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).

Lines on copier printer scanners are caused 99% of the time by one of three things:  ADF (automatic document feeder) dirty, bad drum or fuser assembly. As an end user the one thing you can resolve 99.9% of the time yourself if the cleaning of the copier printer scanner ADF glass.

Debris on the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) glass can cause lines or streaks when copying using the ADF.  Simple copier printer scanner maintenance of the scanner glass is simple for most models.  Fist, do not confuse the large flat glass on your copier printer scanner as the ADF Glass. Each of these products utilize a separate piece of glass (ADF glass) when making copies or scans thru the ADF.

Debris can adhere to the thin long prinrer scanner copier adf scanner flass, which produces a line or streak on copies from the bottom to the top of the page. The debris can be Wite Out®, adhesive residue from a Post It® note, ink or paper dust. A soft lint free cloth moistened with water will usually be sufficient to clean debris. If needed, lens cleaner or glass cleaner can be applied to the cloth. this is a simple printer copier repair maintenance procedure.

The copier printer scanner scanner glass is usually about .5 to 1″ wide and9″ to 12″ long. On most models for copier printer scanners  your scanner adf glass is located either BEFORE the large flat bed glass (to the right on most machines) or in the ADF section. Most adf sections can be hinged up so you can access the scanner glass. When you do the copier printer scanner repair maintenance on the adf glass use water or a glass cleaner. However, be careful not to use too much liquid!

What does factory certified mean when purchasing a refurbished used recondition copier printer scanner?  Certified Factory Pre-owned equipment consists of 100% certified equipment by factory authorized service technicians. The used copier printer scanners o through a rigorous testing, inspection, part and replacement process before they are approved for on-site warranty. Only the cream of the crop used copiers printers scanners are certified.

Why should I Look at the Duty Cycle – All printers copiers have a duty cycle assigned by the manufacturer. Duty cycle is a number of pages per month the printer was designed to print (maximum number of pages). In the real world black/white copier printers with a duty cycle of fewer than 60K per month or color printers less than 50K per month are considered home or very small office devices. Many people look at the pages per minute rate to determine if the device is durable. This is a BIG mistake. The speed of the printer copier scanner office equipment and the duty cycle are two very different specifications. There are many low end printers that print 25 to 35 pages per minute, however; they are very easy to break and designed for the home use. Plus, the low end printers are very expensive to maintain (high per page supply costs.)

Simply put: Certified Pre-owned used printer copier equipment gives you more for your money, lower operating costs and longer equipment life. It’s a great alternative to cost high end equipment or cheap easy to break low end machines.

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.

Determine whether to buy a new verses refurbished send copier depends upon your demands. Digital copiers are the most economical way to copier documents at high speeds. Plus, you get the advantage of a wide variety of standard options not available on standard printers.  Multifunction copiers consist of copy, printer, scanner and network. Most have digital copiers printers have options including faxing, stapling, large capacity drawers, stackers and collation.

Before you make you purchase of a multifunction copier printer scanner know you your estimated monthly usage.  Big price stickers on new digital copier’s printers make many buyers to consider refurbished use machine. With the number of business failing today the used market is hotter than used digital copier printers could be a smart idea for companies of all sizes or people looking to reduce costs while getting a true multi-function copier printer scanner equipment.

When selecting a used machine ask about warranties and age of the machine. As a general rule do not get a machine older than 5 years or one with over two months duty cycle. Make sure the copier printer scanner was recently serviced and obtain a copy of the service error log from the machine.  Do not assume that a used machine is a great deal because of its name or price. Many of he best name copier printer scanners, such as Canon, Xerox and Toshiba have very very low resale value. If you need assistance contact Advanced Business Computers Inc for more information or post a question on this blog.

Today economic environment is a driving force in the used refurbished printer copier scanner market. Companies are seeking ways to greatly reduce monthly expenses and they have realized replacing a used copier printer with a new one every 3 to 5 years is not sound business practice. Ricoh, a well know name in the copier business, is one of  the more popular brand due to the ease of repair and the number of Ricoh repair facilities in just about every city.

Ricoh, also know as Savin, Lanier,and  Gestetner (all same machines but different names) are reliable and low cost to operate copier printers.  Obtaining a recent model Ricoh or Lanier copier printer over buying a new one from Canon, Toshiba or other brand will greatly reduce you monthly costs.  First of all, recent model (3..4 years old) refurbished used copier printers scanners usually save you 50% to 67%  of the cot of a new one which equates to 50% to 67% off your monthly payments.

Secondly, Ricoh is one of the better manufacturers that keeps producing parts fro many many years after the equipment is discontinued.  Getting parts for Ricoh, Lanier, Saving copier printers that are 10 to 14 years old is not a problem.  Plus, many compatible copier printer parts are available in the market to keep you costs down.  As in all business class (floor units) copier printer we highly recommend service agreements if you produce over 4,000 pages per month.  Used Ricoh, Lanier, Gestetner and Savin copier printers are just like cars, they need regular maintenance to give you years of quality service.  If you plant o buy a used machine not refurbished form a copier printer service center then get a technician to check the used copier printer scanner before you buy it.  The technician can give you a detailed history on the machine including when it needs maintenance which could cost you hundreds of dollars depending upon your used refurbished Ricoh model.

