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Emjay
07-21-2009, 05:04 PM
Hi folks,

The color bizhubs have a feature which allows the copier to email a "Total Counter Report".

Does anyone have any experience of this? I'm trying to find out whether the report has color/mono page counts on it, and not just the total counter.

There isn't much detail on the report contents itself in the User Manual, just how to set up the machine to send it (its in the Network Scan section). I dont have a machine close by that I can try it on.

Thanks in advance,

MJ

pajeroid
07-21-2009, 05:15 PM
Hi there MJ- We use the total counter reports fairly often...

Here is an example of one sent by an C253.... They have mono and colour counts....

[Model Name],YIG-MF250fin
[Serial Number], 80310011613
[Send Date],28/06/09
[Total Counter],00032151
[Total Color Counter],00001579
[Total Black Counter],00030573

Emjay
07-22-2009, 09:00 AM
Thanks for the information. That's a feature we'll start using in future for meter counts I think.

:-)

kingarthur
07-22-2009, 11:22 AM
Hi we use this on all of our machines, they have been set up to email the readings direct to us, instead of the customer, this ensures we get them. We have set them up for twice a month, i.e 18th & 20th. we have some customers who switch their m/c's off at the weekend & so didin't get the report. This way we may get it twice but at least we get them.

mascan42
07-22-2009, 11:54 AM
The newest machines also have a feature that will email us about continuing error codes, and will email the customer's administrator about consumables that are running low.

Haaland
08-05-2009, 01:45 PM
mascan42, do you know how to setup a nickname for the mfp with this feature or make it send the serial number? we have set up our customers mfp to send us error codes, but with only the machines email address and local IP-address we have some problem knowing whos machine it is.

jneezy2008
08-05-2009, 05:15 PM
I've setup many upon many of our customer's bizhubs to email us their meter readings automatically every month and I have had some problems with it. Most of the emails will come through our Exchange server just fine but others "get stuck" and never reach the destination mailbox. Tons of time and phone calls to Konica have led to no resolution. The problem seems to be something weird with the headers in the emails from the bizhubs.(I actually have posted this problem in the Connectivity forum)

My recommendation, to avoid headaches if you are your company's system admin, is to have the MFP email the customer the meter reading then have the customer forward the meter reading to you.

OutlawTorn
08-06-2009, 02:57 PM
just out of interest, if you can, how would you set this up on a C350?

8050
08-07-2009, 12:49 PM
just out of interest, if you can, how would you set this up on a C350?

The C350 does not have this function as it is 1st generation Bizhub.

joshan
10-06-2010, 06:41 PM
Hi,
Can anyone tell me if in the Color Bizhubs like 253/280/360, when a color print/copy is made both the Color & Black Counters counts 1 each?

I am trying to reconsile some reports that don't make sense.

Thanks in advance.

bizhub1
10-06-2010, 11:30 PM
If the customer makes a color print the color counter increases by one only, not both. Same as if they make a black print only the black counter increases by 1. The total increases by one no matter if its color or b/w. Hope that helps

Hi,
Can anyone tell me if in the Color Bizhubs like 253/280/360, when a color print/copy is made both the Color & Black Counters counts 1 each?

I am trying to reconsile some reports that don't make sense.

Thanks in advance.

TheOwl
10-07-2010, 05:34 AM
We have been using the 'Total Status Notification' for quite some time, but now we are slowly starting to get away from this and move to a new software package that I rolled out.

Basically you install an agent on the customers network and this agent will then interrogate specified machines every 4 hours or what ever we make it. Not only does this agent then report the meter readings back to us, it also reports back toner levels, IU levels waste toner level and so forth.

Our server then can generate emails alerting us that the toner level is low so that we can send out toners without the customer having to phone us. The best thing about this package is (when I figure everything out properly) that it will intergrate with our service software allowing for meter readings to be directly input into the service software without any human intervention. Less errors, less complaints, less work.

Stirton.M
10-07-2010, 10:39 AM
We have been using the 'Total Status Notification' for quite some time, but now we are slowly starting to get away from this and move to a new software package that I rolled out.

Basically you install an agent on the customers network and this agent will then interrogate specified machines every 4 hours or what ever we make it. Not only does this agent then report the meter readings back to us, it also reports back toner levels, IU levels waste toner level and so forth.

Our server then can generate emails alerting us that the toner level is low so that we can send out toners without the customer having to phone us. The best thing about this package is (when I figure everything out properly) that it will intergrate with our service software allowing for meter readings to be directly input into the service software without any human intervention. Less errors, less complaints, less work.

