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.

With all the companies going out of busy its become a free for all in the user copier printer scanner fax markets.  We consistently get calls from companies who have purchased used copier printers machine from companies going out of business or at auctions that lasted a few days and then started to haev problems.  When purchasing a used or reconditioned copier printer scanner fax whether Canon, Ricoh, Sharp, Kyocera or other brand you need to thoroughly test the unit.   Better yet hire a certified service technician to check ti out first before parting with your hard earned money.

One of the more common problems we are starting to see lately is the system rest of the factory configured calibrations and even the serial numbers. on many brands of printer copier scanners fax MFD machines a service technician can reset the factory ONLY calibrations settings. These settings control the laser strength, density calibration and even house the serial numbers.  Once these are reset they can not be recovered or properly recalibrate because these calibration settings were done at the time of the manufacturer of the copier printer using specialized equipment not available in the field. can you tell if the settings haev been changed?  Yes and not

If you print the configuration or service log history you may notice an entry stating that the system was reset. Or if you print the used reconditioned copier printer configuration or service page and notice no serial number then you know somebody tampered with the counters, and factory only settings.  Purchasing a used copier printer fax is just like purchasing a used car. You want to know the true past history and usage. It’s better to have a service technician review the copier printer scanner used or refurbished equipment before you buy to prevent costly repair maintenance after a few days or weeks after purchase.

What can go wrong when the settings are reset? Plenty – first image quality when you replace the developer or drum unit. Second – lose of functionality of the unit that requires activation codes to use the fax, scanner or printer features.  Inability to get a maintenance agreement because the serial number and history is wiped out.  Used refurbished printer copier scanner office equipment will greatly reduce your overall cost but selecting one that was reset can be a costly mistake.

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.

It has always amazed me the number of businesses and government agencies that just think about “NOW” when selecting replacement printer, copiers and fax machines. How do you purchase your company’s copier printers or laser printers?

“It’s a buyers beware – the manufacturers are going to get you!”

Have you notice a change? The US dollar is dropping in value. gold is skyrocketing and Lexmark, HP, Xerox and other equipment manufactures announced big price increases on their supplies.

Just when you are trying to cut costs, they raised your cost on supplies! But, did the copiers scanner or hp laser printers actual equipment go up in price?

NO.  Why?

Because they are out to get you!  It’s the old game of getting you with inexpensive laser printers, desktop copiers and all in one equipment and then socking it to you with higher supply costs.

Are you one of those people who fail to think about the future costs of operating the equipment when you buy copier printers or printer scanners all in one?  93% of the companies in America spend more money on supplies than they do on the actual laser printer, digital copier over the like of the equipment

5 Things You Should Know

Before You Buy

#1: What toner supplies do the laser printer or digital copier use? What the cost of each supply item? Toner cartridge? Drum?  Developer?

#2: What is the estimated number of pages you will get from each toner cartridge supply item? Now calculate your cost per page.

#3: FACT! The lower the cost of the copier printer, HP laser printer or fax the more it cost per page to operate!

#4: What is the DUTY cycle of the laser printer– NOT print speed?  The print speed has nothing to do with the durability. The duty cycle is the key. the higher the duty cycle the more durable is the laser printer or copier scanner all in one.

Now, take the duty cycle and multiply it by .20 (20%) and you should not average over this number of pages per month.

#5: Get a higher end slightly used copier or laser printer for the save or less than a low end used printer scanner. They will outlast and cost less to operate over the long run.

The catch here is getting a used one in good condition. We get calls every week from people buying used copiers and laser printers  cheap just to find out in a month that the equipment needs major work.

Consider Dealer Select fully warranted machines. If you are looking for quality used equipment call us. It does not cost you a single cent to ask.

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.

Quality copier printer scanners are designed for 7 to 10 years of life just like your car. I know one client that have many HP laser printer 4+, 5 and 4000’s 8 to 12 years old. They refuse to get rid of them because that HP model laser printer is built like a rock. In fact, they keep ask for refurbished use HP printers!

Does a quality car only have 3 years of life? The average car on the road is over 5 years old. You use a car to get from point A to B. You use a printer, copier and MFD to produce pages with text and graphics. Who says that a new $8,875 copier printer is any better than an off lease recent model (2..3 years old) well maintained used printer copier?  How old is your HP laser printer? Is it still doing the job?

Then why not consider a high quality, select off lease lightly used copier printer that saves you thousands of dollars?

Or do you always need the newest gadget that costs the most and depreciates the fastest?

I’m not talking about the small desktop units. The copier printers discussed are mid to high MFD all in ones that are extremely durable machines with years of life left in them.

Best of all you can grab one for as much as 67% or more off their original price! The trick is knowing which machine to select. Just like the used car business, some used copier printers companies will take you for a real ride!

Off Lease Do’s and Don’ts

First: Know the print or copier company. Have you done business with copier printer service company in the past? Do they offer service or a flat per page, including copier printer repair, parts and supplies? Will used copier company provide client referrals?

Second: How old is the equipment? Stick to equipment no more than 3 years old. You do not want used copiers or printers that have hard to fine parts. The best (most durable and easy to get parts) used copiers are Kyocera, Copystar, Ricoh, Lanier, Gestetner and Savin brands

Third: Check the page count. Just like a used car you want low mileage (low page count). Try to stick to used copiers or refurbished printers with 2 months of duty cycle usage or less. Ask about a maintenance program for the used printer scanner copier.

Fourth: What is the monthly duty cycle? Most companies print less than 19% of the maximum monthly duty cycle. Take the total duty cycle of the used copier and divide it by 5. Your monthly copier usage should be lower than this amount.

Fifth: Know the brand. Not all models and brands are equal. In fact some of the best known brands are the worse to get used. Some will last many years while others are problematic. Call and ask questions.

Example of a Dealer Select and the information discussed:

Mita-Kyocera 4035

Network Copier / Printer / Fax / Scanner / Duplex / Cabinet

Duty Cycle 200,000 per month

Fast 40PPM

Equipment value new with above features: $9,987

2 years old with stand

Current page count 184,743

Maintenance cycle 300,000 pages – this is huge. Most brands have a             80k to 150K maintenance cycle. They machine rocks!

This used copier printer scanner all in one machine has many years of life left.

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.

I hope this article was helpful.

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Advanced Business Computers, Inc.

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