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Archive for January, 2009

Copier Leases, What are the Benefits and Drawbacks?

January 31st, 2009
Copystar (Kyocera) New Color Copier

Copystar (Kyocera) New Color Copier

A question that I often get as I quote out copiers to new customers here in Denver is “Does it make more sense to buy the copier or to lease it?”  I will address this question as intelligently as i can and this will hopefully give you some ammunition as you’re making these important decisions.

Why would someone choose to lease equipment?  What is the benefit?

The main benefit is capital outlay.  Unlike bank loans which often require a very large percentage of the loan to be paid up front, a lease for business equipment is generally just 2 payments at the maximum.  This keeps the money you have in the bank or being invested in the business instead of outlaying huge chunks of money to a vendor.

Another reason people lease is because they know without leasing, they are likely to retain old and inefficient equipment many years longer than they should (like they do with printers…) and this guarantees they have to replace the copiers on a consistent and logical basis for their business model.

Finally, leases can help the tax side of your company by allowing you to fully deduct payments as a business expense rather than having to depreciate the value of the equipment over a numer of years.  Talking to your tax professional would make sense if you want to see how getting a copier lease would affect your taxes.

The detriments are that you are generally stuck with one vendor and are in a non-cancellable contract.  You also MUST keep the equipment under a maintenance contract and are generally not allowed to shop around for better maintenance rates, and finally you pay a lot more money than you would if you paid outright because you have interest rates, shipping costs back to the leasing company, etc to pay for.

If you decide that you do not want to purchase a copier outright and that you want to lease the equipment, then here are some things you need to understand:

The first crucial thing you need to understand is the difference between a Fair Market Value (FMV) lease and a $1 Buyout Lease.

FMV Leases – Basically, what an FMV lease is an agreement to pay for the use of the equipment over an agreed upon amount of time (12, 24, 36, 48, 60 or 63) months and at the end of this time you can keep the copier if you pay the Fair Market Value according to the terms of the contract.  The holder of the lease paperwork is the one who decides what the Fair market Value is.  They will give you a buyout number, and you can pay that number to keep the copier or you can return the copier at the end of your lease as agreed upon in your lease paperwork.

I personally would shy away from 60 or 63 month leases.  Most people are going to want to replace the copier around year 4 and there is no reason to have to buyout the lease if you decide that you are ready to move to your next copier.  Copier companies generally like using the 60 or 63 month leases because it makes the equipment monthly payment lower.  As a customer I would choose a 36 or 48 month lease in almost all cases.

A $1 Buyout Lease means you pay for the equipment according to the terms of the lease and after you have completed your contract, you can pay $1 and the equipment will remain in your possession.  This option works if you are definately planning on keeping the equipment after the completion of the contract.

Please feel free to contact us if you desire more information or help getting a copier for your company here in the Denver/Front Range area.

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What to Do When Your Copier Company (Like Finzer) Goes Out of Business

January 30th, 2009

We have had a few of our customers come to us because they were working with Finzer Imaging Systems and were unable to get any support or help after their bankruptcy.  The support goes away, but the needs are still there and oddly enough, the lease payments still exist and there is no support that is going with it.  What should a customer do in such a situation?  We asked this question to our USXL sales executive and her response was pretty insightful as what a company ought to do to continue getting service and not have to get ripped off because your copier company went bankrupt.  Here is what our rep had to say…

“They should contact the leasing company from the invoice.  The leasing company can typically get another vendor to assign the service portion to so the customer can pay as agreed.  If the leasing company cannot get a vendor to provide service and supplies at the rate listed on the contract, they should reduce the contract by the service amount so they are just paying the equipment portion.”

If you are in the position of dealing with a copier which has a contract tied to a company going out of business or if the service is so terrible you are wanting to change service providers, this is a great step to start with.  If the copier company is still in business they will be notified by the leasing company what you are trying to do.  That step alone will often get you better service.  If they are gone, you need to make sure you are not double paying for prints and that is why the advice from USXL is so solid.

If you have copier related questions or questions about your copier lease, we’d be happy to help you out.  Please call if you have a copier need here in the Denver area. 

