Does your company lease or have a maintenance agreement for copier printer scanner multi-function office equipment from Sharp, Xerox, Canon, Minolta, Toshiba, Ricoh or other company?  Do you know your options at lease end can greatly reduce costs while improving efficiencies of your office?

First let’s be realistic: Leasing companies are interested in one thing and one thing only to Lock you into a 3 to 5 year lease so nobody else can offer you better equipment, pricing or service.  They want to move new hardware and lock you for several years because they have quotas to meet from Canon, Sharp, Ricoh, Minolta or they loose their dealership.

Point One: How do you know?  Do the following: ask your dealer what brands they offer new. If they only  offer one brand or a brand series all made by the same company then you know they have quotas to meet and they have an agenda to move hardware whenever they can.

“…they have an agenda to trap you for years”

If this is the case, be careful! Just because it’s a well known brand does not mean it’s the most cost effective or efficient equipment for you!

Point two: Bugging you way before renewal time. This is another tactic to trap you even longer and to move more equipment again. If your equipment is functioning well and it meets your needs then why are they bugging you?

Simple: They need to keep moving equipment to meet quotas and they do not want to take a chance that another company may offer you better equipment at a competitive price.  This is a tactic to lock you up for another bunch of years beyond your original contract of 3 to 5 years!

Point Three: Over billing for pages you do not use. This is the third and most abused tactic of copier printer scanning leasing companies. Include pages in the lease that they know you will never use. They will ask you what is your estimated monthly volume then they add a few thousand pages and quote you the bunch of pages at a seeming low price.

Did you know 87% of he companies who fall for this tactics actually costs you 243% to 380% more per page than quoted because you never use up all the allocated monthly or quarterly pages?

Why pay for pages you never use? There is no page overage or lease refund! You pay the monthly price even if you do not print a single page.

“….costs you 243% to 380% more per page than quoted.”

Why are these three points important?

Simple: Your company’s’ business is to make money. You do this by offering your product and service while keeping costs down on your needs to make a profit. Every dollar you save in actual costs and efficiencies increases your profits and pay check.

You have better options: Wait for Part II or request copier printer scanner maintenance and lease information form Advanced Business Computers Inc.

All digital copier and printers have a variety of image quality issues including lines, repeated patterns, smears and light areas. Some of the copier printer repairs require service technicians other you can resolve yourself. If after trying these following simple printer copier repair steps then contact Advanced Business Computes fro additional help and copier printer repair maintenance.

First, check the actual paper if you are getting light areas or smears. It is damp or too dry (curls after printing). Digital copiers and laser printer use high heat to fuser the toner onto the paper. If the paper is damp or too dry it can cause problems.

Second, check your properties tap when you print. Is the right paper type selected?  Are you using semi or glossy paper in your copier printer?

Third, your laser printer or digital photocopier printer scanner uses a fuser assembly which heats to different temperatures depending upon the paper used. IN some photocopier printers and laser printers you can adjust the temperature on the fuser. Again if you are not sure it your copier printer has the adjustment call Advanced Business Computers and we will be glad to check for you.

Forth, check your laser printer toner cartridge and your copier scanners toner and drum unit. If you are getting a very thin line then 90% of the time it is caused by a scratched drum. In most HP laser printers and Lexmark printers the drum is in the toner cartridge so just replace the toner to see if the drum is the problem. If you have a brother, Okidata, digital copiers then the drums is usually separate from the toner cartridges. On desktop machine then the printer copier repair consist of the user replacing the drum unit.  If you have a business class digital photocopier printer scanner then usually you will need a service technician to solve the problem. In most cases they can just replace the drum/blade/developer parts instead of the whole drum unit to reduce your copier repair costs.

Fifth, if you have repeated patterns then determine how many times the pattern repeats on a page can contact Advanced Business Computers with your copier or laser printer model.  Repeated patterns are caused by several part of your laser printer or digital copier and we can pin point the printer repair problem by the number of times the mark repeats on the page.

Printer copier, fax machines and other paper processing office equipment get paper jams. Sometimes it’s due to excessive wear of printer parts or copier document feeders. Paper jams will happen and require printer copier repair technicians. However, some jams are preventable and resolved easily without a printer or copier repair technician.