To my knowledge, VCare (CS Remote) does this too.

It may be a solution for you, but in my experience, many IT guys do not like us messing with their computers with some things like this, often for good reasons. In a few cases, some even refused outright to allow VCare on their network.

Stirton.M
10-07-2010, 10:43 AM
I've setup many upon many of our customer's bizhubs to email us their meter readings automatically every month and I have had some problems with it. Most of the emails will come through our Exchange server just fine but others "get stuck" and never reach the destination mailbox. Tons of time and phone calls to Konica have led to no resolution. The problem seems to be something weird with the headers in the emails from the bizhubs.(I actually have posted this problem in the Connectivity forum)

My recommendation, to avoid headaches if you are your company's system admin, is to have the MFP email the customer the meter reading then have the customer forward the meter reading to you.

Out of curiosity, those machines which send in but get stuck....do those machines have the default subject and text fields empty? I have found that some email exchange servers will dump the email as spam if those fields were not entered. Might be worth while to look at the server logs to see what is happening.

(pardon me, noting this post of yours is over a year old....)

TheOwl
10-07-2010, 10:57 PM
The software that we use is manufacturer independant.

If we find a machine that the agent can't talk to correctly, we just send of a submission with a full SNMP walk list and with in a week, the machine is then supported.

Are you getting CS Remote to back end directly into your service software?

knpgazem
10-08-2010, 04:14 AM
In NZ we use a local version of Vcare/CS Remote (i assume) which is called Sentinel. this allows the machines to send out a message, by email, wireless GSM or by fax. we can keep an eye on parts life (% left to go etc), jams (in all areas), toner levels (% remaining), meter readings (by the minute if required).

our service system automatically sends out the required toner when the level reaches 25% remaining and can email a specific technician to attend to a specific fault with the acurate fault code/part required to fix the machine.

because we can use the GSM method, we can bypass all security on the customer's network as the message never touches their infrastructure.

THEOWL. you mention you use a manufacturer dependant software. PSES is a suitable solution, if you weren't aware, that will snmp with any network connected device and report basic meters etc. if the device is KM then you can get many of the reports that CS remote with supply, without the specific service messages. the readings can be collected at scheduled times to be emailed to various people, uploaded to billing software etc.

TheOwl
10-08-2010, 04:51 AM
THEOWL. you mention you use a manufacturer dependant software. PSES is a suitable solution, if you weren't aware, that will snmp with any network connected device and report basic meters etc. if the device is KM then you can get many of the reports that CS remote with supply, without the specific service messages. the readings can be collected at scheduled times to be emailed to various people, uploaded to billing software etc.

Manufacturer independendant. Our software that we use will correctly read back from Konica Minolta, Xerox, Toshiba, Richo, Lanier, Canon, HP, Lexmark and the list goes on.

PSES is good, but relies on emails for it's alerting solely. The alerts within PSES aren't really that good either. The one good thing about PSES is the SQL back end where by you can do a table query and get raw data straight from the database. This can also be used to backend directly into some service software programs to try and automate toner and meter reading processes. The thing with doing that on a customers site back to yours is that you need direct access to the customers network from yours. Not many IT people like that idea.

Stirton.M
10-08-2010, 11:04 PM
The software that we use is manufacturer independant.

If we find a machine that the agent can't talk to correctly, we just send of a submission with a full SNMP walk list and with in a week, the machine is then supported.

Are you getting CS Remote to back end directly into your service software?

Ah....got it...I forgot you deal with other brands too...

As for Vcare, we have a server that takes the data on predetermined days, with the exception of C-codes, which the machine will send out for help immediately. Currently it is set to manual mode as we are still getting accustomed to it, along with setting up the feature on the hardware already in the field. A bit of a slow process, it takes time to visit all of them as we have to deal with regular service calls and do those machines on a courtesy basis. Eventually it will be tied to our dispatch system.

knpgazem
10-10-2010, 09:02 PM
This can also be used to backend directly into some service software programs to try and automate toner and meter reading processes. The thing with doing that on a customers site back to yours is that you need direct access to the customers network from yours. Not many IT people like that idea.


The few sites we have PSES setup we have a good relationship with and can just 'pop' in and grab the raw data whenever we need it. it's really used for the hp laser printers, which we need to get meters off regularly for billing. we soley rely on vcare/sentinel for the MFDs because it sends us so much more relevant data, and sends it when it is needed rather than at scheduled intervals.

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