There is always a debate whether to obtain a new full size copier printer scanner fax instead of a refurbished one. When you look in the lower end of the marked (Sub $1000 machines) it usually best to obtain a new copier printer or one that has less than 1 month duty cycle of pages. The duty cycle is defined as the maximum number of pages that the manufacturer the user should stay below each month.  Many new HP printers that are in the $1000 and above range have duty cycles of 200,000 pages or more.  The general rule of thumb is not to buy a used recondition HP printer copier scanner fax or any other brand that has more than 1.5 months of duty cycle so it will still have 5..7 years of very useful life.

If a used recondition HP 5035MFP, which is HP’s highest end black/white current model copier printer scanner, has over 340,000 pages then find another one. The HP 5035mfp is useful life designed for 4,000,000 (4 million pages) or more so we are talking about less than 10% of usage. Currently, the new HP 5035mfpxs cost $5,999.99 web pricing. However, you can obtain a quality use on for as little as $1995. That’s a giant savings!  The HP 5035MFPxs comes with the works: copier, printer, scanner, fax, stapler, 4+ drawers and rolling cabinet. Its designed for a small company of 5 to 12 people or a department level machine for large corporations.

Used recondition HP printer copier scanners of this durability will give you years of useful life. You may want to considered a printer maintenance program that includes everything except paper.  Printsolv and other PMS (print management systems) frees up your time by taking care of all supplies, repairs, parts and if you choose your vendor well it doe sit automatically so you do not need to chase for repairs or the supplies. If your are located in Florida  call Advanced Business Computers Inc. in Miami Florida for complete details and how to get the equipment at no cost when you select the Printsolv program. Currently they haev used reconditioned HP 5035mfp and other bands for quick delivery.

Along with the recent release of the Kyocera color FS-C2626MFD and the FS-c2526MFP, Kyocera release a new high end heavy duty lost cost to operate desktop model. The FS-3640MFP and the FS-3540 bridges the gap between the full size floor models Taskalfa series and the desktop printer copier scanners. Its designed to customers that do not need 11 x 17 size pages but require a heavy duty desktop with a floor model option with all the features of the larger machines.

Kyocera has always been the low cost to operate leader in the industry.  Their long life maintenance kits combined with toner cartridges that last 15,000 pages  gives them an edge over HP, Okidata, Lexmark and other brands.  Standard features of the Kyocera printer copier scanner fax include duplex (two sided copy, scan  and printing), true gigabit network connected, 50 page radf , 4.3″ user friendly touch screen control panel, print speed of 42 pages per minute, USB connection, scan to computer, scan to email, scan to network,  network print and much more.

The Kyocera copier printer scanner fax FS-3640 and FS-3540 only difference is the fax abilities. If you need a fax then choose the FS-3540 model.  It’s designed for people who have scan and distribute mission critical information to process and it is HyPAS ready for a company wide solution which use to be only available on the larger more expensive machines.

Security is a big issues when due to government regulations and client legal concerns. The Kyocera printer copier scanner fax comes with network used authentication integrated with a user-authentication adding more layers of functionality to improve security and accountability needs.  Ad than with the green approach of longer life maintenance kits and less intrusive toner supplies makes Kyocera the world leader in Eco friendly equipment.

The Copystar CS-3035, CS-4035, and CS-5035 are the same models as the Kyocera KM series (KM-3035, KM-4035, and cs-5035). They are both manufactured and distributor BY Kyocera corporation. They use the same copier print repair parts, maintenance kits, Drum units, and other internal components.  Eventual as with any copier printer, they need maintenance and replacement of parts. One to the main copier printer repairs parts consist of the drum unit. The drum that the Kyocera or Copystar copier printer scanner creates the image and then transfers the image onto the actual paper.

If you are having a fuzzy image problem, lines and/or back ground gray areas then the drum could be the cause of the problem. Usually, this requires a service technician or somebody with some knowledge of copier printer repair and adjustment to resolve. However, you can do the actual replacement yourself. The first step is to do a cleaning of he drum unit to se if the problem goes away or is reduced.

The process you are going to attempt is the “drum refresh” process that clears away debris from the drum area.  One that is done you will need to manually perform the copier printer transfer roller grid maintenance.

Here are the steps to doing the Kyocera Copystar drum refresh maintenance process:

1. Load paper into the MP tray on the right side of the Kyocera or Copystar model you want to repair. Use standard size or 11 x 17 size paper (11 x 17” I preferred to do a better cleaning).
2. Using the touch screen on the copier printer and select basic to get the screen back to the original screen.
3. No press the “Default setting/Counter” button above the number 1 key on the key pad – not on the touch screen.
4. On the touch screen select “User Adjustment” feature.
5. Select “Drum refresh” option on the screen . Make sure you already loaded the paper onto the MP tray.
6. Now press the “On” option located on the screen bottom right corner
7. The Drum refresh process should start. This copier printer maintenance task will take a few minutes. Be patient.  Once the process is completed you can close / end out the screens selections to get back to the “Basic” screen.

Now its time to manually perform the copier printer repair maintenance step of cleaning the transfer corona. This copier printer repair process is easy to accomplish.

1. Open the front cover and look for a blue brush/plastic piece that is usually on the door. If you do not fine t then get several cotton q-tip swab. DO NOT use your fingers or cloths that will leave fibers!!
2. Now look on the right side of the copier and pull open the top access door.
3. You will see the transfer roller assembly which you will need to clean. The transfer roller is a black (sometimes turns gray) sponge roller.
4. Now put everything back together and make sure you put the blue brush back.

Now run several test prints to see if the image improves. If it does not improve then you will need a certified Kyocera Copystar copier printer service repair technician to adjust the unit and possibly replace parts.