First, inspect the paper path from the feeder all the way out the printer copier. Turn off your digital copier or laser printer first. Check for paper clips, staples and excessive dirt. Remove any foreign material. Be careful of the fuser assembly which gets VERY HOT and can cause a burn.  If you see anything in the fuser wait until it cools down. Never use a metal or other hard object to stick into the fuser or you WILL CAUSE damage.

Second, If you find the sheet of paper inside the printer copier always pull the paper out in the direction of paper travel. Do not pull it out backwards.  Again be careful of the fuser assembly and turn the printer copier scanner off first.

Third, check to see if the paper you are using is within the specifications of the laser printer or digital copier. Do not use inkjet paper in a toner based photocopier or any laser printer. Most of the paper designed for ink based equipment has special coating that will damage fuser assemblies over time.

Forth, if the jams are happening at the paper tray or draw, then fan the paper. Check for static electricity. If the paper is sticking together then it can cause a jam.

Fifth, replace damp or moist paper. Do not store paper in a humid area and other the flip side if the paper is out it maybe too dried out.  Also, always make sure the paper is straight in the paper tray and adjust the paper guides so the feed rollers work better.

Finally, if you are not sure and you are in the Miami or Ft. Lauderdale areas of Florida contact Advanced Business Computers for additional laser printer or copier scanner repair help and maintenance.

Does your company  lease or have a maintenance agreement for copier printer scanner multi-function machines from Sharp, Xerox, Canon, Minolta, Toshiba, Ricoh or other company?  Do you know your options at lease end can greatly reduce costs while improving efficiencies of your office?

First let’s be realistic: Printer copier leasing companies are interested in one thing and one thing only -> Lock you into a 3 to 5 year copier scanner lease so nobody else can offer you better equipment, pricing or service.  They want to move new hardware and lock you for several years because they have quotas to meet from Canon, Sharp, Ricoh, Minolta or they loose their dealership.

Point One: How do you know?  Do the following:  ask your copier leasing dealer what brands they offer new. If only can offer one printer copier brand or a copier printer scanner brand series all made by the same company (Ricoh, Lanier, Savin and Gestetner are all the same copier company) then you know they have quotas to meet and they have an agenda to move hardware whenever they can period.

“…they have an agenda to trap you for years ”

If this is the case be careful! Just because digital copier printer is a well know brand does not mean it’s the most cost effective or efficient equipment you!

Point two: Bugging you way before renewal time. This is another tactic to trap you even longer and to move more copier leased equipment again. If you printer copier equipment is functioning well and it meets your needs then why are they bugging you?

Simple: They need to keep moving equipment to meet quotas and they do not want to take a chance that another company may offer you better equipment at a competitive price.  This is a tactic to lock you up for another bunch of years beyond your original contract for 3 to 5 years!

Point Three: Over billing for pages you do not use. This is the third and most abused tactic of copier printer scanning leasing companies. Include pages in the lease that they know you will never use. They will ask you what is your estimated monthly volume then they add a few thousand pages and quote you the bunch of pages at a seeming low price.

Did you know 87% of the companies who fall for this copier per page tactics actually costs you 243% to 380% more per page than quoted because you never use up all the allocated monthly or quarterly pages?

Why pay for pages you never use? There is no page overage or lease refund! You pay the monthly price even if you do not print a single page.

“….costs you 243% to 380% more per page than quoted.”

Why are these three points important?

Simple: Your company’s’ business is to make money. You do this by offering your product and service while keeping costs down on your needs to make a profit. Every dollar you save in print management costs of copier printers actual costs and efficiencies increases your profits and pay check.

You have better options: Wait for Part II or contact Advanced Business Computers Inc now!

Computer repair printer service solutions. Questions received from clients concerning their computer problems, copier maintenance, networking help and other printer fax service.

Q: Between laptop and notebook, which of the two computers comes with the greatest amount and secondary storage?

A: This is a common question that is a bit confusing to many people. It depends on what you are calling a notebook verses a laptop. If you are referring to the ultra thing notebooks, ipads or very small notebooks that do not use a hard drive to store information then they hold less than regular larger units.

