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.

HP is trying to become more active in the higher end copier ,market. However they haev greatly fallen short in their equipment and problems.  Basically HP takes a printer and designs a MFD copier printer scanner fax unit around it.  It’s not a from scratch machine originally design as a full business class copier printer.  The cost of the machine are approximately the sames as Ricoh, Sharp, Kyocera or Copystar copier printer scanner fax machine so there is not cost advantage. Hp is trying to leverage their name as the selling point.  However, there are some inherent problems:

here are specifications fro the HP M5035mfp

HP LaserJet M5035 MFP is a copier, printer color scanner, and fax MFD office class device that comes as a desktop to a full size machine with the additional of addition drawers stand unit.

• Handles letter, legal and 11×17 size documents
• 35 ppm copy/print speed
• 50 page ADF
• Superior network connectivity and management
• Embedded LDAP and Kerberos network authentication
• Embedded send to network folder and e-mail

However,  there are problems and one is not solvable – light scanning and copying. HP M5035MFP repair of the lightness problem has not solution. The unit prints great (remember it a MFD designed around a printer) but when it starts developing lightness of scanning HP has not solutions.  Up grading the firmware does not solve the scanning repair problem. Cleaning the and doing HP maintenance on the optics does not solve the problem.  The only solution we haev not tried is replacing the WHOLE adf with the image scanner unit due to excess costs and time. If you need a true full business class copier printer scanner you may want to look elsewhere than HP at the present time. Kyocera, Copystar, sharp and Ricoh are among the best and easiest to service repair.

Over the past few years HP printers scanners copiers have lost ground to various other manufacturers of MFD in the marker. Yes, HP is still the leader due to its large installed base and brand name.  However, the quality of product has greatly diminished specially in the sub 4100 market. Brands such as Samsung, Kyocera, Lexmark and other have slowly taken some market share away from the giant.  Kyocera who is know for phones has been int the copier printer business much longer than HP and offer great products.

One advantage of Kyocera brand or printers copiers or MFD is that the company focuses on equipment quality not on covering all markets.  Instead of offering 20 models of printers they put all their efforts in making a few, 5 to 7 models quality low cost to use models.

In the USA Kyocera is not well know for printers. However, in other parts of the world they are major players.  They do not offer ink based units such as HP deskjets and photosmarts.   Kyocera printers and MFD are all laser banded models designed for business.  Yes, they do offer a lower end sub $650 MFD unit for home business and its a durable unit . However, if you are looking to replace HP MFD for a more durable loner lasting  lower costs business class machine check Kyocera out.

Kyocera printer line up starts at $299 and goes up. In contrast HP has printers laser printers for as low as $125. the difference is in the quality of product and the lower cost of usage. Kyocera beats HP hands  down in both areas.   Kyocera’s lowest end MFD (copier printer , scanner) the FS-1028  (FS-128 model with fax) start at $599. Its maintenance kit last 200,000 pages and the toner costs keeps your per page costs below 1.5 cents!

With all the models of copier printer scanners on the market is may be a bit confusing of which models or brands to consider.  This entry is based on the fasting moving brands of printer copiers from off lease machines with the export market taken out of the equation.  Major leasing companies send most of their off lease equipment to 2 to 3 major wholesale distributors of copier printer scanner equipment in the USA. Dealers then receive daily lists to bid on the used machines to refurbished for their clients.

The fastest moving brands of used reconditions copier printers scanners from these warehouses are Kyocera, Ricoh and Sharp.  Yes, Canon , Toshiba and other models do sell but not as quick as the top three.  Between the used Kyocera Ricoh and Sharp copier printer scanners equipment the Kyocera KM_3035 / 4035 / 5035 with under 300K pages and complete systems (copier, duplex,  printer scanner and fax) move within a couple hours. Sharp AR-M455 and AR-M355 are the next copiers printers.

The ones that move the slowest of the major brands are Xerox, Konica-Minolta, Canon and Toshiba brands of copier printer MFD.  When talking about Ricoh that includes all Ricoh brands: Lanier, Gestetner and Savin. Kyocera include used refurbished Copystar copiers printers.  All brands that do not have the fax and scanner feature are slow movers. The majority of the people who are in the market for copier printers new, used or refurbished what all the features included in the copier printer MFD. The up an coming models due to low availability of the most popular Kyocera and Sharp are the Kyocera of Copystar 3050, 4050 and the 5050.  when dealers select used machines to refurbish they look at the durability of the copier printer, cost to refurbished and  market feature demands.

The current economic environment has lead to companies rethinking their desire to always have  new business class copier printer scanners. Leasing a new copier printer scanner is just like owning a new car, once its out of the show room it looses 30% of ti value but you are still liable for the full price! The trend to obtain recent model dealer select used printer copiers network equipment has driven the some brands of used copiers higher. Why?  Simple: dealers know which brands are durable and will provide trouble free usage for their clients.

