General question 2 all technicians or users - which was the best digital copier IYO?

[subaro]

Re: General question 2 all technicians or users - which was the best digital copier I

[QUOTE=judgedredd;2584094]SalesServiceGuy,



If printers were built in a modular fashion whereby one could swap out units when there were improvements to them - like the feed roller mechanisms with better rubber or mechanics or a better imaging unit - then that would be a great step in the right direction. One can upgrade and improve a Desktop PC to a degree except for the CPU and memory (though one can change these for a higher speed [CPU] or higher clock rate [memory]).

This is not feasible, plus, this is already being done with manufactures , as they see fit. Printer/copier are full of mechanical parts, which do suffer wear and tear and needs to be refurbished after certain milage or condition. Technology is constantly evolving, so it is easier for manufacture to develop whole new machines that functions better with improve yields and more. The customers, which are vastly commercial, also wants newer products as these machines takes a beating in the commerical envrionment.
I do agree, there is lots of waste and pollution from this industry, from packaging to consumables byproducts and disposal. If one really looks at the scale worldwide, its appaling. This is part of the world of commerce and bread and butter for a whole lot of people. The products today have vastly improved in speed, reliability and not to sure about cost. So, these are some of the things to consider.

[dalewb74]

Re: General question 2 all technicians or users - which was the best digital copier I

HP does have some new models. and on those if you order a slower copier, but later decide you need a bit more. you can upgrade some parts for a little bit better machine. how well it works? i have no idea.
if the brands built the machines with parts like described. how long do you think they would stay in business? given the fact they wouldn't be able to sell new equipment.

[Gift]

Re: General question 2 all technicians or users - which was the best digital copier I

Aficio 1224C

#neverforget

[dalewb74]

Re: General question 2 all technicians or users - which was the best digital copier I

i may get groans for this but in my minolta-konicaminolta world the best color prints came from an old CF911 with a Fiery.

yeah, but the benefit of having a fiery is to be able to adjust any and all colors as needed....

[judgedredd]

Thanks to all the recent members who chipped. Lots of good info. Thank you!

[Synthohol]

yeah, but the benefit of having a fiery is to be able to adjust any and all colors as needed....

yeah i was talking about the quality of the output. servicing the cf911 was like teaching a squirrel to play the trumpet.

[judgedredd]

yeah i was talking about the quality of the output. servicing the cf911 was like teaching a squirrel to play the trumpet.

So, in other words, difficult as hell!!!

[Samanator]

A little machine I always thought was a solid little box was the Mita DC-111. I had been been working on machines only a couple of years when the company I worked for became a Mita dealership. The DC-111 had a moving top, fixed optics, no ADF, & letter or legal only. This wasn't a bad little box. A couple of years later Mita came out with the DC-111C. They redesigned the box so one could easily (by releasing two handles) lift the developer/toner unit out of the machine and replace it with a different color developer/toner unit. The few people that bought an extra developer/toner unit usually bought red. We did have one person that purchased a white developer/toner unit. Yes, Mita had a white developer and toner for this machine. The person that bought it used color papers when printing white.

The Royal RCB1 was a box I saw out in the field for the longest time.

I think copy machines are somewhat like cars. So many models to fit so many different needs and niches. It seems to me that network and computer comparability are the things changing so much that the manufacture has to redesign the electronics to keep up. One can go only so far with updates. If there was only one kind of sub-assembly for each of the major components, then the competition between manufactures would be vastly different. I really don't think in the long run that machines would advance as quickly as they have.

But that's just my humble opinion.

[slimslob]

A little machine I always thought was a solid little box was the Mita DC-111. I had been been working on machines only a couple of years when the company I worked for became a Mita dealership. The DC-111 had a moving top, fixed optics, no ADF, & letter or legal only. This wasn't a bad little box. A couple of years later Mita came out with the DC-111C. They redesigned the box so one could easily (by releasing two handles) lift the developer/toner unit out of the machine and replace it with a different color developer/toner unit. The few people that bought an extra developer/toner unit usually bought red. We did have one person that purchased a white developer/toner unit. Yes, Mita had a white developer and toner for this machine. The person that bought it used color papers when printing white.

The Royal RCB1 was a box I saw out in the field for the longest time.

We sold the RBC1 with the Apeco logo on it. Couldn't beet the plastic pop it could get immediately after maintenance with new developer and new masters. There were a lot of modifications made for it. The dealer I worked for build and sold a second tray that held 2 reams of paper and a coin op conversion.

[judgedredd]

Thanks to both of you for your input. Very interesting stuff. White developer/toner? Wow! I wish I had known about that a while back.

[BillyCarpenter]

The newer machines are SO much easier to work on than the older machines. No more rebuilding DV's, fusers or oiling wrap spring clutches. I think younger techs that have never worked on the older machines would freak out. lol

[blackcat4866]

A little machine I always thought was a solid little box was the Mita DC-111. I had been been working on machines only a couple of years when the company I worked for became a Mita dealership. The DC-111 had a moving top, fixed optics, no ADF, & letter or legal only. This wasn't a bad little box. A couple of years later Mita came out with the DC-111C. They redesigned the box so one could easily (by releasing two handles) lift the developer/toner unit out of the machine and replace it with a different color developer/toner unit. The few people that bought an extra developer/toner unit usually bought red. We did have one person that purchased a white developer/toner unit. Yes, Mita had a white developer and toner for this machine. The person that bought it used color papers when printing white.

But that's just my humble opinion.

The only part that was a little sketchy was endusers pouring loose toner directly from a twist-top bottle, into the toner hopper. Often they would pour toner right into the optics. And the table stopper would break, so if you raised the clamshell, you had to be sure to catch the moving tabletop glass before it fell off, and skated across the floor, often in shattered pieces. That happened to me twice.

Yes, they were a solid unit. Even the US Army couldn't screw them up too badly. On more than one occasion I took a call for Add Toner. The CO thought it was good idea to pour the waste bottle full to the top with developer (yes, and I don't know why they would have new developer, they had no ability to change it). Adding toner naturally didn't help because it wasn't an Add Toner light, it was a Waste Toner light.

Good memories! =^..^=

[judgedredd]

The newer machines are SO much easier to work on than the older machines. No more rebuilding DV's, fusers or oiling wrap spring clutches. I think younger techs that have never worked on the older machines would freak out. lol

Interesting comment, that. I must admit that I have not walked into a digital copier manufacturer's showroom in over 30 years. I purchased my C253 at a company that buys and sells end of lease machines. I feel a bit intimidated walking into a manufacturer's showroom if I won't be buying anything. Is there such a thing as an expo for digital copiers?

[BillyCarpenter]

Interesting comment, that. I must admit that I have not walked into a digital copier manufacturer's showroom in over 30 years. I purchased my C253 at a company that buys and sells end of lease machines. I feel a bit intimidated walking into a manufacturer's showroom if I won't be buying anything. Is there such a thing as an expo for digital copiers?

I've never heard of an expo where all the vendors get together and display their latest products.

PS- Everything is digital now days.


PSS - While the newer machines are physically easier to work on, they require much more training because they do much more.

[slimslob]

I've never heard of an expo where all the vendors get together and display their latest products.

What, never heard if COMDEX, COMputer Dealers EXposition? It was held in Las Vegas, Nevada every November from 1979 to 2003.