TCPglobal - news, views and issues on total cost of printing

Issue 0940/1 – Once our printer is up and running, we assume that all is well with the world – until something goes wrong. Will something go wrong? Perhaps not – but that may depend wholly on which brand of printer that has been bought. In these third and fourth parts of our series on printer and MFP reliability, we look at the impact of hardware quality and reliability on Total Cost of Printing – firstly an introduction and look at warranty replacements, followed by a look at repairs outside of warranty in the next article.

Issue #0939/1 – When you buy a new printer, AiO or MFP, what thoughts are passing through your mind? Excitement? Exhilaration? Anticipation? Impatience? I would probably be on to a sure-fire winner if I were to bet that they are not feelings of dread, horror, irritation or trepidation! And yet, this is what many people end up experiencing by the time they have finished setting up the device. Why? Because the software and installation design are not robust and reliable enough to give the new owner a good experience. We explore what can go wrong and how much it can cost.

Issue #0938/1 – !***ERROR***! Is this a common experience with a printer? If so, how serious was the problem? Could it be self-resolved? Did it require a replacement part or unit? How much did it cost to resolve the issue? How long was the printer out of action? These are questions we may all have asked ourselves at some time. Some users will question the reliability of their printer very early in its life while others may never even think about reliability because the printer never fails to do its job. Whichever is true, all printer users should understand the time and cost implications of printer reliability – or unreliability!

Issue #0937/2 – As we’re just in the throes of launching into a series of articles on reliability, printer downtime, hassle and customer satisfaction, current experience on buying from Dell is appropriate! While some Dell printers can be less costly to own and operate than other brands, others are not and the whole customer experience angle may not be all that we might desire as Dell takes almost a month to deliver supplies!!

Issue #0937/1 – During a round table session at a recent industry briefing, a guest presenter made that – oh, so classic – comment, “I just want to print”. Although there are many, many different aspects to this simple statement, it often seems as if it just isn’t going to be like that.

Issue #0936/2 – Office 2010 will bring a new-look print dialog to our computers. It is a cleaner, more modern look that gives very easy access to important features at the top level ‘Print’ dialog. We’ve had a chance to try out Office 2010 in its beta release and see how the changes affect the printing experience.

Issue #0936/1 – Recent reports in the press and in Hewlett-Packard’s quarterly financial results and end of year round-up indicate that the company is putting its shareholders, and pressure from Wall Street, above the welfare of its staff and customers, to the detriment of its business. Supply of printers has not met demand and EDS staff in the UK are reported to be planning a strike, as has already occurred in Germany.

Issue #0935/1 – In wanting to follow up on the previous article, which focused on ultra-low-end colour laser printers (), and look at the low end of the business colour laser market, it turned out that there are any number of different ways of cutting the market and still ending up with a group of devices that can be considered to be competitive. We look at a group of low-end colour printers that are based on single-pass technology, offering around 16ppm print speed, and are network-ready out of the box.