What models and manufacturer are most in demand?  Currently, the number on based on review of three major off lease equipment companies (companies with an inventory of 3,000+ machines) are the Kyocera KM3035, 4035 and the 5035.  When they are received in from off lease they do not least more than a couple hours in inventory before a dealers grabs them. Kyocera copier printer scanner are know for their very high reliability and very long lasting maintenance kit. The Kyocera maintenance kit ha an estimated like of 400,000 pages.  The far superior than Canon, Ricoh, Minolta, Toshiba, Sharp and other brands.

Beyond the Kyocera the next brand are Ricoh and then Sharp brands.  Be very careful when purchasing a used refurbished copier printer  from a company going out of business.  We get calls all day long form people who said hey got a great dealer only to learn the machine is 7 to 12 years old and it needs maintenance. Copier printer scanner maintenance can run into the hundreds of dollars.  the company is going out of business so do you think they maintained their copier printers?

Before you buy a machine get the meter count, supply/maintenance status page and the then call to get the true value of the used copier printer before you buy. Or post a question here. for a quick reply.  The used refurbished printer copier resource is updated everyday and a simple questions will tell you if you are getting a deal or not.

here is the next set o Ricoh repair maintenance error codes fro repair technicians. If you own a Ricoh, Savin, Gestetner or Lanier then these codes are all the same.  Repairing the complete line of Ricoh printer copiers is easy because all the Ricoh brands use the same error codes, parts and supplies.  If you prefer to place your copier printer under a service maintenance agreement or have questions concerning printer copier scanner repairs then contact Advanced Business Computers.

SC410 paper seperation leak

SC411 Separation bias leak error

SC420 Cleaning motor lock

SC422 PCC Leak

SC430 Quenching lamp error

SC440 Main motor lock/drum

SC441 Development motor lock

SC450 Paper transfer bias leak

SC451 Paper transfer belt motor lock

SC452 transfer belt mark detection error

SC455 Paper transfer belt discharge corona current leak

SC456 Paper transfer unit position error

SC457 Image transfer belt cleaning unti position error

SC460 Thermistor 1 temperature error

SC461 Thermnistor 2 error

SC471 Transfer Belt HP sensor error

SC490 Toner supply motor leak

SC492 Cooling an motor lock

SC493 Exhaust fan motor lock

SC495 Toner recycling unit error

SC496 Toner collection bottle error

SC497 Toner recycling motor error

Half the battle in repairing copier printers is knowing what the error codes mean.  If you are not familiar with copier printer repair terminology then you will need the complete service manual for the Ricoh, Lanier, Gestetner and Savin printer copier scanners to repair them.  Some copier printer repair maintenance codes are misleading for example motor lock does not mean you need to replace the motor. You may need to replace a gear set or during the repair of the copier printer find the paper clip or staple that is causing the motor to jam. If you need further assistance contact Advanced Business Computers in Southeast Florida.

First, let make a general statement that none of the above copier printer scanner fax machine manufacturer say: they all make a bad model once an a while and some of them make many bad models. However,  looking at the past 3 years history on actual service calls and by actual technician as that are NOT committed only one particular brand there are some clear winners.  many copier printer scanner companies only offer one brand due to the fact they have to invest large sums of money to become FACTORY AUTHORIZED.  IN fact, many manufactures of copier priers force dealers to be only related to one brand of they will not get authorization. What does this mean to you?

Simply put, if you talk to a Sharp dealer then Sharp is best, if you talk to a Xerox dealer then Xerox is best, if you talk to a Canon dealer then Canon is best.  So how do you know which one is actually the best copier printer scanner? Talk to independent dealers, check the copier printer Bertl reports,  Best Buy reports, consumer reports and finally the resell value. However, when you check the resell value on a used copier printer do not ASK the dealer! Why because their book value is usually way, way higher than actual value.

Ok in the resell market the HOTTEST printers (the hardest ones to get by dealers) are Kyocera 3035, 4035 and 5035 in the black/white models and for color copier printers Ricoh colors MPC series.  How is this know?  This is determined by how long a particular model of copier printer stays in inventory of major wholesale distributors of used copier printers. These distributors supply copier printer dealers with used machines to resell or export.  Presently, of the three largest dealers the Kyocera 3035, 4035, and 5035 do not last even one day!

Why are Kyocera so good? Because they are very clean operating, extremely reliable and very long duty cycle (time between replacing the copier printer scanner maintenance kits).

What is the biggest name used copier printer machines? Canon and Ricoh however, they are not the best.  Which ones do independent resellers stay away from due to problems, excessive repair costs and poor quality? Toshiba, Xerox  and Minolta.  Beyond the model what else should you consider when selecting a used or reconditioned copier printer fax? duty cycle, number of current pages on unit, warranty, age (this is a big one) and reliability of the dealer (is it a one man show or a company with several repair technicians?).

This copier repair error code list is getting longer and longer. the Ricoh, Lanier Savin and Gestetner repair copier printer scanner codes will take several more blog posts to complete.  If you need them fasted contact Advanced Business Computers Inc in Miami for a quick copier printer repair quote.  Some of the copier repair problems and maintenance mean the same and refer to the same printer copier repair procedures.  Make sure you reference the service manual for detail printer copier repair instructions.

