Japanese Tsunami Affects Denver

I am sure that everyone is aware that a Tsunami hit Japan, we all we awe stuck as we saw the images of the destruction and chaos.  As you can imagine, any cataclysmic event that strikes the heart of one of the top 5 world economies will certainly have an effect world wide.  We are seeing the effects here in Denver as there is back orders on copiers who have manufacturing headquarters or operational headquarters in Japan.

So, which of the great copier companies are affected the most by the Tsunami?  Here are some of the major copier companies and their headquarters:

• Xerox – Rochester, NY and Wilsonville, OR.
• HP – Palo Alto, CA
• Kyocera Mita — Osaka, Japan
• Canon — Toyko, Japan
• Konica Minolta — Toyko, Japan
• Lexmark — Lexington, KY
• Toshiba — Toyko, Japan
• Ricoh — Toyko, Japan

As you can see, many of the major copier manufacturers out there are Japanese.  Now, this affects lead time for everyone.  First, the major Japanese copier companies will be affected and as they are unable to fulfill demand, the American manufacturers will see a run on their inventory.  If you are buying a copier with a Japanese manufacturer and your copier dealer does not have the copier in stock, there should be a concern about getting the copier in a timely manner.  Some people are also concerned about the radiation from the nuclear plant that was in danger, but we don’t see that as a major concern at this point.  We sell Xerox and Lexmark as our primary two brands as we try and support American manufacturers of copiers.

Please give us a call if you would like a copier quote in Denver!

There are many copier manufacturers who are doing “direct sales” these days.  There are associated benefits and detriments to purchasing from a manufacturer direct.  First of all, what copiers can you buy direct?  Xerox copiers, Lexmark copiers, HP copiers, Ricoh copiers, Canon copiers, Oce copiers, Toshiba copiers, Konica Minolta Copiers, the list gets endless.  So why buy from a manufacturer?  Conversely, what are disadvantages?

Advantages of buying a copier from a manufacturer:

• When there is a lemon, they are able to swap out and usually do it quicker
• Their set up engineers often are better at independent reps because they are just dealing with one brand rather than 4, they can learn them better
• They tend to stock a few more parts

Disadvantages:

• Customer service takes a hit in most cases, you get to call to India before you get a real service call going
• They tend to lack loaner devices or are unwilling to deploy them
• They are more rigid on contractual terms
• They are often more expensive using “canned” pricing rather than using special pricing so they can beat the competition.

So, why do manufacturers want to sell direct at all?  Profits.  If they can make an extra $1,000 on a copier deal and not share, that can be appealing.  The problem for them is if they get too aggressive selling direct, every reseller they work with will start switching their installed base with competition.  HP has been experiencing this a lot more over the last few years, so they are losing some printer market share.  Why?  No one can make money and people usually like to work with someone local!

If you are looking for a copier in Denver, please give us a call!

My Lexmark rep called me up and said that he had a BRAND NEW X658dtfe copier for sale which we can sell for $3,500.  This is normally a $4,200 device and is an absolutely awesome device!

What are some of the particulars?

55 Pages per minute for Printing or Copying!

Scan over 70 impressions per minute!

Fax included!

Super easy interface for customers.

Why run out and spend $3,000 for a used copier or $6,500 for a new copier when you can get the best of both worlds here.  $3,500 for a new 55 page per minute black and white copier with color scan capabilities.

Here is a full list of the X658dtfe capabilities!

You can’t find a better deal than that!!

Lexmark Multi-Function

So many people are looking at doing some scanning, so I thought I would give a quick review of what a Lexmark X65X series multi-function can do right out of the box.  If you aren’t interested in scanning, you can still look at our copier buying tips section and look at other pertinent information for your organization.

Here is a list of what you can get done (if properly set-up…)

• OCR is included with the X65X series, free of charge, with Lexmark Scan Center on the CD.
• Lexmark can route documents to an individual email, group email for group fax viewing, and tie into a fax server for distribution.  They can notify users when new faxes arrive, send secure faxes and receive an email with the password, then retrieve the fax on a MFP with the password.
• Lexmark can authenticate through your existing network without having to set all this third part Scan Router software up (like with Ricoh, for instance).  You simply allow users to login through the MFP through badge access, proximity card, or login through the virtual touch screen keyboard and allow end users functionality based on their log in credentials for copy, fax, scan, etc.  This is all
  comes with the boxes with no additional software needed.  You can even setup profiles to scan to folders with a plugin in My MFP usb drive.
• Lexmark can create 100,000 unique destinations of faxes, emails, FTP file sharing, profile processes, web link documents on their MFPs to Ricoh/Lanier’s 2000 destinations - free of charge.
• Access to LDAP lookup, Kerberos authentication, SMTP v3, NTLM, internal MFP access to authentication is all possible and free of charge.
• You can attach scans as PDF 1.6 , Secure PDF, JPEG, XPS, TIF. You can even send messages with the scans in email.
• Scans come in at 600 X 300 or 600 X 300 dpi and down to 150 dpi for more simple scans.  Free of Charge.
• You can do automatic scanning of size with auto document sensing from the automatic document feeder.  You can also use mixed original sizes of letter and legal.  All free of charge.
• Why do I keep mentioning “Free of Charge?” …  basically because much of this is offered at a price by other manufacturers…  It’s good to know this is all “out of the box…”
• Documents can be viewed through File Share from Scan to Network Folder. You can scan to an FTP server, scan to email, scan to web link/web server. Users can search documents on their network shared drive, even name the files.  Free of Charge.
• You can view documents in Windows by Thumbnail, Icon, Detail and Time/Calendar through normal Windows sharing options.  Free of Charge.
• You can even scan documents to yourself that you send to others through Scan to Email with a simple click of Send To Me too.  Free of Charge
• With Lexmark Document Solutions Suite you could be notified when a new document is scanned to your folder with scripting in the process.  It would notify an end user that a new scanned file has arrived.
• The Postscript driver for Lexmark MFPs allow you to fax from your PC without having to print out a copy of the document first.  Simply go into your application choose the Lexmark fax driver and send.  You will then be prompted to enter in the recipient’s name, phone number, enter in a message to them and their name.  Free of charge.
• Receiving faxes can send to a group email for all users to view.  Free of charge.

