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.

Here is the next batch of copier repair codes for Ricoh, Savin, Gestetner and Lanier printer copier scanner MFD machines.  These copier repair maintenance error codes are actual codes to report printer copier repair problems to service technicians.

SC380 – Data transmission time out

SC381 – Charge potential abnormal

SC-382 Data transmission time out video

SC-383 VL adjustmnet error

SC-383 Data transmission time out connect copy

SC-385 ID sensor VSG adjustment error

SC-386 Data transmission time out

SC-387 Development gamma error

SC-388 Data transmission time out

SC-389 Development gamma calculation error

SC-390 CRC error/TD sensor adjustment error

SC-392 TD Sensor initial error

SC-395 Development output adnormal

SC-400 Transfer roller leak error

SC-401 Transfer output abnormal

SC-401-1 Transfer roller leak detected

SC-401-2 Transfer roller lease open

SC–402 – transfer roller leak

SC-403 Transfer belt position sensor

SC-405 – Transfer Belt position abnormal

SC-406 – Transfer roller position abnormal

May of the copier printer repair maintenance service codes are not very explanatory.  You will need the Ricoh, Savin, Lanier and Gestetner repair maintenance service manuals to determine the correct course of copier repair procedures.   The copier repair maintenance service manuals details the meaning of the codes and gives the the step by step procures to repair the copier printers.

Ricoh has standardized there error code numbers of the years to help determine copier printer repair error code problem solving.  However, there are still some confusions on what do when you get failures related to the hard drive in the copier printer scanner.  The hard drive in the Ricoh Savin Gestetner and Lanier are used to store address, fax numbers and even documents to give you to have the ability to scan, fax and email.

When you receive SC945, sc991 or sc870 error which are all related copier hard drive failure.  The first step to resolve the problems related to repairing copier hard drive failures is to format the hard drive.  It will require somebody familiar withe the copier repair service mode access and usage.  Go into Ricoh Lanier Savin service mode and format the hard drive to try to resolve the sc945, cs991 and sc870 error codes of the copier printer scanner.

Once you complete the format you will need to test to see if the hard drive. Input some fax numbers, email address and even try to do document scan to email or computer for the copier printer scanner. Does it work? If is does then you will need to continue to use the scanner,m fax and email functions of the copier printer for a few days to make sure it does nto loose th4e format again.

If the Ricoh Savin Lanier Gestetner copier printer scanner  fails after a few days to does not format properly then you will need to replace the hard drive.  We do not recommend repaired hard drives for copier scanners if at all possible. However, do to the age of some unit you may be forces to repair the copier with a used hard drive. You will need to determine the type of hard drive needed (IDE or SATA)  and find one of he same type preferably one of the same size if possible.  Yes, you can use a larger hard drive but the machine will only use the first 40 to 80gb.  The copier repair error codes sc870, sc991 and sc945 will cause your copier printer to stop scanning, faxing and emailing documents. Copier repair of the hard drive failure should only take 45 minutes or less. If you have any questions please contact Advanced Business Computers for further answers or post a question in this blog.

Over the past several years Ricoh has manufactured several brands of copier printer for lease. Basically, a company such as Lanier would contract with Ricoh to put the Lanier copier printer name on a Ricoh products.  Unlike when Sharp put he Imagistics label on their printer copiers, Ricoh does not change anythign except the name on the machine. This means whether the toner, drum or maintenance kits says Lanier, Ricoh, Savin or Gestetner they are all the same copier repair parts and kits.

Ricoh is not alone with the practice. Many people think HP actually make printers. Would it surprise you to know the HP laser printer actually uses a Canon machine and relabels it as their own.  Many years ago Canon use to market their own brand of laser printers. However, they struck a deal with HP to market them under the HP printer name.  Same printer repair parts and printer supplies but just a different name and sometimes a bit of a difference on the outside plastics. So it you need you HP laser printer repairs the original parts may say Canon or HP.

This is the same practice Sharp uses to make Imagistics copiers.  Imagistics went to Sharp to relabel the Sharp copier printer to Imagistics. All the copier repair parts are the same except for the toner.  Imagistics had Sharp corporation modified the copiers toner and toner hopper to make them a little different than the Sharp copier printer to force clients to buy Imagistics toner.  Everything else is the same.  The Sharp copier repair codes, printer error numbers and replacemnet parts are all the same.

If you need you Kyocera or copystar repair then same holds true. They are exactly the same copier printer scanners but with different names.  Even the copier printer model numbers are similar CS verse MK. copystar CS-3035 is the same as the Kyocera km-3035. The Kyocera repair parts for the KM-5050 are the same as the Copystar repair parts for he cs-5050.

