How to Save Documents

If you are in Denver and have been considering document management, one of the first questions you will need to ask is how are the documents captured into the system?  If you are using a copier to scan these documents, is the copier compatible with the document management system you are trying to tie into?  Most copier manufacturers have a document managment system that they sell.  Some examples are Scan Flow Store by Xerox, KyoCapture by Kyocera, DocMP by Lexmark, NetDocuments by HP, DocumentMall by Ricoh, etc…  the one thing these systems have in common is that they are not super easy to get integrated into your company. 

A good document management system will allow you to capture, index, store and retrieve in a simple manner.  It shouldn’t matter what copier or what scanner you are using on the capture element.  If you have to use a specific manufacturers copiers to do document management, then you might be looking at the wrong platform in the first place. 

Give us a call so you can see how you can get a great document management system installed using the equipment you already own!

Data Security for Copiers

As people are finally becoming more aware of the data security issues as it relates to copiers in Denver, there are some basics you should know before you freak out or don’t get concerned at all.

• Almost every copier produced since 2002 has a hard drive standard.  What does this mean for you?  There could be images of your copies on the hard drive of your copier
• Only some copiers came standard with data security kits and some of these were not configured properly, so it’s always wise to double check.
• Used copiers are flooding the market, especially with the economic climate and if you didn’t address your data, someone else may…  but then again they may not.  It’s on you.
• If you have to be HIIPA compliant, this is a concern.
• If you are an attorney this is a concern
• If you are an accountant, this is a concern.
• If you copy sensitive information, this is a concern

If you are getting ready to buy a new copier in Denver and you want to make sure you’re safe, we can help you out with this.

Don't throw away your hard earned cash!

You have had a copier in Denver for the last 4 and a half years and now your copier rep is coming with you with a deal.  You can get this newer system for less than you are currently paying.  With the economy the way it is, tightening the belt always seems prudent.  So, in haste, most companies sign on the line and get the new copier.  Here are some reasons you should not sign up for a “free upgrade,” even if you intend to keep working with your current company.

• If your copier lease in Denver is through a bank…  does your experience with banks teach you banks forgive debts for no reason?  This money has to hit you somewhere…
• Copier costs in general have come down in the last 5 years.  So, if the newer copier is cheaper, that’s expected.  You need real quotes to see if the new quote is “competitive,” not just cheaper than what you currently pay….
• If you get quotes, the banks or the copier company can define what the competitors need to pay…  the holder of the lease defines what “fair market value” is…  no, with your experience with corporations, do you normally find they do everything they can to make the playing field level for everyone?
• Ultimately, taking the lease upgrade to the new equipment will cost you about $3,000 more, at a minimum over the course of the contract.

If you would like no nonsense copier advice here in Denver, please give us a call!

Xerox Phaser 6180MFP in Denver

Sometimes it gets aggravating to sell printers or copiers in Denver.  It seems there is very little money to be made, especially if there are any problems.  We recently bought a Xerox Phaser 6180 color MFP for a customer in Denver, and before the end of the second month, the printer was already having some troubles here in Denver.  We were surprised because there were very few pages on the color laser printer.  I decided to call my Xerox rep to see if there was anything that could be done.

Most copier manufacturers are not super easy to work with when there are problems, it is generally “call this 800 number” and then you have to go in circles.  I got some of this with Xerox too, of course, but the rep also was  creative in figuring out ways to get the customer some free toner.  Maybe it doesn’t solve the problem, but having some support and acknowledgement of the issue goes a long way.  I wish my cell phone company had this kind of customer service!  (They rhyme with Hey See and See… not to point out a specific carrier…) Anyway, no mechanical device will be perfect, but it is nice when you can actually get some support on a printer or copier  in Denver!

Free Yourself from Filing Cabinets!

Have you been thinking about implementing a share point solution in your small office so that you can share files?  If you’ve been trying to consider how to scan all of your office documents so that document retrieval would be quite a bit simpler, you should consider a Xerox Scan Flow Store software implementation.  The software package will make your life a lot easier because instead of having to manually search through filing cabinets, you will simply be able to search for terms or particular details within a document instead of having to know exactly where was placed.  The scanning system can work wonderfully for an Atty.  who’s extremely busy and needs to find every file attached to a particular client.  The nice part about the Xerox solution is that it integrates the hardware and software so that you know it will work.  If you want your copier in Denver to be smarter and not just really expensive, you should give us a call.

Time for a Change!!

It is very obvious the copier industry is changing substantially.  I just finished going to the ITEX trade show as a exhibitor and I realized some pretty basic things about where the copier industry is headed.  First of all, it was interesting that at show for copier vendors, Ricoh, Kyocera, Canon and Xerox all choose not to attend or have a booth.  We have been hearing more and more through the grapevine that the big manufacturers are headed towards “managed services companies” as a whole.  The question is, why?

it became more and more obvious why this is the case as I was there.  I found that most copier companies do not really embrace technology.  They tend to be intimidated by it.  For example, in the database I have of over 900 printers and copiers, most reps seemed confused as to why a customer would want a legit side by side comparison.