Now remember, here we are talking about devices that start under $2,000 for the unit.  Many of the competitors will charge closr to that for software to handle these sorts of things which Lexmark includes for free.  Setting it up can be the challenge, but that’s why you work with a reseller like us…  we help you get all of this (or whichever parts you need) working!  If you have a printer or copier need here in Denver, please let us know and we’ll be happy to help!

Lexmark X652de

Are you looking for a low cost and highly efficient copier for your office?  Here is one to take a look at!  The Lexmark X652de is very quick at 45 pages per minute and comes standard with printing, faxing, scanning, and copying capabilities!

Lexmark X658de Series

Lexmark, International has released a series of new copiers which people in the Denver area should find extremely interesting.  It is the Lexmark X658de, a 55 page per minute copier with standard features like fax, scan to network, color scanning, printing, and can be equipped with mailbox options or a stapler.  Yhis device will be able to replace a lot of the $9,000 to $10,000 copiers out in the field.  The disadvantage this unit does have is that it only prints up to legal sized paper.  If you are using tabloid (11X17), this copier would not be an appropriate fit for you.

As far as cost, a typical company would be looking at payments like this:

36 Months — $117.00

48 Months — $96.00

60 Months — $82.00

Of course, a maintenance and supplies package would need to be added.  You could assume about $.018 per print for the maintenance and supplies.  For example, if you printed 3,000 pages per month, you’d add $54.00 for the maintenance and supplies… So, it is quite possible to have a 55 page per minute copier at under $200.00.

Another interesting componet to the Lexmark X658de is that is comes on a pallet which allows it to be rolled off, and within 5 minutes, you can be making a copy.  As a sales and service company, this is exciting for us because it means there is a lot less labor in configuring this unit when compared to standard copiers.  A lot less time for us means a more affordable experience for you.  If you would like to see one of the Lexmark copiers (or Xerox copiers, or Kyocera copiers) here in Denver, please call to schedule an appointment so we can show you the benefits of each and work with you to find the perfect device for your needs.

Find more information about this copier along with the rest of our product line here

Lexmark Multifunction Device

Lexmark has just done a product refresh of massive proportions.  80% of their product line have received a refresh.  The Lexmark X642e/X644e have been replaced by the X652e/X654e.  Even the Lexmark T640, T642 and T644 have been replaced by a T65X series.  I am always skeptical when a manufacturer does a refresh as it is generally more about having products which a compatible toner cannot be used rather than massive product upgrades.  This seems a little different.  Some upgrades to an already awesome X644e are as follows…

The 8″ color touch screen has been upgraded to a 9″ color touch screen

The scanner has shown a 250% improvement in quality labs

The ADF has gone from a 50 page max to a 75 page max

Speed has gone from 50ppm to 75ppm

Real finishing and mailbox options now exist

Some vertical market applications are simply added (even at a later date now).  There is a solution for Education, Medical and Legal markets.

The drawer system now works without a massive headache if you were going to have multiple drawers

The improvements made were definately noticeable on this line.  If you want more information on the Lexmark line of printers and multi-function devices, you can visit our sister site and choose which device you want to see and get detailed specs including a downloadable .pdf file.

http://www.laserprintercenter.com/printers_models.php?manufacturer=Lexmark

Lexmark X644e MFP

The Lexmark X644e will soon be getting replace with the Lexmark X654e, but I thought it would be appropriate to say goodbye to this class leader with a review.  This device runs at a blazing fast 50 Pages per minute and scans at 35 pages per minute, duplex scans at 35 pages per minute.  This device I have seen my customers run close to 15,000 prints a month and have no mechanical issues at all in the first full year.  That is pretty amazing for a machine that starts at less than $2,500.  Duplex printing does have to be purchased seperately, which is kind of annoying, but Lexmark says that is because not everyone wants to pay for the feature so at this time they prefer to make it an option.  I have found they are right because about 80% of these I have sold have gone without the duplex print option.

The best feature is this device is so stinking easy to use.  It has a large color touchscreen and it is extraordinarily easy to figure out what needs to be pressed to do what ever job you need this copier to do.

I have worked with a lot of people looking for a copier in Denver, and for those who are OK without having tabloid (11 X 17) capability, the Lexmark X644e is an amazing device.  It looks like the Lexmark X654e is going to share a lot of these capabilities and well do a review as soon as we can get one of those unboxed.

denvercopier.com rating 5 stars out of 5

For more info, please visit:

http://www.laserprintercenter.com/LaserPrinters/Lexmark_X644e_MFP_220320.htm

And for even more information than that, go to:

http://www.laserprintercenter.com/pdfs/Lexmark/Lexmark%20eTask%20End%20User%20Handout.doc