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Buying a Copier
Considered Buying Your Own Copier?
Does this sound Familiar! ... So you are getting tired of running down to your local copy shop. You get in your car and drive down to make a few copies, pay your 5 to 10 cents per copy then drive back to your office only to realize that you still need more copies made. What an inconvenience of time lost running back and forth.
With shopping the local copier dealers, you are shocked to learn that a new copier can cost from $2,000 to $25,000. Your next stop is the local office supply or superstore, which offer the smaller PC grade type of machine starting at about $400 up to about $2,000.
Considerations When Buying a Photocopier Machine
There are four primary considerations when buying a copier; 1) how many copies you will be producing monthly, 2) what features you require, 3) space and machine size requirements, and 4) how soon you will outgrow the machine.
Other important considerations are, the reliability of the machine, cost per copy, and how many copies the consumable parts (black toner, cyan toner, yellow toner, magenta toner, black developer, cyan developer, yellow developer, magenta toner, fuser oil or fuser unit and drums) yield and their replacement cost.
Which Brand is Best?
With our experience working on all makes & models from AB Dick to Xerox we have found that... "The Golden Rule of copier buying basically says that the factories that make the best Photography equipment make the best copiers. *Canon *Xerox *Sharp *Ricoh and *Minolta." Coastal Business Supplies is a leading supplier of Canon toner, Xerox toner, Sharp toner, Ricoh toner and Minolta toner.
Understanding Photocopier Machine Grades
There are three basic grades or classes of photocopiers. The first grade of copier is the PC (Personal Copier) grade that is often sold in office supply and department stores. The second and generally most preferable grade of copier is the standard Business Grade machine. Next there is the Commercial ReproGraphic Grade machine that is primarily designed for high volume users who produce 50,000 to 100,000 copies monthly.
The PC Grade Copier:
Most PC grade machines are sold by your local office superstore. They are designed to produce a maximum of 500 to 1,500 copies monthly. When buying a PC Grade Machine; The convenience of a new small PC grade copier may soon be over shadowed by the lack of features, capacity, high cost per copy, and lack of available on-site service.
Pro's and Con's of the PC copier. The advantages are 1) "instant warm-up" that means when you turn the machine on it is ready to make a copy within one minute, 2) operator replaceable drum / copy cartridges, and 3) low purchase price. Now lets get to the minuses, 1) slow...only 5-10 copies per minute (CPM), 2) high cost per copy aprox. 7 cents, 3) lack of available features and paper sizes 4) lack of on-site service.
In event of any repairs needed, most of these machines are not on-site serviceable and are shipped off to "Repair Depots" resulting in a loss of your copier (possibly for several weeks) during the repair period. However we would like to note that PC grade machines in general enjoy an excellent record for reliability and customer satisfaction.
* A note about how copy cost / toner yield is figured: Cost per copy / toner yield is figured on a percentage of how much toner is applied to a letter size copy. If all the toner applied to your letter sized copy is condensed down to a solid block / field it would equal a percentage of the size of the copy. Thus this "toner field" is the quotient in which cost per copy / stated yield is based upon.
In regards to PC type machines, the "stated yield" or copy cost is generally based upon a 5% field per letter-sized copy. If the stated yield of the Drum Cartridge says 2,000 copies, average yield will be more like 1,200. Reason being, most documents copied run an average of 8%-15% field. And with copying any graphics you can easily be up to a 25% to 50% field. These machines even for low volume users can rapidly become cost prohibitive to operate.
The Business Grade Copier:
The standard Business Grade Machine for most users is the best choice. This is the most common grade of machine. Features and machine size will vary; they can range from a simple desktop model to a large stand-alone machine. Business grade machines are generally recognized by a low cost per copy and the availability of "Full System" options. Average cost per copy is 1 cent (includes paper & toner).
Common features are R/E, ADF, and sorter. These machines are designed to produce from 1 up to 50,000 copies monthly. New purchase prices can range from $2,000 to $15,000. A Business Grade machine will give you years and hundreds of thousands of copies worth of service. This grade of machine truly represents the best overall value.
The Commercial Grade Copier:
The commercial grade copier will generally include many of the full system features and produce 50 plus copies per minute. Differences that separate this type of machine verses the business grade machine are 1) monthly copy volume, 2) lower maintenance (generally required only every 100,000 copies) with service costing no more than business grade copiers, and 3) low cost per copy.
The minus to this type of machine is the slightly larger size over business grade. New purchase prices can range from $25,000 to $40,000. However good used or recondition machines can be purchased for the price of a business grade machine. With low maintenance cost and low cost per copy, machines like this can become quite attractive.