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Customer Testimonial

January 28th, 2009

I wanted to have this testimonial on our site about one of our customer’s experience working with us…

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Denvercopier.com was a dream to work with. The printer that I was originally looking to buy, recommended to me by another vendor, was not the best printer for us by far. My sales rep took into consideration the quantity we print, the quality of the prints we needed and our ink usage, and made a recommendation for a printer that would reduce our yearly print costs by half. The printer we purchased on www.denvercopier.com was delivered promptly and was exactly what we needed. I would highly recommend www.denvercopier.com for any printer purchase.

Jessica M

 Publishing Company  

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Kyocera Mita 4035 Vs. the New Kyocera TaskAlfa 500CI Series

January 27th, 2009
Copystar (Kyocera) New Color Copier
Copystar (Kyocera) New Color Copier

What are the differences between the Kyocera TaskAlfa 500CI and the Kyocera 4035e copier?  Both are “40 page per minute” copiers (the TaskAlfa 400CI), but that is about where the similarities stop.  Besides producing better color images, the TaskAlfa has been redesigned to be more reliable and easier to use than the Kyocera 4035e. The color quality on the TaskAlfa is substantially better as well.  The TaskAlfa 500CI competes pretty well with the high end copiers such as the Xerox WorkCentre 7346 or the Xerox WorkCentre 7345 devices as well.  Here is a breakdown of the primary differences between the Kyocera 4035e and the TaskAlfa 500CI.
 
CS 500ci Series
Product Feature
KM-C4035E Series
Up to 50 ppm Black / 40 ppm Color
Speed
Up to 40 ppm Black / 35 ppm Color
8.5” Color Touch Screen Control Panel
Control Panel
Black and White Touch Screen Control Panel
Up to 90 lb Index through the Trays, Up to 120 lb Index through the MPT,
Up to 28 lb Bond through the PF-760
Paper Weight
Up to 28 lb Bond through the Trays / 120 lb Index through the MPT
100 Sheet Dual Scan Document Processor or 100 Sheet Reversing Automatic Document Processor
Document Processor Option(s)
100 Sheet Reversing Automatic Document Processor
Up to 100 ipm Black & White and Color @ 300 dpi w/ DSDP
Scan Speed
Up to 40 ipm Black & White, 35 ipm Color @ 300 dpi
1,000 Sheet Stack Capacity, Multi-Position Staple, 
Maximum 50 sheets Stapled
1,000 Sheet Finisher
1,000 Sheet Stack Capacity, Single Position Staple,
Maximum 30 sheets Stapled
3,250 Sheet Stack Capacity, Multi-Position Staple
16 lb Bond – 120 lb Index
Optional: 2/3 Hole Punch, 7 bin Mailbox, Booklet Folder
3,000 Sheet Finisher and Options
3,250 Sheet Stack Capacity, Multi-Position Staple
16 lb – 24 lb Bond
Optional: 2/3 Hole Punch, 7 bin Mailbox, Booklet Folder
Single Drop
Network Drop
Dual Drop
2 GB RAM / 160 GB x 2 HDDs shared  (500ci / 400ci)
2 GB RAM / 80 GB HDD shared (300ci / 250ci)
Standard RAM / HDD(s)
256MB Std, 1 GB Max RAM / Opt. 40 GB Print HDD
768 MB RAM / 40 GB Copy HDD
600 x 600 dpi / 8 bit color
Resolution / Bit Depth
600 x 600 dpi / INA
Standard on-board document storage
Document Box
Not Available
Standard print-from and scan-to Functionality
USB Host Interface
Not Available
Standard
Multi-Send
Not Available
18,000 CMY, 25,000 Black – 500ci, 400ci
12,000 CMY, 20,000 Black – 300ci, 250ci
Toner Yield
7,000 CMY, 15,000 K – all four models
If you are currently looking for a Kyocera 4035e, may we suggest changing your mind and look at the TaskAlfa series instead.  Both are solid devices, but I try and not sell the 4035’s because of some of the image quality issues I have seen as well as difficulty in figuring out exactly how it out to be used.
 

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A Lesson in Transparency, What We Use in Our Office, and Why

January 26th, 2009
Lexmark X658de Series

Lexmark X658de Series

Here we are, a printer company that has the choice and knowledge between 9 different printer manufacturers for our printing needs (AMT, HP, Lexmark, Ricoh, Xerox, Okidata, Printronix, Tally, and Kyocera)…  Needless to say, we have many options.  So, when we were choosing what we were going to use internally, what did we choose, and why?  You will see we are not “married” to any particular manufacturer.  Like you, we have daily business needs and the label on the outside of the box does not matter as much as the function of the box.  So, here is a quick overview of what we use and why.

