Are you in the market for a new copier, maybe your lease is coming to the end of its term. You have to make a choice on a new copier in an uncertain market. Do you get something that worked for the past 5 years, or do you consider new items like remote working and working from home as part of the metric you use on a new copier lease.
If you have a C60 with fiery, does the next copier you get need to be as big as the C60 or does it need fiery and should it be $400 to $500 a month, or should you be looking at a C8030 with or without the fiery at half the price? Maybe the C8030 makes more sense in the short run, but in the long run, the C60 makes more sense.
It is a tricky time to be making long term committments. We understand the struggles you may be facing when looking at the short term fear and uncertainty and looking at the long term of when things return to some degree of “normal.”
We know different businesses have different needs, which is why we work hard to build solutions that match each business owners’ personal ambitions. We can do short term or long term contracts. We work with you to have the perfect solution. Maybe that means a rental to hold you over for now? We know solutions could wind up looking like a lot of different things.
If you need a copier and want to discuss your options, we are here to chat!
First off, we are a copier dealer. We are going to slant this article based on our strengths and values. It should go without saying, but I wanted to say it anyway to help get this objection off the table.
So you are looking to lease or purchase a copier. You see all kinds of information online. In fact you get some quotes, then you have 7 copier reps who won’t leave you alone because it is important to get your business for all of the reps.
One rep tells you that Canon is the best, the next says they wouldn’t buy Canon because the interface is hard. Another tells you how great Xerox is, another seems to be super into Ricoh.
So I guess I will say it, in some ways, every copier manufacturer CAN make a good copier. They don’t always do it. But every brand has some solid models that do better than others. Some copiers break more than others. Some are harder to use than others. Some are easier. So when it comes down to it, if a lot of the copiers are in a range of being similar, how do you decide? Price? Reputation?
We believe that a Xerox copier set up correctly will generally outperform other brands also set up correctly in terms of efficiency. However, a Xerox set up poorly will function worse than other brands doing the same tasks if those were set up well.
So you need to think about who you plan to purchase or lease your next copier from.
Here are some items we would suggest you look at before signing a lease with a new copier company.
No escalations – If you start at a penny and then it is .011 then .012 and by year 5 it is at .015 – it would have been better getting a copier at .012 the whole time.
Cost to Ship Supplies – At $10 to $20 per shipment, if you are having to pay for your toners, then you are going to pay a lot more over the life of the copier.
Great Support – When you chat with the team, do they know the products and seem to like what they do?
Reputation – Have you checked online reviews and the BBB for reviews?
Coverage Restrictions – What happens if you exceed 20% coverage for color, or 30%?
These are just a few of the items you should consider when looking for a copier leasing company. One who treats you fair in the long run deserves more business. That is how we feel. There is no need to trick people into bad deals because there is enough business in the world to do things correctly.
We have chatted with some folks over the past couple of months who have copier leases that are way too expensive normally, and doubly so during a pandemic. What can you do if you have a copier lease that is $600 or $800 or $1400 a month like one that we saw?
First, before we go into the specifics, and this in not legal advice, it is merely industry information, let’s talk about what happens when you decide to lease a copier.
First, the dealer sets the price of the copier. For ease of numbers, let’s say the copier is a $10,000 copier – in the high middle of the road range. Once the dealer has this number, you will see a payment around $200 for 60 months or $300 for 36 months.
The client, you in this case, signs a document. The copier company orders from the manufacturer or distributor the copier you wanted. Let’s say their cost is $9000 on the deal leaving them $1000 in profit. So they order the copier and install the copier. You sign you got what you expected. The copier dealer pays the manufacturer and the the bank (leasing company) pays the dealership the $10,000.
So you are 9 months into your contract and coronavirus hits. You call your dealer because you realize you can’t afford the copier. Now you are expecting the dealer to take the copier and let you off the hook. But they can’t because if they do… they only made $1000 and the buyout at this timeframe will still be about $10,000 (the bank makes money to finance the copier) – so if they do this, they would lose $10,000.
Now that doesn’t work, so you try the bank and find they are as reluctant. Why? At $200 per month for 60 months – they stood to make $2000 over 5 years to finance the deal. So for them, it doesn’t make sense to be lenient because … remember, they paid the dealer the full amount of the copier when you got it.
So – if you get stuck with it you lose $8000. If the copier company takes it back, they lose $10,000 and if the bank says no worries, they lose $9000. Copier leases going bad isn’t good for anyone. This is the rub you are sensing when you call your dealer and the bank.
OK, So What Then?
If it was me, the ideal solution is finding someone who is willing to take over your lease and rather than have $8000 lost, maybe you lose $3000. In order for this to work, both the copier company and the leasing company would have to be OK with it. The copier company if they are doing a supplies and service plan (unless that can be cancelled without penalty) and the bank because they are the ones holding the note on the equipment.