Buying A Pre-Owned Copier
Purchasing a pre-owned copier will help you avoid that immediate 40-60% drop in resale value which happens the moment you take delivery of that brand new photocopier. With thousands of well-maintained copiers coming "Off Lease" and or being repossessed monthly purchasing a pre-owned copier maybe your best choice. Lots of great equipment available at a fraction of the new cost.
There are three basic sources in which to buy a pre-owned copier from. One is the franchised dealer, another is from a private party, and the third is from an Independent Photocopier Sales & Service Company whom maybe your best and wisest choice. They generally offer Fully Serviced or Re-Conditioned Copy Machines at a fraction of the cost of new equipment and generally include a 30-90 Day Warranty.
An Independent Dealer will generally offer better prices on copy machines, service, and supplies. Most of these independent dealers buy their machines from Wholesalers and Leasing Companies and then fully service or recondition them before resale. These "Independents" generally select only machines for resale that are in above average condition and are known not to have been produced with factory design defects.
You may however decide to browse the Sunday classifieds noticing for sale at an affordable price. Your mind immediately asks why are these people selling their machine. Well, in all probability it will be one of the following reasons, 1) their upgrading to a newer machine or one that has added features, 2) they no longer need a photocopier, or 3) the machine is problematic / lemon. Regarding the first and second reason, you may want to strike a deal.
Regarding the above third reason, does the machine have a good track record? To find out the status of a certain brand/model copier, you may think of calling that Franchised Brand Dealer. A typical answer from them in regards to the before mentioned question would be yes. In most cases it's likely you'll be calling them (the same dealer) for future service. This therefore allows the dealer a perfect opportunity to sell you the profitable and almighty "Service Contract". Call an "Independent Dealer" to get a less biased answer.
It is recommended that when buying a pre-owned copier you always get a warranty. Some sellers may offer you a lower "as-is / no warranty" price, its your decision...do you like gambling? Obtaining a 30 day / 3,000 copy warranty allows a sufficient period for evaluation of machine condition.
When purchasing a copier it is always much cheaper not to purchase a supply contract. Supply contracts offer supplies for free but charge a per copy charge. This charge can range from .08 to .20 cents. A Business grade copier costs about .01 per copy (including your supplies). This is substantial cost savings to you and can be used to pad your profit margins.
Things to look for when Buying a Pre-Owned Copier
Before purchasing it is important to check the overall condition of the machine. Regarding the age of the copier best values are often obtained with a machine age of 5 to 8 years old. Parts and Copier supplies are generally available for up to 15 years after the date of machine manufacture (do not let anybody tell you otherwise).
The four primary indicators for judging the condition of a pre-owned machine are:
1. Copy Quality, you are looking for a good copy with solid black toner color / color toner and a nice clear background. This indicates the general condition of the Drum, Fuser Rollers, Developer, and overall condition of the machine.
2. Lack of Paper Jams, run several copies through the various cassettes, and if applicable also the Sorter, Auto-Doc Feeder, and Duplexer unit. This checks the condition of Paper Feed Tires / Rollers, feed mechanisms, and the accompanying clutches.
3. Overall Cleanliness, if the machine is clean inside and out there is a good chance that the machine has been recently serviced.
4. Copy Count/Mileage, is not always a good way to judge the condition. Generally speaking you can use a simple formula to calculate a machines lifespan. Take the maximum factory rated monthly copy volume x 12 (months)=A, take A (Annual max. rated copy volume) x 5 (years)=L (maximum copy volume Lifespan). In this author's opinion you should seek to purchase a machine with no less than 50% of Service Life (L) remaining.
A Note About Service Contracts and "Per Call Service"
A dealer's bread and butter is in selling service contracts. A Service Contract Agreement is basically a 100% insurance policy that you have paid up front 100% of the cost of all the likely repairs and service if the machine were to totally self-destruct. Most users do not benefit from this economically unless they have a problematic machine or are extremely high volume users.
On "Per Call Charge" basis for service, some unscrupulous dealers often sell the most profitable or expensive parts first, then work down to replacing lower level parts that may actually be the source of the problem. It is not uncommon to be sold a drum that costs hundreds of dollars when a simple adjustment is just is needed.
Also when a service tech works on your machine have them explain to you what they are doing and why. Have them leave the old parts with you, this insures that the parts taken from your machine are not going to be re-installed into someone else's machine that's under one of their service contracts.
Offering... Both OEM and Compatible Parts & Supplies for Most Makes & Models!
Buying A Copier (pg.2)
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