If you need additional help with copier printer repairs, parts or maintenance please ask a question through this blog or contact Advanced Business Computers Inc for a quick repair quotes and response.

Digital photo copiers made by Ricoh include the Savin, Lanier and Gestetner brands. They all are identical units that use all the same parts but just are marketed under different copier names. the great par about Ricoh printer copier repair is that all the models used the same error codes so the copier repair is faster.

Here are the major error codes for the copier repairs of Ricoh, Savin, Lanier and Gestetner copier printers:

Most common copier fuser error codes:

Ricoh copier service code SC541, SC542, SC543, SC544, SC545, SC546, SC548.All of these printer copier repair codes for Ricoh Savin Lanier and Gestetner all refer to the fuser assembly having a problem. Sometimes they code can be temporarily reset, however, it will eventually come back and not go away!

Ricoh service repair error SC362, sc365, sc366, sc367,  SC860, SC861, SC862 SC863, SC864 and SC865 – this one is common if your copier has the scanner option. It means there is a problem with the hard drive. Either the hard drive needs to be formatted or completely replaced. Its the same code in the Savin, Gestetner and Lanier brands too.

Lanier error service repair code SC320, sc321, and Sc322 refers to the polygon motor and laser scanner. If you get one of these errors you most likely need a new laser scanner unit for you copier printer scanner.

The above copier printer scanner errors on Ricoh photocopiers, Gestetner copeirs,  Savin printer copiers and Lanier multi-function printer copier scanners covers 85% of all service call problems not related  to copier image problems.

If you have a different code or brand of photocopiers such as HP, Canon, Sharp, Kyocera, Toshiba and other brands please feel free to contact Advanced Business Computers Inc. for  information.

Look for additional article son other brands of copiers, printers and multi function all-in-on printer copiers.

This past week three clients called with the same copier repair problem.  They had bad images on their digital copiers and required copier service help.  Their copier was producing gray images and in some cases no images at all. All the digital copiers problems had one thing in common: they just replaced the toner cartridge.

In the Ricoh repair copier service call it was determined that the toner caused the problem and it cost them $467 to solve the copier repair issue.  The Canon IR copier  required $567 in copier service parts and repair labor. And the Sharp ARm450 required a copier drum developer change.

Why so much copier repair service costs?  Simple the client purchased the cheapest toner possible trying to cut costs.  Compatible toner cartridges are just like used cars: there are some cost effective good ones and some very bad cheap ones! If you go with the cheapest compatible toner cartridge then expect that the people doing the toner cartridges are cutting corners.

In the case of the copier repair service the toner used was the wrong type and caused the failure of the developer and damaged the copier drums unit too. The copier creates an image by mixing the with the developer and then transfers the toner/developer mix to the drum unit. Wrong or bad toner ruins the developer and then causes problems with the drum too.

Some compatible toners are ok. However, if you look for the cheapest you my soon pay through the roof in copier repairs.  There are many copier repair companies, one man shows copier service (single employee repair companies) and some just supply companies that take chances with your digital copier equipment.  If you are not sure ask.

It’s better to to call a quality repair service companies that has many years of supplies knowledge than looking for the cheapest price in town.

Wow! the number of calls received from people buying used copiers printers from companies going out of business is skyrocketing. Most people think the used copier they are getting is a great deal! However, just like buying a used car from a dirt lot, you better be careful when buying used copiers from business going out of business.

Think a minute. They are GOING out of business due to lack of money. Do you think the used printer copier has been maintained? If they have a lack of funds the printers and copiers repairs is last on the list of where to put the money!

We just received three calls today from companies buying used copiers printer scanners less than 1 week ago and the machine are having problems.  This is how the call starts, “Hi I need somebody to come out to clean a copier we are getting lines.” or “Hi we are getting paper jams and we need it fixed right away.” The copier repair technician ask them a few questions about the copier repair needed to proved a FREE Copier repair quote. Where does the printer copier jam occur? What does the line look like and where on the page?

The client tells use they just purchased the used copier scanner from a company going out of business and the people told them the machine works well.  Now the company is gone and they can not get a hold of them. I hate to  say this but they are out of business for a reason!  Do you think once you buy the used copier they will help you if a problem occurs? NO – they sold you the used copier printer,  closed the business and left town for the mountains.

Now lets make a long story short:  The bottom line is that the average repair on the machines cost more than what they paid for the used copiers.  Also, the client found out the used copier scanner printer average ages was 7 years.

Before you buy a used machine get a certified technician to review it. Have the copier repair tech check  the condition, the amount of supplies left (toner, developer, drum) and provide a report to you before you spend a dime on a refurbished or used printer copier.

If you have questions please post them or if you have any used copier printer experiences  contact us at Advanced Business Computers Inc!

