Can anyone recommend a heavy duty all-in-one printer?

[ComputerPro]

We have a client that needs a high output (but decent priced) all in one that will copy-fax-print.
It has to have Ethernet also.

They usually get couple hundred dollar brother MFC's but keep blowing through them at least twice a year. Any recommendations, models to stay away from etc would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Terry

 

[Markverhyden]

Have you looked at managed print services? They will get an industrial strength machine but will be paying per page, probably with a monthly minimum.

 

[coffee]

We have a client that needs a high output (but decent priced) all in one that will copy-fax-print.
It has to have Ethernet also.

They usually get couple hundred dollar brother MFC's but keep blowing through them at least twice a year. Any recommendations, models to stay away from etc would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Terry

FIrst off, Need to find out about how much they are printing per month. This is a big factor. From your post it sounds like they are buying based on price and then printing way past the Duty cycle per month of the printer. This would explain why they keep having to replace them. But what exactly failed in the previous printers? Would hate to think what failed in them were just consumables

Try and take a look at their current printer and go into the setup and look at the page count or print off a usage page if it has this capability. Some quick figuring on page count will point you in the right direction. I am bias and like Brother MFC printers. But its really going to depend on the page count.

If they are penny-pinching and the printer you match up to them based on the duty cycle is "Just too much money" then you will never satisfy them and they will continue to go thru printers. The only difference is they will switch from manufacturer to manufacturer looking for the "Golden Printer"

 

[ComputerPro]

FIrst off, Need to find out about how much they are printing per month. This is a big factor. From your post it sounds like they are buying based on price and then printing way past the Duty cycle per month of the printer. This would explain why they keep having to replace them. But what exactly failed in the previous printers? Would hate to think what failed in them were just consumables

Try and take a look at their current printer and go into the setup and look at the page count or print off a usage page if it has this capability. Some quick figuring on page count will point you in the right direction. I am bias and like Brother MFC printers. But its really going to depend on the page count.

If they are penny-pinching and the printer you match up to them based on the duty cycle is "Just too much money" then you will never satisfy them and they will continue to go thru printers. The only difference is they will switch from manufacturer to manufacturer looking for the "Golden Printer"

Yeah I hear you and feel the same way.
They went through 2 mfc8710dw's in the last year. The duty cycle for those are 50,000 pages per month. I doubt they are hitting anywhere near that amount but will check to be sure. They do a lot of faxing and printing so who knows.

On this last one the paper will not load correctly now and there's toner all over the inside of the unit. I don't remember what happened to the last one. I myself happen to like Brother a lot for a cheap printer solution.

 

[coffee]

there's toner all over the inside of the unit

That would explain their issues.

 

[ComputerPro]

That would explain their issues.

I probably didn't explain it right. I didn't mean it's not working because of some toner spillage, it started with other issues such as paper jams and self-worth finally after a ton of issues it blew up to the point where there's toner all over the place now.

 

[Markverhyden]

If they are not even close to the duty cycle then it sounds like other things going on.

Toner all over the inside? Every time I've seen that it's reman cartridge. Self inflicted.

Problems faxing/copying? Maybe they just need to have the rollers and pads replaced/cleaned. The problem with low end equipment is it's often very hard or impossible to find service parts. I've had customers call up about repairing some printer they got for free with a system purchase. Why? Because the bought a bazillion ink cartridges on sale. I tell them I can't fix it at any price since parts are not available.

 

[ComputerPro]

I am checking into managed printing solutions Mark, the trouble I'm having is finding a company that does printers but not IT services I don't want to hire my competition out lol.

 

[jbartlett323]

Usually when there is tonor all over the place, its not the printer, its the cartridge... Are they buying official Brother tonor cartridges (of course not, who would, that's half the point in using brother printers)? Have they tried different cartridge manu's? Often, once it starts to leak all over internals and nobody cleans it up (or nobody knows about it/cares), it will cause problems with the rest of the unit, like jams because the rollers are slick with tonor. Doesn't usually happen that the unit causes the tonor to leak...

Yep, Mark said it first...

 

[Markverhyden]

I am checking into managed printing solutions Mark, the trouble I'm having is finding a company that does printers but not IT services I don't want to hire my competition out lol.

