Many companies are cutting corners and trying to lower costs when purchasing the best all- in one copier printer scanner fax office equipment. However, they fail to realize the low cost units are not saving them money or they do not fit their copier printer machine needs.  Beyond HP mid-level printer scanner copiers other brands such as  Kyocera, Sharp, Ricoh, Brother and Copystar offer lower operating costs and longer life. The MX-B201 Sharp is a great alternative.

The big performance in a compact size unit, the Sharp MX-B201D copier printer scanner fax is a great choice.  The Sharp MX-B201D is designed for small offices and work groups delivers features needed for  small office environments who needs documents processed fast.  The 20 page-per-minute copying,  printing and integrated color scanning ensure that your office equipment work needs are met.  It comes standard with a 50-sheet document feeder and duplexing which provides 2-sided scanning for extra efficiency, as well as duplex printing and copying.

The cost-effective Sharp MX-B201, consumable system utilizes a three-component system that’s easy to replace and easy on your wallet.  The toner cartridges have an estimated life of 8,000 pages.  And since business never stands still, the MX-B201D offers flexible options to add Super G3 faxing, networking and web-based management…so you’ll be ready for anything. Plus, they are durable machines when compared to HP printer copier scanners of the same level.

Other brands to consider are the Kyocera FS-1135 which comes standard with copy, printer, scanner and fax which is much more durable than comparable HP copier printer scanner equipment.

The Kyocera FS-1135 new MFD come is a durable machine in the sub $1000 range. It comes with all the features may small business need including printer, copying, scanning, fax and low cost of usage. The

FS-1135mfd comes standard network printing, copy and color scanning functions. It’s a highly efficient desktop letter/legal multifunctional printer that’s compact and quiet. The standard document processor feeds reliably and improves your productivity. The Copystar FS1135MFP is designed with ultra reliable ECOSYS technology the 30 ppm FS-1135MFP is a MFP that small business copier scanner printer and work groups can rely on everyday. And with its long life drum, toner and easy to replace toner container you will enjoy a low total cost of ownership compared to typical all in one models.  All in all, the Copystar FS 1135 is a business machine at a bargain price.

Kyocera has always created low operating cost equipment well made and this one is no exception.  The FS-1135mfd provides per page cost of less than $0.01 (one cent)per page including toner and the 100,000page maintenance kit.  Upon testing the unit its compatible with all operation systems tested including Mac computers.  The Kyocera Copystar FS-1135 copier printer scanner quality prints and scans and best of all it comes standard with duplex (two sided printing, scanning).

Do you own or lease  a color printer or digital copier? One of the most common problems with color printers and color copiers is understanding the causes of image problems and how to determine the printer copier repair image problem.  The one one problem is a repeated or light reprint of a previous image on the same page.

The first step is to determine which color or colors are causing the repeat printer copier repair problem.  Do the following to isolate the actual drum or toner repair problem  of your digital copier or printer scanner:

Step 1:  Print a normal word or excel document but only using the color black.  If some of the text is not in black temporary change it to black.  You do not want any other color except for the one you are testing.

Step 2:  Repeat step one but switch to only using yellow, blue and magenta colors.  This is  a way to isolate the actual cause of the printer copier problem so you can determine the correct repairs needed.

Step 3: Look at each print out. Which ones show the printer copier repair image problem? If you only see it on the black pages then the problem is related to the black toner or black drum unit.  Your color copier printer has one toner per color and in most systems one drum per color.  You are trying to determine if the printer copier problem is related to just certain colors or all colors.

Step 4:  If the printer repair or copier repair image problem follows certain colors then you will either need to replace the drum or the toner cartridge. If your color copier printer has separate drums and toners then replace the drum unit. Otherwise replace the toner which contains the toner and drum. If you are not sure contact us and we will look up the model of your printer copier problem and tell which one needs to be replaced.

Step 5:  f the Color printer copier image repair problem follows all the colors then the cause is either the fuser assembly or the imaging belt unit.  the replacement of the fuser or imaging may require a certified copier or printer repair technician.

If you have other copier printer repair image problems please fell free to comment or ask questions through this blog or contact Advanced Business Computers in Miami. Color image image problem solving does not require vast printer or copier repair expertise.

HP offers the most popular line of laser printers and ink officejet photo printers. However,  what which type is the top best printer for your business?

First and for most you need to know there are NO parts available beyond the encoder strip for any HP ink based machine. That include the photosmart, officejets and deskjet models.  However if  you have a HP Designjet plotters printer ink based machine then all parts are offered.  Any authorized HP laser printer repair service center can get parts for any laser based printer.

