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.

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.

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!

Over the past three years the refurbished used printer copier scanner office equipment has exploded. Companies haev realized that  business class equipment, full size floor  printer copiers,  than costs thousands of dollars new are designed for many years of use and millions of copies.  companies learned that quality refurbished printer copier scanners 3..4 years old have many years of life left in them and they cost 50% less than new ones with the same features.  However, the trick is knowing which brands and models to select.  It may surprise you that the biggest names are the less desirable ones to obtain used or refurbished.

First, what is a refurbished machine? There are two types: dealer select and standard refurbished. Dealer select refurbished copier printer scanners are LOW page count machines (less than 300,000 pages on them), completely refurbished with all fresh maintenance items and 2 to 5 years old. Dealer select recondition printer copiers  models are int he $1900 to $3500 range in cost depending upon features and speed.

Standard used refurbished machines are older models, usually higher page counts and most of the time less reliable units. These models are int he $500 to $1200 range in cost.  These are the models dealers just want to get rid of at just about any price.  These are not off lease recent model office equipment.   You will see many of these when companies have going out of business sales. They have a very limited life span due to parts being discontinued  and higher copier printer maintenance costs.

Most reputable now one man shows (companies with only one or two employees ) dealers do not deal in the older used models that are not dealer select. However, its still a buyer be ware on used re conditional copier printers.  One way to make sure you are getting a recent model machine is to check on line. Or better yet haev the seller show you the serial number with manufacture date of the office equipment.  Beware of any piece of equipment that has no serial number sticker with date! If you are not sure ask here or send and email to Advanced Business Computers Inc.  for a quick response to your questions about a particular model.

This will be a brief straight to the point article concerning the best ink base printer for your needs.  first, from a repair stand point there is no question to which brand is most repairable and that is  Brother band. Why? Two reasons:  All the parts are available for the  Brother brand printers scanners copiers fax machines .  If you have a Epson , Canon,  or HP printer ink base machine you will find that there are not parts beyond the print heads and encoder stripe. When you call HP they will upgrade you for a fee if your HP printer copier scanner is out of warranty  or swap your printer while under warranty. second: Brother may times will extend your warranty FREE of charge is you call them and complain a it.

HP, Epson, canon and other brands will not.If you are a day over you are out of luck. However, with Brother is you have a image quality problem and you unit is a few months out of warranty they will 80% of the time repair the printer copier scanner mfc it for free! Now on the flip side of the issue may of the inkbased machines are very inexpensive so many people do not care once the warranty is over whether the manufacturer of the printer copier scanner will repair the unit or not.

the image quality of all the inkbased printers scanners copiers have greatly improved over the years. All brands offer good photo quality output.  I suggest that you tests several brands with your won image. Take a USB drive to the office store and have them test print your photo on 3 to 5 machines.  Try Brother, HP, Canon, Kodak and Epson brands and look at the ink costs too. Again remember all printers need repair eventually. If the unit is a low cost one then that may to be a problem. But if you are buying a higher end printer copier then repair maintenance is important. When comparing inks costs the yield is very important.  How many prints will it last? Estimate the per page cost and them make your selection.

What used or refurbished HP printer is best for your company depends upon your requirements.  First, we will not consider the ink based models or the sub $800 printers due to their very low resale value.   This article will discuss the used and refurbished HP printers designed for  small and mid-size business class.  The criteria is based on HP best printers with low operating costs and a great history of dependable service.

If you are a small business looking to produce over 2,000 pages per month then the cost of the HP supplies and repairs costs should be a major concern. Many of the low end HP printers haev excessive per page costs. Per page cost is the amount of money it takes to produce a one page document. If you just look at the price tag of the laser printer you will loose big time. The lower end printers cost 3 to 4 times more than  higher end printers such as the P4015N and have a very short life. Its wiser to get a 2..3 year old HP 4250, HP 4350 or used P415N printer than has a per page cost of less than $0.008 (eight of a cent) than to purchase a $300 with a page cost of $0.03 (three cents or more) .

The HP 4250, HP 4350, P4015 are currently in the highest demand in the used refurbished HP printer market due to their durability,  longer lasting cartridges and overall low cost to operate. HP 4250 and HP 4350 repairs are inexpensive when you consider the mean time between failures. If you obtain a quality refurbished used HP printer then expect it to last 100,000 pages or more before you haev any problems.  The trick is to get a completely refurbished unit from a HP authorized repair center who offers on-site warranty service with the purchase of  the printer. Also, you want a unit with less than 150,000 pages if possible. The HP 4250 and HP 4350 has a life of  over 2,000,000 (two million) pages.

The high end HP printer scanner copiers designed for work groups, such as the HP 4345mfp and the current model  5035MFP are designed heavy usage. The HP printer scanner copier based unit is designed around the very reliable HP printer line. Basically they are the printers with the addition of the copier scanner fax  feeders and control boards. The use the all in one cartridge that contains the drum, toner, and pcr rollers so overtime you change the HP toner cartridge it’s like getting a new print engine. The repair of the HP 4345 MFP and the 5035 MFD copier printer scanners are quick and can be accomplished by any certified HP service center.

The repair costs and frequency for the HP 4345MFD and the 5035MFD are similar to the HP 4250 and HP 4350 models. They are work horses and when maintained properly with a mean repair period of 80,000 pages or more.  The ADF kit should last 80,000 to 120,000 pages and the internal maintenance kit 200,000 pages depending upon the paper used and who often you pm the machine.  The machine should be cleaned., lubricated and adjust approximately every 60,000 to 80,000 pages.  If you are in a dirty shop type of environment then the HP repair maintenance should be more frequent.

The HP 4345MFD and the HP 5035MFP are designed for a department size office of 5..10 staff members who produce  10,000 t0 20,000 pages per month.  New HP 5035MFD xs cost $599.99 and refurbished low page count copier printer scanner fax units average $2100.  The HP 4345MFD are discontinued at this time and refurbished copier printer scanner of this model range $1800 to $2000 with 90 day warranty.

The HP printer scanner maintenance repair kits for the ADF (automatic document feeder) and the 250,000 page maintenance kit are practically user installable. If you have good mechanic skill with a screw driver then you can repair or install the HP maintenance kits parts your self. However, when installing the HP 4345 and 5035 maintenance kits you should do a complete PM of the machine (lubrication and cleaning with a true toner vacuum) at the same time it ensure that parts last there expect life.