Here is the next batch of ricoh savin lanier and gestetner copier printer service repair maintenance codes.

SC340 TD sensor output error

SC341  TD sensor adjustment error

SC342 TD Sensor adjustment error 2

SC 343 Yellow sleeve motor lock

SC 344 Magenta sleeve motor lock

SC 345 Developer  bias leak

SC 346 Color developement motor lock

SC 350 sensor/patern test error 1

SC 351 Sensor/VSG test error 2

SC 352 Sensor/pattern edge detect error 3

SC 353 Sensor LED current adnormal erro 4

SC 354 ID sensor error 5

SC 355 Yellow TD sensor adjustment error

SC 356 Magenta TD sensor gain adjustment error

SC 357 Cyan TD sensor gain adjustment error

SC 360 hard disk detection error 1

SC 362 hard disk detection error 2

SC 364 hard disk error

SC 365 Image storage address error

SC 366 hard disk bad sector max

SC 367 hard disk bad sector

SC 370 IMAC input FIFO error

SC 371 Yellow TD sensor detection error

SC 372 IMAC output error

SC 373 Magenta TD Sensor detection error

SC 374 IMAC modes setting error

SC 375 Yellow TD sensor lower detection abnormal

SC 376 Data transmission error

SC 377 Magenta TD lower

Next posting we will start with the calibration errors for repairing the copiers printer by Savin Ricoh and Gestetner.  If you are handy with tools you can handle simple repairs such as replacing fuser, drums and developers for the copier printers. However, may repairs requires technical knowledge and experience in copier printer repairs and maintenance. You may want to consider copier printer lease maintenance agreements that cover all supplies, repairs and labor on your printer copier scanner equipment for your business.

The economy has created a big win fall for Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Canon and other manufacturers of printers and copiers. They know companies are buying the lower costs printer scanner copier machines thinking they are reducing costs.  However, they fail to realize that they are saving a few dollars at first and then paying through the nose for the supplies!

We just receive a call from a new client. The own a Canon D880 copier and a HP M1522 printer which they recently purchased (3 months ago).  they purchased these units because they were low in cost but they did not take into account the cost of the supplies and how often they will need to purchase cartridges.

They are purchasing one Canon D880 toner and three HP M1522 toners per month.  They are spending approximately $297 per month on just supplies to produce 6,000 to 7,500 pages of print.  In other words, they are supping as much every month in supplies as the machines cost!   Plus, when something goes wrong, printer repair or Copier service, the low end machines are not worth fixing.  It’s better to get a higher end business class machine that is low in cost to use and designed for many years of use.

What did they do? They opted to get a Kyocera KM-2560 for $210 per month including all printer copier supplies, repairs, parts etc and then they gave their HP printer and Canon to a local church as a write off.  Unless you are producing less than 2,000 pages per month you will save with the proper copier printer lease.  Business class office equipment saves companies money and headaches in the long run.  Ff you are not sure contact us to get a free over the phone evaluation on whether its better to buy a low end copier printer fax or a higher end copier printer  scanner.

The economy has created a Bonanza for people looking for auctioned used copiers printer for pennies on the dollar.  However, if you are not very careful then you will get a big headache and spend hundreds of additional dollars on copier maintenance of printer repair kits.  Think about this the company is auctioning off a used piece of equipment from a company that is no longer. It’s very important to know the equipment you are purchasing or have a reliable copier printer repair company review the digital printer or copier first.

Yesterday a client called stating their office neighbor is closing his company and offered a color Canon copier printer to him for $1600 dollars.  No warranty and the equipment was maintained by another company.  The actual price is not bad for the machine however, without knowing the copier printers current toner, developer and drum status he could be walking into a big expense.  The digital copier printer scanner toners alone (set of toners) cost $497. The developers cost (set) $754 and the drums several hundred of dollars.   I asked the client to fine out the current toner level, current page count, the developer and the drum status for the machine. The digital copier printer seller didn’t not know how to provide the information.

He asked us to go and check the service records of the color Canon copier printer and this is what we found. The toners were 75% used. It had a page count of 547,435 pages and needed the full set of developers.  The drums were in good condition but the fixing unit (fuser) would need replacing in less than 5,000 pages – about one month base on the clients usage.  Needles to say he did not get the machine because the $1600 used copier printer unit would have actually costs him over $3000 within a month! If he wanted a copier printer service agreement on the unit the repairs would need to be done first prior to the maintenance agreement on the printer scanner copier.

Some used copiers printers are great bargains however; you need to know the equipment before you lay down your money.  It’s always recommended to have a qualified copier printer technician repair service center to check the machine first. Ask what would a copier maintenance agreement including all repairs and supplies costs.  Currently the top black and white machines are Kyocera, Ricoh (Lanier, Ricoh, Gestetner and Savin) and Sharp for repair-ability and low printer copier maintenance costs.