Your computer has two types of storage: temporary memory (RAM) and storage memory.  The storage memory can be in a form of a hard drive, flashcard, USB drive, CD, DVD or other memory card.

Most laptops except for the very thin ones or very small devices have a hard drive as storage. If the notebooks you are comparing use a hard drive then they both can house as much as the other.

Check the actual drive storage amount 160Gb, 250gb, 300gb, etc.

RAM, temp memory is usually 1gb, 2gb, 3gb or 4gb.

Q: Printer Copier repair problem: Is printer copier maintenance need and what goes bad if not done on a regular basis?

A: Your Copier, printer, scanner and fax equipment are just like your car: they need regular maintenance to prevent premature repairs.  Dirt, paper fiber and toner builds up in the machine can cause excessive wear on the drums, rollers and fuser assembly.

The average fuser assembly repair on a HP printer is $277. On a Ricoh, Sharp, and Canon copiers it’s $465 (average). Some brands and models are much higher.. Drums and developer units on copier printers are just as expensive. Fusers and drums are designed to last 20K, 5K, 120k or more (Kyocera 250K) pages between replacements. However if your machine is not properly maintained their life is greatly reduced.

Even toner cartridges on printers will have shorter lives if you do not get regular maintenance.  Ask Advanced Business Computers the printer copier maintenance steps needed to prevent repair problems. Just like a car tune-up, your copier printer scanner needs regular service maintenance to prolong the life of the printer copier and to prevent expensive printer repairs.

The used copier printer market has turned upside down over the past year. It’s getting harder and harder to fine recent model copier printers off lease at a good price.  We spoke to the three largest off lease equipment resellers and the trend is clear with them. They all state that the Chinese are grabbing container after container load of recent model used, refurbished and off lease copier printers which is driving up the cost of all in one used printer copier scanners machines for business looking for ways to reduce costs.

The hotest brands are Kyocera,  Copystar,  Rioch and Sharp. Canons, Toshiba, Xerox and Minolta are a dime a dozen (they cost the most to repair and have the most problems).

Why Kyocera, Copystar, Ricoh and Sharp printer copiers instead of Canon or Minolta? Simple.  They are simple to repair and are much more reliable. the Kyocera/Copystar brand is the hottest ones now. Every 4035, 5035, 3035, 3050, 4050, 5050 and similar models are just plan hard to fine here in the us with low page counts .

Used Kyocera copier printer scanners have greatly increase in value. Over the last year a good refurbished Kyocera 4035 have increased 23%. Plus, they are getting scarce because companies are realizing that it less expensive better to buy the copier printer at the end of the lease then start a new lease.

When you look for a used or refurbished printer copier all in one machine check the age of the machine. cost of parts and supplies. Remember if the deals looks too good there is a reason. Call a certified printer or copier service technician to check the printer scanner copier before you buy – it may save you hundreds of dollars in repairs!

If you have a question concerning a used copier model please contact Advanced Business Computers Inc. for reliable quick answers.

What’s in a Kyocera Copystar Maintenance Repair Kit?

Do you own a Kyocera copier printer or Copystar copier printer scanner? Kyocera copiers including the Copystar copier brand of Kyocera, has the industries best approach to equipment maintenance. Instead of having multiple maintenance kits at various intervals they created one Kyocera maintenance repair kit with a huge interval between replacements (up to 300,000 pages).

The Copystar Kits and the Kyocera repair maintenance kits contain 95% of all parts that present problems with copier printer scanner equipment. The maintenance kit contains the fuser assembly, Kyocera drum, developer, transfer charge rollers, paper feed rollers, separation rollers and other wear and tear parts.

When the technician installs the maintenance kit during the Kyocera or Copystar copier repair service maintenance call they should perform several procedures beyond just replacing the parts in the Kyocera maintenance kit.  Addition steps during the copier printer maintenance service repair call include complete cleaning of the machine, lubrication of drive gears, color adjustment and final test of all the functions of the Kyocera copier printer scanner.

The complete copier printer maintenance repair service call will take approximately 1.5 hours to complete.  The Kyocera and Copystar maintenance kits currently range $500 to $795 depending upon the model of the Kyocera printer copier.