According the GSA, company’s printers, fax machines and copiers cost  “on the average $1000 per employee per year or more.”   According to Xerox, company’s copier printer environment costs an average of 3% of a company’s TOTAL GROSS revenue.

Every dollar you save in your copier printer scanner increases your company’s profit.  Budgets for toner cartridge  supplies are growing by 20-40% per year;  Dataquest, IDC and CAP Ventures have all concluded that copier printer scanner page volumes are growing at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 8%. Printer cost is increasing not decreasing and the majority of the company’s do not have controls in place. PrintSolv print management solves this problem

Wait, it’s important to know the facts about print management before you tackle your print related costs.

True Print Management is the way your companies copier printer scanner equipment are acquired, maintained, supplied and distributed. It is not an equipment lease program. The problem is that many copier printer leasing and service companies are yelling Print Management when they are actually in the business of pushing (selling you) equipment. To them copier printer scanner print management is just another “catch word” just like the word “Digital” was a few years ago.

And here is the most important factor. . . .

“True Print Management is cost avoidance, cost reduction,  copier printer equipment management and scanner maintenance. It is not buying, leasing or equipment centralizing program.”  It’s a Pro-active not Re-active program.

Buying vs. PrintSolv Copier Printer Scanner Management Solution

Here are 7 reasons to consider PrintSolv verse purchasing equipment:

(1) It keeps your cash free to help your business grow instead of tying it up in expensive printers copiers and scanner equipment. Your business needs cash to survive.  Every time you tie it up in capital equipment, you limit your cash available for marketing, inventory and other useful purposes. Why constrain your company’s growth?

(2) Your company gets to write off the complete program amount fast instead of slowly depreciating the copier, printer or fax equipment over a bunch of years. The US government classifies most office equipment as five year or longer equipment.  This means you have to depreciate over a long period if you own the equipment.  The Advanced Business Computers Inc. programs give you the ability to write it 100% at the time of the expense.  This lowers the taxes and simplifies your accounting!

(3) Concerns of printer, copier and scanner obsolescence is no longer a factor.  Technology moves so fast that computer, copier, printer and fax machine companies are introducing new equipment and discontinuing others daily.

Hewlett Packard stated that they will introduce new printers at least once every 6 months.  You no longer have the luxury to think that the equipment you buy today will do the things you want it to do 3 years from now.

(4) The PrintSolv Solution has been designed to address the four cornerstones of business copier printer management in today’s cost conscience environment: process and performance improvements, cost containment, cost avoidance, and cost savings. The program is the most strategic approach to print management available in the marketplace today.

(5) This gives you the a method to manage your copier printers scanners equipment and obtain equipment you NEED (if any) instead of just equipment you can afford due to cash on hand and budget concerns.

How many times have you a printer or copier just based on price instead of what you need to grow your business?  Does cash on hand limit your purchasing abilities?  Would a faster printer or more efficient copier scanner get you more business or reduce your direct overhead costs (labor, outside printing, etc.)?

(6) If you need new equipment then you have a choice. The PrintSolv solution is very much independent of any particular brand and represents an independent solution to controlling costs and managing print environments

(7) The solutions will cost you no more than any other service provider in the market, but we provide you with more than our competitors can ever provide, including the kind of meaningful data on your company’s print environment that enable very real return-on-investment decisions. And yes, it is highly likely that we will be able to save you money as well, both short-term and long-term savings.

Plus, the programs provide a hedge against inflation.  Instead of using today’s dollars, spread the cost out with tomorrow’s cheaper dollars.

Call and ask for. . .

“What Tricks Copier printer Leasing Companies Play and Do Not Want YOU To Know”

(the DIRTY little secrets that makes them rich and legally steal money from You!)

How do you think Xerox, Canon,. Sharp, Ricoh and Minolta became so big? That’s right get the 100% Free report! Request it through our website or ask for it in the comment area!

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.

(And legally rip you off!)

Did you see part one of tricks copier leasing companies play? This continues where we left off discussing how to prevent being ripped-of by copier leasing companies and copier maintenance service providers. If you are not careful your copier lease will end with you shelling out more major bucks for a copier printer that you could have owned for $1!

The old saying what the goose does not know is good for the gander (or is it the other way around?).  In other words, the more you are kept in the dark by the office copier leasing company then more they profit from you.

More things you need to know before you sign a copier printer lease maintenance agreement:

Know your contract. We just received a call from a client who leased a copier printer from Toshiba of Florida.  This is a client who didn’t make sure the copier printer lease buy-out was specified in dollars amounts in their lease.  Toshiba copier leasing said $5000 – the client said, “You got to be kidding!

