Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

[stat]

I am hoping to get info on Kyocera MFP'S our dealership is contemplating taking these devices on as a 2nd line.
I am an old school (emphasis on OLD) service tech and have worked on a lot of different equipment over the years, primarily RFG.
just looking for insight we, are testing a Copystar CS 3253ci any info on reliability of these and similar MFP'S
will be Greatly appreciated.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

Image quality has improved quite a lot on previous color Kyoceras. They still cannot make a charge roller to make even 1/2 yield. =^..^=

[stat]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

Thank you very much!

Hoping Kyocera's tech support is as responsive

[copiertec]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

Agreed with blackcat...if your looking for good color boxes...Kyocera for some reason has lagged behind Sharp and KM boxes. They are not bad if you lease them out for three years and return them, they are expensive to maintain. If you lease them for three years, most of the time Kyocera will replace the failed items and most do not make it to life so your warranty comes in handy most times.
Mono, not so bad, we can run the alphard 2 boxes way past maintenance cycle on drum and developer units, sometimes can get 850,000 + pages, running all OEM toners of course, and replacing or cleaning charge rollers, but the fusers never make 600k.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

Yeah, there are improvements to the FR-8550H fuser. I hope it fixes the cascade of rust contaminating rotation sensors. The longest I've seen one of these fusers go is 180K. =^..^=

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

Kyocera advertises their color boxes as "business" color. Which means it's not top-notch. I've found that it's not an issue in most of my accounts. But I wouldn't try to sell them to a print shop or anyone that's looking for exceptional color.

As far as cost to maintain the machines. If you break it down by cost per copy, Kyocera is actually the cheapest on the market. I've read a lot of comments the drums/DV/fuser don't last as long as advertised but in my experience they come pretty close. Save the charge roller.

Buyer's Lab Inc. has a lot of data on the Kyocera line of products. A while back they tested a couple of models and said they were the most reliable that they ever tested. Like all copier lines, some are better than others.

PS - I've seen some Taskalfa go 3-4 millions pages.

[copiertec]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

I do like the fact that Kyo's come as units (drum, developer, fuser) vs. Sharp kits which take time to rebuild, especially if your in a busy office. Most of the time, in a busy office, installing a unit vs a rebuild of a unit in the field is less stressful at times on the tech and takes less time.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

I do like the fact that Kyo's come as units (drum, developer, fuser) vs. Sharp kits which take time to rebuild, especially if your in a busy office. Most of the time, in a busy office, installing a unit vs a rebuild of a unit in the field is less stressful at times on the tech and takes less time.

You also have to do several PM's on a Sharp for every 1 on a Kyocera.

[stat]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

Thank you All very much for taking the time to assist me with awesome insight and information! Sorry for the delay in response (out of town for a few days).

[progoffice]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

We've been a Copystar (Kyocera) dealer for around 16 years. Like all manufacturers, they have hits and misses. Their early color boxes were terrible, which is why we took on Konica Minolta to cover that segment. Although still not as good as Konica, their color offering is finally good enough for us to sell with confidence. I'm a huge fan of KFS, which is their cloud based remote management service. The machines are easy to work on and for the most part reliable. They also seem very dealer focused and not there to dictate how you run your business. I say go for it, you won't be disappointed.

[tonerleak]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

We have a pile going in to our biggest account starting this week and I hope that Kyocera have dealt with some the previous version's (Kyocera 4052ci etc.) issues such as fuser units and feed rollers that don't even come close to making their life expectancy and the waste toner collection system from hell. The connectivity has never been an issue with the whole line but the mechanical build on some of the series ( dev units, charge rollers and fuser failures) made me ask "where's the quality control?" at the factory.
Just my 2 cents

[bsm2]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

Good warranty but you will need it.
Color not the best for full color
good support lots of features
easy to operate

[Tonerkiller]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

I have been working on Kyocera's for 20 years and I love them. Warranty is great, they are low cost to maintain. Fuser and transfer belts are units, no more time consuming rebuilds.

[BillyCarpenter]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

I have been working on Kyocera's for 20 years and I love them. Warranty is great, they are low cost to maintain. Fuser and transfer belts are units, no more time consuming rebuilds.

I read/heard somewhere that on the new Kyocera's that you can do a PM with no tools required. Is this true?

[tonerleak]

Re: Question regarding Kyocera MFP'S

I suppose being inexpensive and easy to work on are great qualities but the failure rate of certain units needs to be addressed. As has been mentioned, the warranty is great, just remember to have the paperwork to make a claim. Not knocking the brand, just saying that it could/should be a little more reliable.