Unbiased opinion on Canon Copiers

[flyn2low]

My company prints 50,000 copies per year on a Canon image runner 3300 that we rent. The unit was installed new 4 years ago and so far has recorded about 300,000 copies. It has been performed very well for us.

I have the option to purchase the unit for $1,000 with or with out a service contract.

The second option is to replace it with a new Canon Image runner 1023n at about the same price. The 1023n will cost a bit more in toner but what concerns me is the life of the drum is 26,000 copies. We would need two drums per year and maybe some other maintenance. I am not sure if the drum is user replaceable or would require a service call.

What I was looking for is an unbiased opinion on which would be the best way to go for our usage. Would the 1023n be overtaxed at 50,000 copies per year? Is the 3300 near the end of its life or generally a reliable machine?

The lack of features and reduced speed of the 1023n are not an issue for us.

Thank you.
Lou

[20YRSEXP]

To start we have many 3300's in the field that are in the range 500K in total copies. That is a good machine and is probably a good buy at $1,000. If you like the machine keeping it would not be a bad idea. As for the 1023, it seems to run very well. We see them frequently go drum to drum and it has a monthly running range of 1,000-10,000 copies and can do as many as 30,000 if pushed. But this isn't recommended for consistent output. The 1023 also scans in color so scanning color documents to a file will work, unlike the 3300 which only sees in b&w. I think you are in a position to go either way and be ok. With a new machine you get the warranty, but with the old you have a machine you know and like. Are you ready to pay for a new one I think would be your main question. Hope this helps

[Luther]

The 1023n is not a new machine was introduced in 05, the 3300 is a far superior machine (just my opinion) and your math might be a little off, you said you have the machine 4 years doing 50k a year that would be around 200k, you say the machine has 300k, still not many copies for that machine,and if you look around online you can compare prices and find the 1023 cheaper, but the 3300 is still selling more then your buyout, if your happy with it $1000 is not much for a 33 page a minute machine and keep it under contract, just one thought

[flyn2low]

Hi Guys

Thank you so much for your feed back. I had no idea what would be considered a lot of usage. It sounds like the IR3300 still has a lot of life left in it. I checked our records for last year and it was 48,000 copies and would probably be a good estimated for next year. We must have done more like 80,000 in the prior years to get up to the 300,000 copies.

I am going to take your advice and buy the old one.

Thank you.

Lou

[SteveO]

Wise decision. The IR3300 is one of those models that "just worked". Mostly only durables have to be replaced on them. The drum units average around 80K. Fixing film and pick-up rollers around 100 to 120K. They have had Hard Drive issues but not very often. Of all the different models i work on, the 3300's give me the least amount of trouble. Of course my opinion is biased but i recommended a friend to buy one due to the overall performance of the machine.