The other disadvantage to HP ink based printer when compared to HP laser printers is the cost of supplies.  The laser printer per page costs is usually less than 25% of the cost a hp photosmart or officejet printer.  The HP laser printers are much more durable than their ink based ones too.

Why by an ink based machine?  If you only plan to print a very few pages (10  or less a day) or you need to print photo graphs then the ink based printer has the advantage. Beyond and very low cost there are no advantages to the ink based printer when compared to hp laserjet printers.

You may want to consider refurbished or demo models of HP printers to keep your costs down. example: HP printer 4200n or HP laserjet 4250n printers where $1200 new a couple years ago and now refurbished laser printers start at $350 for these models.  You may say, “I can buy a new HP printer 2030 for $299 why should I get a refurbished 4250 printer? Simple low cost to operate and much more durable.

Always look a the printer cost per page, durability, cost of supplies and history. If you need additional information please contact Advanced Business Computers Inc.

Hewlett Packard Color laser printers for the most part offer very good value for the money when you review the mid-range models and higher. However, as in most brands of color printers the sub $700 color laser printers are not designed for business usage.

Case in point:  The Hewlett Packard 2600/2605 series color laser printers.  There are several know problems and the major one is the replacement of the the transfer belt.  Usually this is a simple end user installable supply item. But not with the 260o.  Also, the toner carriage tends to have contact problems so you will need to clean the contracts frequently. Then add the high cost per page for the supplies and you begin to realize that it truly color laser designed for low volume home usage (less than 1,00 per month).

The HP color printer 1600, 2500 and the 2600 color lasers also has problems with the front door breaking.  Everything is plastic and not thick durable plastic either. Open the door to the toner area and you will know what I mean.  Again another indication that this is a HOME color laser printer for light usage.

If you need a color laser printer then always check the manufacturers usage recommendation.  Ask an authorized laser printer or color copier printer dealer for advice.  See if they ask the right questions first before you make the selection of your preferred color printer or color copier dealer.

Does  the color copier dealer or printer center  they only offer one brand or seem more interested in getting you into a 5 year lease than solving your problem?  Do they ask you your monthly volume and determine your true cost per page? Do they offer exact per page agreements to save you money big time or do they load he agreement with pages you will never use?

If you need help or have questions on which model is best for your business then contact Advanced Business Computers Inc now via the web, this blog or by mail.  Remember equipment failure and expensive copier printer lease can be prevented with the right information.

The costs are starting to drop on laser based color copier printers and scanners. Recent model color copiers and color laser printers hardware by Kyocera and Ricoh have force other players int he copier printer scanner market to reduce the cost of their supplies. Kyocera the low cost per page leader in color copying and printers now boost great image quality too.

Kyocera, the green copier printer company, has always provided low cost per page and fantastic low maintenance copier printers.  However, they were only average in the color printing.  However, during the past three years they have gained a wide following in the color market not just as the low cost per page leaser but in great color quality output of prints and copiers. Now their color copier printers and color printers compete the best of them while excelling in low cost of ownership.

What is the cost of copier printer scanner ownership?  Simply its the total cost including all costs associated with copier repair, maintenance and supplies in a per page amount. every time you use your copier printer scanner it uses a bit of toner, developer, drum, fuser life, and other part costs.  You calculate the cost per page of the printer copier by taking all the costs and divided  the number by the estimated life of the toner, developer, drum, etc.

Other low costs favorites are HP laser printers but not their multi-functions due to their poor repair history. Ricoh, Lanier, Saving and Gestetner is another favorite color copier  printer manufacture. Ricoh manufacturers Lanier, Gestetner and Savin copier brands.  The Ricoh copiers provide very reliable work with very good quality color copier output.  However, they are more expensive than the Kyocera and more costly to maintain.

Other color copier printer scanner brands to consider are Sharp. we do not recommend Canon or Toshiba due to their high cost of ownership and repair parts.

Color copiers printers have greatly come down in their costs to operate. Remember to always check the cost of ownership before you buy.  Call or as a certified technicians which brands work the best and cost less to operate. Stay away from companies who only offer one or two brands because they will be bias. Get a phone Free evaluation or if you plan to purchase a used copier or used printer get a technicians to check it first!

The Kyocera copier printers and all in one equipment is considered one of the best copier scanners in the industry for reliability and duty cycle (durability).  The most of the Kyocera KM and Copystar CS line have a duty cycle between maintenance cycles of 300.000 pages. That far and above Most of Canon copiers 80K, Ricoh copiers 150K, and Toshiba 60K maintenance cycles.

