisher shift tray.  Some MP 5500s are purchased without finishers; for these machines the only option for paper output is the plastic copy tray that hangs off the left side of the copier.

For stapled, sorted, or stacked jobs, the paper must exit out of the finisher shift tray, because of the paper path.  However, for other copy jobs -- and for jobs printed from a computer or from the document server -- the user can specify which tray they want the paper to be sent to.

When the MP 5500 is first set up, the output trays are not designated, and all output (except for stapled or collated jobs) defaults to the finisher upper tray (if a finisher is installed).  If you had previously designated output trays and then for some reason you disconnected the finisher and turned the copier on, the output tray selections would be erased, and you would have to re-enter them.

The output trays can be set up or changed through the copier's configuration settings.  To get to the output tray selections, press the User Tools/Counter button (to the left of the display) and then on the touch screen select System Settings.  The first tab is "General Features" (it should be the active one) and on the right side of the screen you should see options labeled "Output: Copier" and "Output: Document Server."  (If you have the print function installed, you'll also see an option for "Output: Printer.")

Pressing any of these choices will bring up the tray selection for that function.  If your copier doesn't have a finisher, "Copy Tray" will be the only option you can choose.  If the copier does have a finisher, you'll see options for "Finisher Upper Tray" and "Finisher Shift Tray," and "Copy Tray" will be grayed out.

To make a selection for one or more of the functions, choose that function, press the appropriate choice for the output tray that you want to use, and then press OK.  You can have all of the functions output to the same tray, or you can set the trays up any way you want.

You can use the same process to change output trays on other similar families of Ricoh copiers -- the 2051/2060/2075 series and the MP 6000/7000/8000 series, among others.  You can change the output trays any time you want, except when the copier is in the middle of a job; it won't let you into the System Settings screen while it's running.  Some error codes will also prevent you from accessing System Settings.

(Originally posted on Helium.com, 2010)

(Image by Crea Park from Pixabay)