Color Printing:

In our office, you will find 2 color printers that get used.  The Xerox Phaser 7760 gets used primarily because we get a good deal on a demo unit and can sell the device after 6 months for $1,500 off the list price and essentially not pay for toner.  It does an awesome job on color, so we like it…  plus it is fast.  Most customers do not enjoy the same benefit, so I would not personally recommend emulation of us unless you need really high quality color prints and color matching is crucial to you.

For the heavy fill flyers, we use the Xerox Phaser 8860. This printer is far cheaper than any other printer in the color laser class.  Granted, it is not technically a laser printer (it is solid ink), but it’s quality is equal to or superior to a laser printer and you could use the same device and pay $.03 per color page or if you have heavy coverage, you can pay $.06 or so and have unlimited ink on a page…  We do too many of these to use a HP or other Xerox product.  We’d spend $500 to $1,000 per month more if we used anything else and get lesser quality.

Black and White Copier:

We use the Lexmark X658dfe multifunction device.  Why? At $4,000 it prints, copies, scans, faxes, collates, staples and is by far the easiest multi-function device on the market to use.  We did not want to spend an hour training 15 different users.  We plugged in the device and people started using it.  Plus, it is a blazing fast 55 pages per minute.  It does not do tabloid, which we are OK with.  Different people will differ on this point, but we don’t need tabloid (11 X 17) capability.  We are OK with Letter and Legal sizes.

Are there other great options?  Of Course there are.  The tricky part is each business has to evaluate their own needs and assess the costs and benefits of different manufacturers for their office.  Or, better yet, if you are in the Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins area and have a copier or color printer need, I’d be happy to schedule an on-site visit so we can go over all of the options and make sure you are running as efficiently as possible.

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Document Management for Dummies, or People who Don’t Want a Complicated System

January 24th, 2009

So, you are ready to buy that copier and the rep asks you about what you plan on doing with your document scans…  Have you planned out how that is going to work?  You thought that since the copier has a scanner, you really shouldn’t have to spend more money so that it can be organized.  Then you see the quote and realize this is going to cost $1,000 to scan, and then if it really is useful (text searchable, etc…) you are looking at another $5,000 to $10,000 (or more…) What you need is not really complex, it’s just necessary to have a valid system of organization and you want it to work…

Let’s look at another option.  If you have server 2003, you have a cool little piece of software on there called Sharepoint.  It’s free and it works really well for most customers.  It can be attached to work with copiers like Kyocera, Xerox and Lexmark (each with their own relative strengths and weaknesses) and you can scan to a shared folder and save yourself thousands of dollars. If you want help seeing how this can work for your business in the Denver/Front Range area, give us a call and we can help you set up a system like this that will work and not break the bank.

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The Most Important Question When Purchasing a Copier

January 23rd, 2009
Copystar (Kyocera) New Color Copier

Copystar (Kyocera) New Color Copier

So, you’re ready to buy a copier and started your researching here in Denver?  You are getting ready for this process with as much excitement as a root canal?  Well, we are here to help.  The most important thing you can do BEFORE you start the buying process is to determine your priorities first.  Without this, each rep will have good things to say, but it’ll be hard to decide which copier to purchase.  Here’s what you need to do.  On a scale of 1 to 6 rank these criterion:

____ Speed and Productivity (How many pages a minute, how many steps to complete an important task, how many special features does it have which will speed things up?)

____ Reliability – Do you want a technician in your office twice a month fixing the copier (does that even matter to you?) or are you hoping that this device will work for long periods of time without problems?

____ Pricing – Is price the #1 factor for you, or are other things more important than price?  Each customer is different and it is good to know which type you are so you either get the best price or get the other features you may find more important.

____ Finishing and Paper Handling – Does it need to handle 12 X 18 paper or 11 X 17 paper or handle 90lb bond paper or a special gloss paper?  Does it need to hole punch or make booklets? Is the FUNCTION on some special processes crucial?

____ Environmental Concerns – Do you want a copier which produces less waste and does not produce VOC’s (like ozone) or is that of relative little importance to you?

____ Image Quality – Are you looking for print shop type color, or just business color?  Are you needing perfect scans or “rough draft” type of scans.  What is the performance threshold you are looking at with this device?

