Should You Buy A Laser Printer Or An Inkjet Printer?

 Inkjet Printers, Laser Printers, PRINTERS  No Responses »
Jun 112012
 

As a printer repair company, we are frequently asked about which printers we recommend, and one of the questions customers ask is:

Should I buy a laser printer or an inkjet printer?

The real fact of the matter is that whether a laser printer or an inkjet printer is right for you is largely dependent on your printing needs. Things such as speed, volume, quality, consumable cost, and output quality are all factors that you should consider before purchasing your next printer. Another item (perhaps the most important) that most people do not think of when purchasing a printer is whether or not the unit can be serviced if it happens to break or have a paper jam that you cannot clear.

It is no secret that inkjet printers are generally considered to be ‘disposable’ items by the manufacturers. Even more expensive models are typically not supported with parts, and outside the warranty period end users are typically left with no recourse than to replace the printer entirely. While inkjet printers can last for years, you may happen to be THAT person who encounters a fatal breakdown a day after the warranty period expires.

I am always a little amused that this fact is not really factored in when you read glowing reviews of inkjet printers in computer magazines. While the majority of persons will probably never encounter a problem with their inkjet printer that requires replacing it completely, for those who do, the options outside of the warranty period can leave them completely frustrated. At American Printer Service, Inc. we have called manufacturers on several occasions on behalf of customers and invariably when it comes to inkjet printers, the Technical Support’s resolution is a flat, ‘Replace the printer’.

Generally, we recommend that businesses purchase laser printers for their printing needs. We’ll go more in depth about the reasons why in future posts so stay tuned!

Give Your Laser Printer Some TLC Before Repairs Are Needed!

 PRINTER REPAIR  No Responses »
Jun 082012
 

printer repair tools trade Give Your Laser Printer Some TLC Before Repairs Are Needed!

Printers are probably the most often neglected piece of technology in the office. Unlike computers, printers tend to keep to themselves and just continue to work away quietly in the corner or under the desk, never complaining… a gold-star employee! When a printer breaks down though, it can have a crippling effect on your business. As much as the era of the ‘paperless office’ was touted, we just can’t manage to completely do away with printers and paper and many of today’s contracts and important documents are still printed as hard copies.

Here at American Printer Service, Inc. we recommend having a Technician come in at least once every quarter to have a look at the most important printers in your office and give them a little tender loving care. Having your printers PM’d (Preventative Maintenance) every quarter will help insure that your printer is clean and ready to faithfully execute the next print job you send it. A general PM includes disassembling the printer and evaluating all major components. The Technician will advise you on which consumable parts may need replacing in the near future and also tell you if any are due to be replaced immediately. If no problems are found, a thorough cleaning of the printer will be performed before reassembling the unit and placing it back into service. For most laser printers, PM’s take about 20-30 minutes to complete per unit.

American Printer Service, Inc. offers a great rate for performing Preventative Maintenance, and the more printers you’d like to have looked over, the better it gets! Give us a call today or place a Service Request Online to have a printer repair Technician dispatched to your business!

Compatible Cartridges Or OEM Toner Cartridges For Your Printer?

 TONER CARTRIDGES  2 Responses »
Jun 072012
 

apsinc toner Compatible Cartridges Or OEM Toner Cartridges For Your Printer?A question that we are often asked is whether we recommend OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) toner cartridges or aftermarket cartridges for laser printers. This is actually a subject that I could probably write a whole treatise on, and I’m sure we’ll discuss it further here at Printer Repair Blog in the future. For now though, let’s just go through some of the basic pros and cons of using aftermarket (compatible) cartridges vs. OEM cartridges.

PRICE
Obviously, one of the main factors in determining whether using OEM cartridges is appropriate for your business is price. OEM cartridges are usually more expensive than compatible cartridges, and many businesses choose to make the switch to compatible cartridges solely based on that criteria. However, there is no denying that the failure rate for compatible toner cartridges is higher than the failure rate for OEM toner cartridges.

WHY THIS MATTERS
If your cartridge vendor does not have Technicians they can dispatch onsite to repair and clean your printer when (not “IF”… WHEN) you get a defective cartridge, you can assume that your company is going to be left with the bill to bring the printer back to normal operations. Even if you have a Maintenance Agreement with a company like American Printer Service, Inc., usually they will exclude compatible cartridges not sold to the customer by themselves since they cannot control or vouch for the quality of the cartridge. The costs involved in cleaning up a toner spill can be as simple as a quick vacuuming up of the loose toner or as complicated as replacing numerous parts damaged due to the leaking toner. One thing you may have noticed if you’ve ever had to deal with a leaking toner cartridge is that toner dust is very fine, and very difficult to clean up. Because of that, it is best to leave cleaning up loose toner to a professional printer repair Technician, otherwise, you could easily complicate the problem.

Toner spills can be quite costly when they damage parts, in addition to often rendering the printer unusable for the period it takes to get it repaired. For that reason, we advise customers to purchase compatible toner cartridges from a LOCAL company that can dispatch a Technician onsite to clean up toner spills or repair damage to printers due to defective compatible toner cartridges. Any toner company that does not fully back up their product, either by having Technicians on hand or having a relationship with a local printer repair company, in my opinion, is not worth the cost savings of using their compatible cartridges. It is INEVITABLE that you will have a defective cartridge (whether you’re using OEM or compatible), and when this does happen, you should be safe in knowing that the company you bought the cartridge from will take care of your printer and your business.

OK… well that was fun. I told you I could probably write a treatise on this subject! I think we’ll have to continue this discussion at a later date but I hope the above information has been informative as to why simply saving money by purchasing the least expensive cartridge you can find may not always pay off in the end.

So Just What Could Be Lurking In Your Laser Printer?

 AMERICAN PRINTER SERVICE  No Responses »
Jun 062012
 

lurking in your printer So Just What Could Be Lurking In Your Laser Printer?

Over the course of repairing thousands of laser printers and dot matrix printers, the Technicians at American Printer Service, Inc. have pulled out some pretty strange things from customers’ printers. I’ll spare you pictures of the most gruesome ones but here are a little collection of things that can find themselves wrapped around and tearing up the gears inside your printer!

Besides the normal collection of dust bunnies, paper debris, and paper clips; our Technicians have found themselves extracting dead mice, dead birds, dog food, cat food, people food, money, mysterious colored fuzz, and all sorts of other things! It is actually pretty amazing to see what can be dropped into a printer before it grinds to a screeching halt!

I’m sure some of you have some horror stories to share about things you’ve dropped into your printer and then sheepishly had to watch a Technician fish out so share with us! And, if you’re one of those people who just happened to drop an item into your printer and need it retrieved, give us a call! Just don’t forget to throw in your spare change… our Technicians like finding cash!

Ask Printer Repair Blog Your Printer Related Questions!

 AMERICAN PRINTER SERVICE  No Responses »
Jun 052012
 

Here at American Printer Service, Inc. we’ve got a ton of experience fixing and repairing printers. We’ve been in business for over 25 years and have factory certified and trained Technicians working for our company. While this allows us to provide our customers with unparalleled service, we know there are plenty of you out there who may have questions about a printer you own or work with.

If you’d like some professional advice about a printer, leave us a comment here and we’ll get back to you with our recommendations as soon as we can! I had a teacher in High School that used to say, ‘There is no such thing as a bad question’… So ask away! I hope we can either answer your question completely or else point you in the right direction towards resolving your printer problems. Of course, if you’re lost and need a printer repaired, we’d be more than happy to help out with that as well! Give us a call or use the ‘Place Service Request’ tab above to have an American Printer Service, Inc. Printer Repair Technician dispatched right to your location!

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