This is what happened:  First they did not check the contract before they signed (see Tricks Copier Leasing companies play Part I).  Second they waited too late to ask them the buy out amount of the copier MFD lease.  The copier printer lease required a 90 day notice so since their request for the copier lease buy-out was 60 from the lease expiration the leasing company could charge them anything the wanted.

Also, check the expiration date of your lease of your copier printer scanner equipment way, way before expiration.

Guess what happened next?  They told the leasing company they do not want to renew the copier printer lease agreement.  Toshiba said fine and told the client to ship the machine back to Toshiba in Georgia.  Client reaction,” What???”  The leasing company of the copier printer wanted the client to spend several hundred of dollars to ship via a freight company (this is a large copier printer).

Result: They called our office, Advanced Business Computers Inc and we help them review the contract and proved that Toshiba copier leasing company was responsible to pickup the machine. The client lost the chance to get the copier MFD machine for pennies on the dollar; however, they did save big time on shipping costs.

Now they are reviewing leases from copier printer companies armed with information so they will not get hooked into another bad digital copier printer fax lease.

Never Get a Chance to See Other Offers: This is a sales gimmick or trick used by all major copier leasing companies.  The gimmick, “Do not give other copier leasing companies a chance and screw the clients!” This is how the leasing tricks works:

A. You sign a copier lease and maintenance agreement fro a period of 3 or 5 years.

B.  Half way into the copier lease agreement the leasing company comes to you and says, “Why don’t we upgrade your copier printer at no charge?” You say, “That sounds great”.

They deliver an upgraded copier printer and have you sign an agreement that REPLACESS the older agreement. The new agreement is for ANOHTER 3 or 5 years.

What did they just do?  They just got you for another bunch of years. The copier leasing companies do this again and again. The lease never ends. You never get a chance to own the equipment. Plus, you never get to get a competitive offer from a different leasing company because your current leasing company keeps locking you into long copier lease over and over again!

There are other tricks leasing companies play. If you need somebody who knows the tricks to review your current or proposed lease agreement contact us.  Get a clear English copier lease agreement with everything spelled out.

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

There is a wise saying you can take your horse to the water but you can not force it to drink. The same holds true when selecting new copiers, laser printers and office fax equipment. People tend to focus on the wrong thing when selecting equipment such as Ricoh digital copier printer, HP laser printers or canon fax machines.

What is the number one most asked question when selecting a new laser printer or digital copier?  PRICE

What is the number one and two problem encountered?  Printer and copiers failing right after the warranty ends and the toner cartridges cost a small fortune on the new office copier or multi-function printer.

Why?  Because see question one.  If you pick a print, copier or fax solely by price without looking at durability and cost of operating you will have the number one problem.

Laser printer and digital copiers scanners supplies, copier printer repairs and the maintenance costs far out weigh the initial cost of the equipment over the time you own the equipment.  If you purchase a printer copier by the equipment cost or “name” then you stand a high chance of having the number on problem.

When selecting a printer, copier of fax machine step back and ask your self a few questions.  How much usage will the laser printer or digital copier receive in a month. Take the average pages per day your copier or laser printer will print and multiply it by 30 days. No use that number to determine you monthly supply cost of your laser printer toner cartridges or copier scanner toner.

Also, list the features your need before you buy the laser printer fax or digital multi-function copier. Do you need:  copier fax option, scanning to computer, fax to email, network printer copying, color printing,  duplex two sided copying or printing, size of paper drawers needed and connectivity of the printer or copier .

How many people will the digital copier? What types of paper does the digital copier or laser printer need to handle?  (photo, business, graphs)

Now take all this information and start searching for the device that fits your printer or copying needs.

Questions to ask:

1:     What is the average cot per page for the supplies?  This one is tricky because the manufacturers quote “X” of pages at 5% coverage. Most people print and copy at a higher rate. If you are printing color on some machines the cost to print a page with 15% coverage (average graph) costs $0.42 to $.067 per page due to high supply costs.

Rule of thumb: the lower the cost of the device the higher the cost to operate and shorter the life of the copier printer.

2:     What is the monthly rating on the laser printer or digital copier MFD (multi-function device)?   Take the monthly duty cycle and time it by 20%.  The result is the maximum recommended industry monthly print copy volume.

If you want your copier printer or fax machine to last 3..5 years then get one with an industry monthly recommended volume above your estimate monthly usage.  If you are not sure call us and we will calculate the number for you.

3.    Are there compatible laser printer or digital copier cartridges available?  If you really want to cut your costs used compatible supplies where the company’s guarantees that if the compatible ever causes a problem with your printer copier or fax machine they will repair it for free.

Website for additional information. Feel free to call us or request help through our blog or go ahead to our website.

Have a fantastic day:

You’re Friends

Advanced Business Computers, Inc.

sales@acbtechsolutions.com