If you need help installing a maintenance kit the go to Advanced Business Computers Inc. request a free over the phone quote to solve your copier printer repair problem for Kyocera and Copystar brands.

Even get a complete new printer copier maintenance delivered directly to your facility. Contact Advanced Business Computers Inc. now!

Equipment is getting more complicated and the choices are increasing.  The merging of the traditional printer and copier machines has presented companies with hard decisions.  What is the best manufacturer for the money? Lowest printer copier cost? Best copier scanner options and functionality? Most durable printer copier?  Canon copier, Toshiba copier, Minolta, Ricoh, Gestetner, Xerox, HP, Sharp, Lanier, Copystar, Lexmark, Brother?

Now compound the many brands of copiers and laser printers with copier sales companies that only specialize in one or two brands and it’s clear to see why companies have problems with selecting the right equipment or getting in the wrong lease.

If you get your equipment from a company which specializes in one brand of laser printer or copier scanner all in one take care.  If you work directly with the copier manufacturer be double aware! Why? Because you will receive a bias view.

If a vendor only represent Canon or Sharp copiers how will you know if you should get a Gestetner, Kyocera, HP or Ricoh may be better.  So what should you do? Which is the best copier printer for you?

Do some basic best copier or laser printer research online using the buyer’s lab reports.  Bertl printer or copier scanner report.  Bli best copier ratings.  Or even Better For Business best copier award report.

Look for awards by unbiased sources and low failure rates. If the model is brand new; wait a few months so the copier company has time to get the bugs out.  Do not assume that a BIG NAME means the best copier or printer choice.

Did you know the Lanier / Gestetner/ Ricoh / Savin are  the same company?  Mita / CopyStar / Kyocera too! Did you know HP laser printers are actually Canon based? So what name is better when they are the same? some copier brands are better than others.  The biggest names are usually not the best copiers – they just know how to SELL you better.

It’s a challenge to make an educated best copier selection. Be careful.  Ask questions. Get referrals. Check the service record of the copier service or printer company you choose.

Check you current copier lease.  When is your printer copier lease up for renewal?  Does it offer a lump sum or 1$ buy-out clause at the end of the lease?  What is the current value of the digital copier or laser printer?  What is the estimated life of the copier/printer?  Most of these questions are simple to determine with a few keystrokes on the Internet.

Get all the answer before you commit.   Ask questions about the maintenance program or what the copier lease includes. Look at the terms.  Know you page counts and be very careful not to fail in the low ball tactics of some copier printer leasing companies.

Call to get a competitive quote or to get an unbiased report on the copier.  Feel free to call Advanced Business Computers Inc any time you have a questions concerning printer copiers,  copier scanners fax or other all in one office equipment.

How many of you lease copiers, fax machines or all in one printer copiers?  Has your copier leasing company approached you concerning your printers and fax machines to reduce costs?  Copier companies have been playing centralized copier printing game for years. They charge a set fee per month for your copier usage for up to a set number of pages. They say it will save you money – in a very, very few cases it does.

What were you quoted on your per page copier printer leasing program?  Did you know that 87% of the companies recently surveyed with copier leases actually pay a much higher rate than quoted on the average and they didn’t even know it?

The copier, color printer and all in one  lease game exposed . .

The simple way to see if you are Way, Way Over billed like 87% of all other companies with leased copier, printers whether color, digital or all in one equipment:

1. First look at your copier lease and write down your monthly page allotment (the number of prints you are allowed BEFORE they charge you more money).

2. Now write down the monthly charges as stated on the lease agreement or copier maintenance agreement.

3. Divide the number of pages allotted into the monthly charge to get a cost per page to get our actual per page cost based on your copier lease agreement. Example: $750 per month for 50,000 pages   Cost per page $0.015 (1.5 cents).

4. Looks great—right? Nice and small amount per page copier maintenance or lease! – This is where they get you! They quoted you a low per page cost using an exaggerated per month allotment.

5. Now go to your copier printer all in one machine and get the ACTUAL PAGE COUNT from the machine. If you do not know how to get the page count send us an email page count copier lease and we will tell you how.