Once you have your criteria in mind, it’s far easier to help you meet your objectives and make this process as painless as possible.

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Copiers and VOC’s — Are You Making Your Employees Sick?

January 22nd, 2009

This blog post is being written to inform you of a danger that is out there with nearly every copier on the market.  They produce Volitile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and this can make your workers sick.  The most common of these that is produces happens to be Ozone, which is good in the atmosphere, but bad for humans to breathe because it is so volitile.  Your copier most likely produces ozone.  You can find out if it does by asking “how much does a corona wire cost on this copier?” If the answer is that it is included or an actual price, you have an ozone producing machine.  Here is what Web MD says about Ozone problems that we may face when we breathe this stuff in

Problems include:

  • Irritation of the lungs that causes inflammation much like a sunburn.
  • Coughing, wheezing, and pain when taking a deep breath, and breathing problems while exercising.
  • Permanent lung damage from repeated exposure.
  • Aggravated asthma, increased susceptibility to pneumonia and bronchitis, and reduced lung capacity.

Maybe this doesn’t matter to you.  But if you care about your health and the health of your employees, this is worth considering.  If you have specific questions on this, or other copier related questions, please give us a call.

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Xerox’s “strange” pricing tiers — Overview

January 17th, 2009
Xerox WorkCentre 7328

Xerox WorkCentre 7328

Selling Xerox products is interesting because Xerox does stuff from a Marketing perspective which is too obvious for most consumers to appreciate.  In fact, most tend to get annoyed by they way they structure their offerings, but I am writing to let you know about a few of them.  I am not going to defend Xerox or to condemn Xerox.  You see, the way I look at this market, I ASSUME there will always be “tricks” to know.  I am glad about this because it keeps me employed.  If everything were super simple, I would not have a lot of value and you probably would not be looking at a blog like this to help you sift through all of the information.

What I would like to do is addeess some of the pricing structures as it relates to the Xerox product line specifically.

First, what the difference between the Xerox Phaser 8560MFP and the Xerox Phaser 8860MFP?  Can I be honest here?  I assume so since it’s my blog…  the difference between the 8560 and the 8860 is simply a diffence in the size of ink blocks and pricing for those blocks and the price of the units themselves.  The 8560 is about $2,000 and the wax winds up costing about $.11 at 20% coverage.  If you don’t know what coverage really means, you should watch the video link on the side of this page!!  The 8860 is about $4,000 and costs $.035 per page.  Basically there is a $2,000 difference and a $.075 per color page price difference.  At 26,000+ pages total (or just under 750 per month for 3 years)… you’d be better off buying an 8860.  If you are printing 300 pages a month, buy a 8560 as it won’t make up the differential in costs.

The Xerox WorkCentre 7335 and the Xerox Phaser 7760 has the same thing happening.  Again, the engine is the same, but the operational costs are a lot different.  If you were to pay about $10,000 for the Xerox 7335 or $5,500 for the 7760, again it would seem that it would take forever to make up the difference…  We are looking at about a cost of $.09 for the WorkCentre 7335 or $.14 for the Phaser 7760 (same coverage rules apply)… So the cross over where the 7335 makes more sense is 90,000 pages or 2,500 a month for 3 years. 

There are more examples with Xerox and if you have questions, give me a call and we can go over your situation in detail.

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CopyStar CI400 Product Review

January 13th, 2009
Copystar (Kyocera) New Color Copier

Copystar (Kyocera) New Color Copier

Kyocera Mita America has just released a new line of Tabloid Capable Color copiers which have some of the best reliability as well as some of the lowest costs in the industry.  Now, the machines themselves are more expensive than a comparable Sharp, Canon, or Konica Minolta copier, but there are major advantages in consumables and reliability in regards to these devices.

The first thing to know is that the toner is what is called emulsion aggregate toner.  Basically, what this means is that the toner has been organically grown to be a consistent (and very small) particle size so that less toner can be used on the page and more consistent color can be acheived.  The biggest benefit to you is 30% less toner is used and therefore the per print costs go down substantially.

Kyocera has made this machine so that your per print color costs should be less than $.06 per page.  This is the best rate in the industry at this point in time, so it’s definately worth checking out.  If you do not need tabloid, it’s likely this copier is not the best fit based on equipment costs, but if you do, this is definately a top of the line copier with rock bottom color prices.

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