If copier reps insist on doing business according to the good ol boys network they have used for years they will see themselves losing more and more business to manufacturers and IT companies.  It is time to change and use copier technology to our advantage!

If you need a copier in Denver, please give us a call!

Copier Rentals in Denver

Now you know you are going to need a new copier in Denver, but you are not really wanting to commit to a $10,000 to $12,000 copier right now.  You could also look at cheap copiers in Denver, but do you really want to deal with the bad quality?  Ultimately, you may want to consider a copier rental in Denver!  Why?  Because you aren’t stuck in a long term copier contract, but you also don’t have to deal with a bad copier.

Copier rentals are perfect for locations where you may be thinking about opening a new office, but aren’t sure if it will be successful or not.  Maybe you find that you are going to go ahead and have a large 6 month project.  These are circumstances where copier rentals in Denver make sense.  Who knows, maybe you are just going to be doing a show or a convention…  These are all good times to get quotes on a copier rental. 

When is a bad time?  When you know you are going to be using the copier in Denver long term.  This is when a copier rental in Denver is rather silly.

Our Favorite Lexmark Product!

When you sell as many brands of printers and copiers as we do, it gets a bit overwhelming at times trying to keep up on all of the options.  As of today, we sell HP Copiers, Kyocera Copiers, Copystar Copiers (same as Kyocera), Ricoh Copiers, Lexmark Copiers, Okidata Copiers, Xerox Copiers and a few other copiers here and there.  It gets overwhelming because of the sheer volume of devices out there.  If we look at Lexmark, for instance, here is what is in their product line along with a little summary of some of the devices…

Lexmark Black and White Printers:

Lexmark E120 -Small office or personal use only

Lexmark E260/E360 – Still for small office use.  Maybe 2 reams a month or so of paper.

Lexmark E460 — Still small office, up to about 2,500 sheets of paper a month.

Lexmark T65o Series, This series contains the Lexmark T650, the Lexmark T652, and the Lexmark T654 printers.  These are god high volume black and white printers which we would feel comfortable having up to 15,000 pages a month printed on.

Lexmark Color Printers:  There are a bunch more printers in this lineup!

Lexmark C540 Series, includes the C540, the C543 and the C544 printers.  These are solid low use devices.  These get expensive if you do a lot of color printing so that’s not recommended.

Lexmark C734, Lexmark C736, and Lexmark C780 and Lexmark C782 are excellent color printers for a mid sized office.  They compete well with the HP Laserjet 4700 series. The cost per print is reasonable, but not the best in the market.

Lexmark C935 color printer.  This used to be a Xerox printer as you will find it looks very similar to the Xerox Phaser 7760 or the Xerox Phaser 7750.

Now these are just the laser printers of one brand.  When you multiply this by 7, you might be able to see how this can get confusing.  This is why we built our free printer comparison tool (to the right of the page…) 

Please give us a call if you need a printer or copier in the Denver area.

Don't Forget Customer Service

Are you looking for a copier in Denver and your lease contract is coming up?  If this is the case this is an interesting position to be in.  Some people seem to forget that customer service matters.  Here are some things to remember if you are looking for a copier in Denver.

One thing that seems to happen with a copier company, is that you will find they are awesome at calling and following up when you are supposed to be buying, but when there are problems, the copier company disappears.  This is a normal thing we hear.  A customer will buy a copier from a competitor and then tell us they are awesome.  A few months later they call us, desperate to figure out this $15,000 copier they were talked into and the sales rep who sold it to them isn’t living up to the promises he made about the copiers.  This is a HUGE frustration to most customers in Denver, and rightfully so.

Now if you are looking for a copier in Denver and your company has been gone when you have had problems, please give us a call so we can help you find something appropriate for your needs.

Low Cost Copies Can be Enticing, but Beware!

We talk to customers in Denver who seem to only be able to look at the cost of the copies when they are assessing the cost of a copier.  I wanted to write this post to warn you this is a dangerous way to think.  Why?  There are fundamentally 3 different sources of cost when it comes to copier costs in Denver.

1. The equipment
2. The supplies
3. The maintenance

When you get allured by the low cost per print, you are looking at #2 and #3.  This is a valid componet of the overall cost, but it is more than just those two… there is also the equipment portion.  So, lets look at this simplistically.  If you have a copier that is $9,000 and costs $.008 per print or a copier for $3,000 and $.018 per print and you plan to own the copier for 4 years, how many prints do you need to do a month before it’s breakeven?

The math works like this –

• $9,000 – $3,000 = $6,000 differential on equipment
• $.018 – $.008 = $.01 differential in prints.
• $6,000/.01 = 600,000 — this is the number of copies needed for breakeven to occur.

600,000/48 = 12,500 copier per month.  I would generally say if you’re doing more than 10,000…  getting the big copier would make more sense (as you’ll have better finishing, stronger mechanics, etc…) Less than 10,000 a month, you may as well get the $3,000 copier and pay more per print.  If you only did 4,000 prints a month and got the bigger copier, you would have spent an extra $4,000 for copies than had you bought the smaller unit.

• Eq A cost – Eq B Cost = Equipment Differential
• Supp B cost – Supp A cost = Supplies differential
• Equipment Differential/Supplies Differential = Breakeven quantity of prints