6. What does you copier printer all in one show?  Divide that into the number of months you have been leasing the machine if you leased the copier new. Example 625,000 pages printed in 18 months (half way through most lease agreements) which equals to 34,722 pages per month on the average.

7. Now get your TRUE COST PER PAGE by dividing your TRUE pages printed every month into your actual monthly copier lease cost.  Example: 34,722 into $750 equal 0.216 per page. 44% more than what they quoted (see step 3)!

The copier leasing company gets a big pay day and you get the shaft. Do not fall for this copier leasing trick to grab more money from you!

Do you get roll over pages for pages not used? NO! Do you get reimbursed for not using the pages they allocated to you? NO! They get a BIG pay increase because they spend less on the supplies and maintenance you need and you get a BIG cost increase over what you use to spend before you agreed to the lease.

Now for the kicker:

Look at your lease again and check with your accounts payable department. If you are like the majority of the companies leasing equipment in addition to the monthly fee you are charged a quarterly MAINTENANCE fee which makes your cost per page even higher.

True cost reduction and cost avoidance is what you want to achieve—correct? Before you agree to another lease go through the steps to determine your average print volume. Then use that figure with the new lease amounts to determine if your costs are actually going down or up.

Many copier leasing companies love to put you on a centralized approach to all your printing needs.  They state, “you will reduce your printing costs.” However, they do not talk about the single biggest cost to your company:  lost employee time and productivity. The centralized approach will cost you more staff time which results in decreased productivity. Plus, what do you do with your perfectly good equipment you own—stop using it?

Call for a FREE evaluation before you sign your next lease. We are not affiliated with any particular copier, printer or fax manufacture nor have lease quotas to meet. There are no obligations. Get unbiased advice and support to help you and your company.  Feel free to contact us – our website.

All rights reserved Copyright Advanced Business Computers, Inc. 2009

(And More Tricks Copier Printer MFD Companies Pay to Legally Steal from You!)

Part I

First, if you are looking to lease a new or used photocopier, digital printer copier or laser printer office equipment you need to know a few facts before you sign on the dotted line.

Important questions to ask leasing companies for laser printers and digital copiers beyond the monthly payment amount before you sign on the line:

1. Look to the future:  What is the buy-out amount?  What does the buy-out clause say on your copier lease maintenance agreement?  If you do not see a buy-out clause then do not sign on the dotted line!  The copier lease should say either $1 or FMV (fair market value).

If your lease agreement says FVM then have them write in an actual dollar AMOUNT.  If they say the can not because they do not know then they are full of it or trying to keep you in the dark to get you when the lease is over!

Printer and copier amortize the cost of the hardware over the lease period of the copier. It is not like a car lease where the car still has a high value.  They know the value at the end of the copier lease and it’s usually 10% or less than the original cost. If they refuse to put in a value then tell them you want a $1 buy-out copier printer lease instead of FMV office equipment lease. If you have a 3 or 5 year lease then monthly amount between FMV and $1 copier lease buyout is very small!

2. Are your copier printer leasing company and the maintenance company the same?  Be careful with this one it could cost you BIG time!  Recently, several new clients had this problem. They lease a copier printer from Ricoh Lanier copiers, Toshiba copier printers, Sharp Copiers or other big name company who actually are the service providers not the actual finance company.

This is not a big problem until one company is bought out and the new service company refuses to service the equipment but the client still has to keep paying the copier lease monthly amount. The equipment copier printer leasing finance company says talk to the copier or printer service company. The bought out copier printer service company says they are no longer obligated to service the equipment. So the client is stuck in the middle with a broken machine and still has to pay the copier leasing company money!

Make sure everything is under one company! You pay the copier lease monthly amount to one company and the contract says that the company you are paying is responsible for the service and the finance for the office copier printer.

Whoops: I need to get this post out so look for part II soon. I need to go to a meeting!  If you need to know faster how to prevent getting hooked into an expensive lease and ticks copier leasing companies play contact me now  through our blog or go ahead to our website for a quick response. I hope this article was helpful.

Sincerely,

Your Friends at Advanced Business Computers Inc.

http://www.abctechsolutions.com