Re: Color solid ink printer eating up ink!

Thank you all for your responses.

The minimum threshold explanation makes a lot of sense to me, and I suspect this is the case more than any particular technical problem. Our office has a very low color print volume and a modest b/w volume. However, first-page-out time was very important for our group, as the graphics or photos that we do print, though few, can be very complex. In that regard, this printer is fantastic.

So...if we determine that we chose the wrong printer (considering I am partly to blame for not researching this enough)...what options do we have?

Marilyn mentioned trading in, which I will pursue, but are there also instructions for transferring assets to other departments on campus? Presumably there are departments that DO have enough users to make this printer an appropriate choice.

Gary

 
On Friday, April 21, 2006, at 11:45AM, Marilyn Saarni <saarni@eps.berkeley.edu> wrote:
>Carolyn and Gary -
>
>This is something that you should have been warned about in Xerox's
>guidelines for appropriate printer choice. The solid ink color
>printers are designed for workgroups with a certain minimum threshold
>of printing. I remember the literature giving the range of copies
>per month. It's the technology, not the brand.
>
>My recollection is that the solid ink is continually being heated,
>and if it isn't used in printing, the system is prompted to do a
>cleaning cycle to clear the ink feeding paths and waste ink recycles
>into a bin. Printing a certain number of copies every day keeps
>those paths clear, and so you don't have a cleaning cycle that dumps
>way too much waste--and the waste ink does cost a lot. Also the
>printers break down because they are not being used enough. Again
>those repair charges were an onerous cost burden.
>
>I too abandoned solid ink color printers (two Tektronix Phasers)
>because our research center simply does not print color very often
>after our 1998-2002 transition from overheads to digital
>presentations (cheaper and much more eco-friendly).
>
...

>If there is any way that you could expand your user group for the
>color printers, and thereby spread the costs, you might want to
>consider that. Also, I don't know which rep sold you the Xerox 8400
>(that person should have asked what your monthly print requirements
>were), but you might check into whether you can trade them into Xerox
>for another technology. They DO have trade-in programs, and I
>suspect your distress might motivate them to work with you to find a
>better color printing solution.
>
>- Marilyn
>
>At 8:17 AM -0700 4/21/06, Carolyn Sell wrote:
>>Don't get me going. I have two Xerox 8400 Phasers and have never
>>been able to get the service people to tell me how to bypass the
>>cleaning cycle. In addition, the printers spit out probably 25-30
>>sheets of blank paper randomly all day long and that hasn't been
>>fixed either. I recently had service done and was presented with a
>>bill for over $1500, far more than the printer cost. I am disputing
>>the charges since we were not given even a verbal estimate in
>>advance. I will never buy another Xerox product for my department.
>>
>>--Carolyn (Physics)
>>
>>At 8:40 PM -0700 4/20/06, Gary Hsueh wrote:
>>>Dear Magnetters,
>>>
>>>About two months ago, my office bought a Xerox 8550DT solid ink
>>>printer thinking that the solid ink would cost less in the long run
>>>because it had less consumables - no toner cartidges and drums to
>>>replace. However, it has consistently eaten up more ink by running
>>>cleaning cycles on a daily basis, than it has used ink to print on
>>>paper! Each ink block is supposed to run more than 1,000 pages but
>>>we've already run through 4 blocks of each color - $200+ worth -
>>>with a total print count of less than 1,000.
>>>
>>>Has anyone experienced this kind of problem before?
>>>
>>>Gary
>>>for ATDP at the School of Education
>>>
>>>
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>
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Received on Fri Apr 21 12:34:06 2006