The company of Mita owes the Kycoera and Copystar brands. This articles concerns the Mita Kyocera and the Mita Copystar copiers only.

What’ s in the Kyocera and Copystar repair maintenance kit?

The Kyocera maintenance kits contains 95% off all the wear and tear parts. Both the Mita Kyocera copier repair and the Copystar repair maintenance kits are the exact same parts.  The kit contains the fuser, developer, drum unit, corona rollers, paper pickup roller and separation rollers.  Plus the Mita Kyocera copier repair kit comes other material for handling the parts.

It is recommended that an authorized Mita Kyocera copier repair technicians install the kit? Yes.  Beyond installing the parts the equipment needs cleaning, lubrication and adjustments once the copier maintenance kit is installed.  It’s takes a copier repair service technician approximately 1.5 hours to complete the installation and copier maintenance steps.

What’s the cost of a maintenance kit?

This varies by company. The range is From $597 to $947 not including the installation and copier repair maintenance.  If you have a copier lease maintenance program or copier maintenance agreement then the copier repair maintenance Kit is usually included.

If you need a copier maintenance kit for Kyocera, Ricoh, Sharp or other brand for copier repair please contact Advanced Business Computers Inc.

What copier scanner or laser printer all in one features do you need for your business equipment.  What is better a desktop HP laser all in one MDF’s or a business class Copystar Kyocera copier printer scanner with tons of standard features that cost more to obtain but less to operate?

Do you know the copier scanner or laser printer features you need?  Do you keno what ADF, DAPF, Duplex, offeset and other terms used to describe the best printer copier choice for you?

Who do you ask for help?  An %8.50 hour store sales stocking clerk who just repeats what they are told or a copier printer service repair technicians who has years of experience every day who repairs copiers and printers for a living?

Either way you need to know what they are talking about. If you are looking for a copier printer all in one for your office get advice from experts and learn the following basic copier and laser printer all in one terms:

Copier Features:

The copier printer all in one industry has changed over the past three years. What use to be options now comes as standard accessories on many copier models whether an desktop HP laser all in one or a business class Kyocera or sharp copier scanner.

Automatic documents feeders (ADF or RADF) – Standard

This sits on the top of the copier printer scanner so that gives you the ability to automatically feed a stack of papers to copy, fax out or scan to computer. Some brands of copiers still call this an option. However, a machine never goes  out the door without this. Usually the feeder allows up to 50 pages (some up to 100 pages) at one time on your digital copier or multi-function printer.

Digital Sorting – Standard

All brands of digital photocopiers all in ones for the past 5 years provide offset digital sorting without using an external optional mailbox finisher.

Digital sorting means each copy, print or fax job is “offset” from the previous one (shifted side to side). This feature does not limit the number of document sets your copier can sort. If you had an optional external mailbox finisher then you are limited to the number of slots.

Duplex – Standard on most units

The duplex unit gives your digital copier the ability to do two sided printing and copying. It’s an option on some brands. However the more recent models (3 years old or less) it’s standard.

Paper Drawers

All business class copier printer scanners come with two paper drawers. The lower end personal copiers usually come with one drawer. Each paper drawer “cassette” handles several size papers from A4 up to 11 x 17.  Most of the current models can handle sizes A4 to Legal. Most mid-range digital copier’s drawers handle paper up to 11 x 17 size pages.

Paper Cassette Drawer Options include:  Additional paper drawers (feeders) up to 3,000 pages on some models of copiers. The typical optional copier paper drawers handle 500 sheets of paper. If you are using heavy paper stock you may need to use a bypass tray on your laser printer copier.

Go Green Power Save

This is a standard feature of most recent model digital copiers scanners.  Due to pressure from governments, end user and marketing professionals, power save mode is here to stay. Basically the color copier printer will put itself in a lower power usage stage waiting for printer copier jobs to process. Once it receives a job it powers back up quickly. This reduces electrical expenses – saves you money.

Faxing option:

Usually this is an option not a standard copier scanner accessory.  This copier all in one option gives you the ability to send and received faxes. Plus, with most brands of photocopiers you get fax to email and fax to computers. If you have a network it will require setup of mail boxes and installation of software of each computer.

Security, Client tracking, and Department Billing

Lawyers are great at this. They charge their clients for every piece of paper produced on the printer copier scanner. One way they track the actual number of pages produce is through the digital photocopiers security measures. Most machines have the ability to assign access codes.

