Considering Copystar CS 500ci and CS 221...Looking for Opinions.

**ian** · 02-20-2010

I am looking to upgrade a few copiers in my office and a vendor suggested the CS500ci and CS221. I have to admit, when he told me the brand was Copystar I certainly had my doubts. But from reading quite a few threads here it appears that they are in fact well respected copiers. But I'm still a bit confused regarding the difference between Kyocera and Copystar. It appears that there is an identical Kyocera model for each Copystar. Why is this, and are the Copystar versions as good? Also, this will be our first foray into the world of color copiers. Is the CS 500ci a good choice? I saw a several year old post by a moderator here stating that Copystars were crap (for color.) I'd hate to find that out firsthand after signing a 5 year lease. Thanks for your help.

**bsm2** · 02-20-2010

kyocera and copystar our the same
like GE and hotpoint
big dealers are kyocera smaller dealers are copystar
would take a look at the konica color machines
color is great and will hold color on long runs
kyocera will and have earlypart failures of dev, fusers, dev units and lots of firmware updates

**blackcat4866** · 02-20-2010

The only real difference is the keying of the toner cartridges. That is to say that the toner cartridges are not interchangeable, but the contents are identical. Copystar/Kyocera is not one of the largest manufacturers but the machines are extremely reliable. =^..^=

**aodtech** · 02-20-2010

Originally Posted by ian

I saw a several year old post by a moderator here stating that Copystars were crap (for color.)

Anything before 2006 was crap... and expensive. Now color copiers, while still not perfect, are so much better and more advanced. The 500ci series, so far is living up to the hype. Warmup time and first copytime are almost as fast as the monochrome boxes.

As far as the 221 goes, haven't had that many out there in the field. However the predecessor to that one the CS-2050 is one of the most respected in the field. Haven't heard any negative feedback on any of them. We have a used one on the showroom with over 500,000 copies on it, but you would never be able to tell.

**lorenrupe** · 02-20-2010

Kyocera and Copystar are the same! Only difference is the name on front of machine and of course Kyocera keys the toner so it is not interchangable. It is just so Kyocera can have more Dealers and sell more machines. Their new Color machines are good, their older Color machines were not so good but the 250 thru the 557 which just came out have been great! Also I to have not sold the 221 but it is based on a sound predecessor so it should be a good machine as Kyocera's Black/White machines have been great for quite a while and they have long PM cycles so they run a long time between needing service!
Of course the key is the Dealer that you are buying it from! Which is pretty much the case with any of the new machines, if your dealer does not take care of his customers then you probably won't be happy with any machine he sells you! So I would concentrate on the Dealers reputation in your area. It doesn't necessarily make a difference how big or small they are as long as they have good techs and take care of their customers! Actually sometimes a smaller Dealer will do a better job and they don't have all the red tape to go thru just to get something done!

**aragul** · 02-22-2010

Are you going to do much scanning? The 500ci is great for that, but the 221 can be really annoying to setup and use. If you want to scan from a lower end black & white copier, I'd go with the smaller FS-1028mfp or a 300i as they have one-touch keys and support for SMB.

I'll echo what others have said here: Kyocera/CopyStar black & white copiers are very reliable; color is pretty good.

**ian** · 02-23-2010

Originally Posted by bsm2

kyocera and copystar our the same
like GE and hotpoint
big dealers are kyocera smaller dealers are copystar
would take a look at the konica color machines
color is great and will hold color on long runs
kyocera will and have earlypart failures of dev, fusers, dev units and lots of firmware updates

Wow, not a good review of the Kyocera/Copystar units. But just today the salesman I was speaking with told me that Konica was actually switching over to the technology that Kyocera/Copystar is using.

**ian** · 02-23-2010

Originally Posted by aragul

Are you going to do much scanning? The 500ci is great for that, but the 221 can be really annoying to setup and use. If you want to scan from a lower end black & white copier, I'd go with the smaller FS-1028mfp or a 300i as they have one-touch keys and support for SMB.

I'll echo what others have said here: Kyocera/CopyStar black & white copiers are very reliable; color is pretty good.

The majority of scanning will be done on the 500ci. One of the 221s won't be using scanning at all, and the other one will be infrequent. Our vendor will set up the scanning for us...how difficult is it to actually use the copier to scan?

**ian** · 02-23-2010

Originally Posted by lorenrupe

Kyocera and Copystar are the same! Only difference is the name on front of machine and of course Kyocera keys the toner so it is not interchangable. It is just so Kyocera can have more Dealers and sell more machines. Their new Color machines are good, their older Color machines were not so good but the 250 thru the 557 which just came out have been great! Also I to have not sold the 221 but it is based on a sound predecessor so it should be a good machine as Kyocera's Black/White machines have been great for quite a while and they have long PM cycles so they run a long time between needing service!
Of course the key is the Dealer that you are buying it from! Which is pretty much the case with any of the new machines, if your dealer does not take care of his customers then you probably won't be happy with any machine he sells you! So I would concentrate on the Dealers reputation in your area. It doesn't necessarily make a difference how big or small they are as long as they have good techs and take care of their customers! Actually sometimes a smaller Dealer will do a better job and they don't have all the red tape to go thru just to get something done!

Thanks for the info. Glad to hear they have worked out their issues on the color machines. We are actually close to signing on with a smaller dealer. They have a good reputation and the owner of the company really seems to care about his customers. He even gave me his cell number so I won't have to hunt him down if we need anything.

**aodtech** · 02-23-2010

Originally Posted by ian

The majority of scanning will be done on the 500ci. One of the 221s won't be using scanning at all, and the other one will be infrequent. Our vendor will set up the scanning for us...how difficult is it to actually use the copier to scan?

500ci: Two buttons, then start
221: Remember the electronic game Simon?