Go to Xerox's website. My daughter used to work for them. Xerox has bought out a ton of independent companies. They still appear to be "independent" as but actually wholly owned subsidiaries. For the most part they are only printing solutions.

 

[coffee]

Recommended Monthly Print Volume‡ 500 to 3,500 pages

The toner if it actually exploded inside will effect the sensors for the paper feed and act like sand paper on the nylon gears. I agree with Mark to check into a managed printer service like Xerox.

Normally, When I used to service printers and had to put in a maintenance kit or replace the toner cartridge(s) I would zero out the page count so that the next time I had to service it I could get an accurate idea of what is going on.

I kinda get the idea from the OP that they are actually pushing this printer too hard or buying really cheap toner.

 

[ComputerPro]

Yes to both I think. I just stopped by there to take a peek.
Reman'd cartridge and 63,000 page count for about 1/2 a years use.

 

[fencepost]

I like the Brother printers in general, but they're not really that great for really high volume.

Questions I'd ask:

• What's their printed output per month? If they don't know and you can't get from the printers, how much paper, toner, drums have they been ordering?
• Is the faxing for send only, receive only or both?
• For receiving, do they then turn around and scan those faxes? Is receiving electronically an option (there are some options for this)?
• For sending, are they printing out then faxing? (if so, they should be either using a fax server or the fax drivers for the printer)

I think the volume is going to be the real key. If it's 2-3,000 pages/month then what the heck are they doing to those devices? If it's 5k/month that should be OK, at least with the midrange Brothers - and if they're getting the smaller ones, they should stop even if it's only because the toner is more expensive per page.

If they're beyond 5000 pages/month they should probably at least find out what the copier/printer options are.

 

[mraikes]

...snipped....They went through 2 mfc8710dw's in the last year. The duty cycle for those are 50,000 pages per month. ...snipped...

So they're actually running about 10k pages per month when the "Recommended Monthly Print Volume is 500 to 3,500 pages". http://www.brother-usa.com/MultiFunction/ModelDetail/4/MFC8710DW/spec

According to Brother, that recommended print volume is: "The recommended range of monthly printed pages to achieve the best possible performance and printer life. Printers are intended to handle occasional usage beyond this range with little or no effect. Consistently printing above the recommended print volume, however, may adversely affect the print quality or life of the machine. It is always best to choose a printer with an appropriate recommended print volume to allow for any anticipated increase in printing needs."

The sky high duty cycle number means virtually nothing.

 

[ComputerPro]

Yup. I'd say they overshot it by a bit.

 

[coffee]

Yes to both I think. I just stopped by there to take a peek.
Reman'd cartridge and 63,000 page count for about 1/2 a years use.

So, Thats like 175 pages a day. Thats 1225 a week (or 7 days) if thats an accurate 1 year count. Thats way past the MAX for that printer

OOPS. Missed that on the 6 months. Man they are evil on printers! Never mind my numbers.

 

[coffee]

Adding again:

Even if they bought a really decent printer to replace this one the consumables are going to catch up with them. I think they are on their way to a managed printer deal.

 

[Markverhyden]

Yeah, way out of line for that type of machine. But they are not going to like the prices to get something that really meets their needs. Whether it's purchased or managed. Your looking around $1500 minimum for a machine designed for 30k+ prints per month. I'm no fan of remans but if they really insist there are some vendors that sell theirs with warrantees that guarantee no leakage. So they will cleanup/repair if it happens.

 

[mikemcg]

Yeah I hear you and feel the same way.
They went through 2 mfc8710dw's in the last year. The duty cycle for those are 50,000 pages per month. I doubt they are hitting anywhere near that amount but will check to be sure. They do a lot of faxing and printing so who knows.

On this last one the paper will not load correctly now and there's toner all over the inside of the unit. I don't remember what happened to the last one. I myself happen to like Brother a lot for a cheap printer solution.

You have to remember that Duty Cycle is the maximum number of pages a printer can print in a month if it has to, 50,000 in this case, but that will push the printer to its limits.

I wish printer manufactures would post actual numbers of recommended pages per month. Xerox used to publish a chart of their printers and the number of users that it is designed for [they may still], but actual recommended pages would be better.

 

[nlinecomputers]

10,000 pages a month? There is no store-bought printer that can run consistently in that league.