You can assign a copier access code for each employee, client or department. Once setup you have to input a security code before a job will print or copy on the all in one. At the end of the billing period just print an access report to get the total pages copied or printed by each access code.

Not Sure What You need?

Ask questions!

If your sales person is all hype and no meat then go someplace else.  Color printer copier features and options are designed for a specific purpose.

Do not assume the digital copier scanner will do what you want. Ask for the specification sheet. Want more information contact me through our blog at Advanced Business Computers Inc.  If you need help determining the best copier or printer then go to the copier printer scanner help form.

All rights reserved Copyright Advanced Business Computers, Inc. 2009

It has always amazed me the number of businesses and government agencies that just think about “NOW” when selecting replacement printer, copiers and fax machines. How do you purchase your company’s copier printers or laser printers?

“It’s a buyers beware – the manufacturers are going to get you!”

Have you notice a change? The US dollar is dropping in value. gold is skyrocketing and Lexmark, HP, Xerox and other equipment manufactures announced big price increases on their supplies.

Just when you are trying to cut costs, they raised your cost on supplies! But, did the copiers scanner or hp laser printers actual equipment go up in price?

NO.  Why?

Because they are out to get you!  It’s the old game of getting you with inexpensive laser printers, desktop copiers and all in one equipment and then socking it to you with higher supply costs.

Are you one of those people who fail to think about the future costs of operating the equipment when you buy copier printers or printer scanners all in one?  93% of the companies in America spend more money on supplies than they do on the actual laser printer, digital copier over the like of the equipment

5 Things You Should Know

Before You Buy

#1: What toner supplies do the laser printer or digital copier use? What the cost of each supply item? Toner cartridge? Drum?  Developer?

#2: What is the estimated number of pages you will get from each toner cartridge supply item? Now calculate your cost per page.

#3: FACT! The lower the cost of the copier printer, HP laser printer or fax the more it cost per page to operate!

#4: What is the DUTY cycle of the laser printer– NOT print speed?  The print speed has nothing to do with the durability. The duty cycle is the key. the higher the duty cycle the more durable is the laser printer or copier scanner all in one.

Now, take the duty cycle and multiply it by .20 (20%) and you should not average over this number of pages per month.

#5: Get a higher end slightly used copier or laser printer for the save or less than a low end used printer scanner. They will outlast and cost less to operate over the long run.

The catch here is getting a used one in good condition. We get calls every week from people buying used copiers and laser printers  cheap just to find out in a month that the equipment needs major work.

Consider Dealer Select fully warranted machines. If you are looking for quality used equipment call us. It does not cost you a single cent to ask.

If you have may questions please feel free to contact us.  See our website for additional information. Feel free to call us or request help through our blog or go ahead to our website or call us for a quick response.

There is a confusion concerning the quality of color prints a copier  or printer produces.Do you own a color copier, laser printer or all in one printer copier scanner?  Do you expect the same quality of prints whether you scan, email or print an image from your computer?

Clients call all the time concerning the quality of color prints produced on their all in one color copier or laser printer all in one. The conversation usually involves around poor quality copied images when compared to one printed from the computer to the color digital copier or printer all in one color. Some of them believe they should get the same quality of print from the SCANNED images as the one printed directly from their digital camera connected printed directly from their computer.

Why is the quality greater from the computer than from the scanned image?  Simple – resolution. When you transfer an image directly from your digital camera to your computer the resolution of the actual image is much greater than the one scanned from your color copier or color printer scanner.

The scanner will always produce images with less quality due to the limitations of the device. Most scanners have a scan resolution of 1200 dpi digital enhanced 2400 dpi which equates to 1.5 to 2.8MP.  Even the low end digital camera produce 6mp images with many of them over 10mp.  This alone show you the scanned image is much lower resolution on your color copier scanner or printer scanner.

Plus, the scanner uses light to take a picture of the image.  The light actually distorts the colors on the color copier scanner or color printer all in one. this further reduces the quality of the image copied. So what should you do?

Whenever possible use the digital format of the image from the camera connected to your computer to produce your color print.  If you have to use the copier then try copying at different darkness using the settings on your color copier scanner or color printer all in one device.

Next before your select your color printer or colour copier printer make sure you tell the dealer your various needs.  Get help from an independent color copier or color laser printer dealer that is not locked into a particular brand.  What’s more important: getting the right equipment at a far price or the name on the color copier scanner?

Sincerely,

Advanced Business Computers Inc.

P.S.  Request a free evaluation of your needs.  Please post your questions about color all in one printer scanners copiers here to get a prompt answer.  Even get high quality Dealer Select units at up to 70% off  now.