It is hard, no matter how you slice it, and someone always loses big when a lease isn’t completed. So if you can, it is best to complete it.
It also shows the importance of getting the right lease in the first place. This example is something most companies can survive. But what if it is a $30,000 copier (at $600 per month) or a $50,000 copier ($1,000 a month)? This is when it gets exceptionally brutal.
A good conversation and understanding where the players all lose is good when you are trying to make a plan because then you can understand what to offer and what to try as you work with your suppliers rather than against them.
If you need help with a low cost copier lease or to go over your situation, let us know, we are here to help!
We have had some clients come to us, desperate to leave their current copier situation. They have a lease they are completely upside down in and want to know what they can do to improve their situation. I want to address the question –
“What can we do if we want to get out of our copier lease?”
The problem you face when trying to get out of a copier lease is the items are essentially being financed by a bank and maintained, in general, by a local company. In a lot of ways this is like leasing a vehicle and getting an extended warranty through a local dealer.
The first thing to consider is the situation everyone is in. It will help you understand why you may be having trouble getting what you want, and why everyone feels a bit helpless in the situation.
The Bank:
A key player in the copier lease is the bank. The bank is the company who finances the copier so you can use it for the next five years. The part that is confusing to most people is even the manufacturer’s financing is not always owned by that manufacturer.
So, the bank is loaning money, expecting a return oon their investment and if you return the copier early without paying, for them all that is lost revenue and lost profit. If they let every frustrated user out of their copier lease, the current rates of 8 percent would go up to 20% or 30% interest. Part of the stubbornness is to ensure other clients can get competitive rates.
The Dealer:
The next entity you ,may try and get relief from is the dealer that sold you the copier. You are thinking, perhaps, this dealer I paid $10,000 to over the last 3 years, so it is their job. This is where you hit another hiccup. The dealer may have charged you $10,000, but if they charged that amount, they certainly didn’t make that amount. Most dealers run on about 15% margin, so this means of the $10,000 you paid, they made $1,500 and then sent the $8,500 to the manufacturer.
The dealer isn’t making a ton on your copier, and if they simply “let you out of the deal,” first they would have to pay the bank back (with interest) AND they would be stuck with the copier they probably ordered for you. They have no control over the production quality of the copier, so they generally will do all they can to make sure they are working, but generally will not feel responsible for a recurring issue with the copier since they didn’t make it.
The Manufacturer:
Next we get to the manufacturers. They are almost always, many multiple billion dollar entities who are trying to move a ton of boxes. They, in general train the field reps on the copiers, so they also do not always feel compelled to help. They will assume the servicing dealer is making a mistake and often by the time the manufacturer is involved, the situation is so dirty it is unrecoverable.
The Customer (You):
So here you are, you have a copier that is broken that the bank won’t let you out of because they simply loaned you money to have it, the dealer won’t accept a return because they have already invested a ton of hours to fix the issue and they only made 15% of what you spent. The manufacturer won’t help because they are saddled with multi-billion dollar logic and policies to protect the bottom line. Your copier is broken and everyone is pointing at someone else.
A maddening position many find themselves in.
Normal Resolution:
Most companies in this position, get the buyout numbers from the bank and then roll that payment into the next lease. But what if your situation is REALLY messy. For example, we are working with a client who has a huge mess on their hands. They have a copier that isn’t meeting their needs and is costing them an arm and both legs.
The problem this client has is they signed up for a lease that was WAY too expensive and the bank is simply trying to make sure they don’t lose money when they give the buyout. To be clear, in this scenario, we cannot see where the bank had any part of the frustrations. The bank simply financed what the client and their dealer agreed to.
The dealer probably had to pay about $20,000 for the equipment, and it says there are 47 months to go. If the dealer were to take back the copier, they will have lost basically $20,000 – You would expect the number to be lower, but remember the bank adds interest. The client is asking the copier lease company to take back a 13 month old copier for the same price as a brand new copier and most clients will even say they are so unsatisfied there is no way they will keep working with the dealer.
As the owner of the copier company, what would you do? You have a copier that a client wants to return at the full rate, but it is a 13 month old copier. You may have cash flow troubles which makes $20,000 to be a bit too much. Maybe you are unable, even if you wanted to work with the client.
So does that mean the client should be stuck with the copier lease? All of these questions are hard to answer. We just wanted to help you understand why getting out of a copier lease may be harder than you expected.
The copier company you are working with will generally reach out to their manufacturer. Most good manufacturers will help. Maybe they will help with client training, maybe they will swap. Then generally understand the wisdom of making sure the enduser client is happy. Xerox had a program, for instance, they called the Total Satisfaction Guarantee which they have done away with, but with enough pushing you can normally get something done for the client.
When dealing with a situation where the copier is driving you nuts… our first step is to try your best to work with your dealer. Often because of their manufacturer relationship they can get things done for you. If you start the conversation as a war, often they are reduced to feeling like they cannot really make you happy and may not work as hard to solve the problem, but will start spouting the rules to you rather than looking for a cooperative solution to create a win/win for everyone. Of course, even if you do your side perfectly, it may not get you where you are trying to go.
If you feel we can help you out with a copier lease or helping you understand your current copier lease, we are here for you!
You may have gotten a quote or have seen reviews about the Xerox Altalink and Xerox Versalink products. This article is to help you know what you are getting (or not getting) with these products.
Color Copiers – Xerox Altalink Copiers
Xerox Altalink C8030
Xerox Altalink C8035
Xerox Altalink C8045
Xerox Altalink C8055
Xerox Altalink C8070
These are color copiers which are in the same family. They look like this…
Xerox Altalink Color Copiers
Now, these copiers are more robust. They are great for departmental copiers and handle a nice workload. These copiers are ideal when you want a higher quality copier with good standard features (like 4 trays and Postscript.)
The Xerox Versalink is more what we would call a high quality “entry level” 11 x 17 color copier. Models included in this family are the following:
Xerox Versalink C7020
Xerox Versalink C7025
Xerox Versalink C7030
Xerox Versalink Color Copier Series
The big disadvantage to the Xerox Versalink family from out of the box is there is no included Postscript and it starts as a single tray unit. The problem with it is when you add the C7030 for example, add the Postscript and then add 3 trays, you would probably be better off just getting the C8030 copier at that point for the small price difference.
The color quality of the Xerox Altalink copiers are much better than the Versalink copiers. The workload is better on the Altalink copiers. The price can be much cheaper on the Versalink copiers.
We would love to help you get a Xerox copier, if you are anywhere in the USA, please get a hold of us for a free quote!
A few more items on the copiers. The last 2 digits of the model specify the speed of the copier. So a C8030 color copier is 30 pages per minute. As an example. The color quality is normally about the same within a family. Once you get to the C8045 and faster, you get single pass scanning (meaning it goes through the scanner and can scan both the front and back of the paper on one pass.)
Either family can add add the Xerox Apps, so you will def want to make sure you take a moment to learn about the cool apps.
One of the promises we make as we have a copier company is when we find weird things in a newer copier, we do our best to educate our clients, or potential clients.
Here are some odd things that can happen when installing a Xerox Versalink C7020 or C7030.
Blank Pages Printing at the Beginning
Copier Not Able to Print if there is a Mac
Copier giving a jam message like 075-135 or 077-101
Not able to login to copier
So let’s look at each of these and see what seems to be working for us so far. For the blank pages coming out when you try and copy, there is a locking type of device on the inside of the tray. See if changing the position so it locks clears up this issue. Here is an image of what we are referring to.
Next, if the copier is unable to print if you have a Mac. There are 2 solutions, you can either print using AirPrint – OR you can purchase the Postscript module. Item number 497K18340
For the jamming, if you have that issue out of the box – we have seen that being caused because the startup page is oriented differently than the trays. I tend to go into the web page for the copier (use the IP address in a browser) and turn off the start up page in Centreware.
From the Xerox Support Forum – We also suggest disabling banner pages while you are in there.
Re: VersaLink C7020 and C7030 Stop Printing Startup Page at power-on
Take the printers IP address and put it in your web browsers address bar.
Login as admin at the upper right (passcode is 1111 by default)
On the left select System (1) and then select Defaults and Policies(2)
Click here to disable it
Next is not being able to login if you are used to the default being admin and 1111. With new California laws, each login must be unique now, so Xerox has chosen to use the serial number as the password and then you can change it (we like the idea of going back to 1111 unless your organization has a solid password program like Lastpass (even better) where it can be saved and shared in case someone who set the IP leaves the company. It is very hard to reset if that person has left the company. Very difficult – it is not a simple email me my credentials like other technology does.
Mobile printing is a convenient feature that Xerox offers with almost all of their printers to make it easier for its users to print things more efficiently. This will help you boost your productivity in your business making working and printing easier than ever.
Mobile printing simplifies your workload:
You are able to print all popular document formats without losing your formatting.
You can use a Mobile App or email submission.
Mobile printing is very convenient for you:
It allows you to get the documents you need faster.
If you’re away from your desk you can quickly connect to your printer and print documents.
Mobile printing is secure:
You are able to control when each document goes to the printer.
You can create listings to ensure users have the correct access.
You can also add Cloud setup for greater control or opt for an on-site setup that installs behind your firewall. Making it safe and secure.
Call us today if you need help setting up the mobile features options on your printer.
