----------------------------Original message----------------------------
I feel that I need to come to the defense of IKON Office Solutions -- it
may be that
Judy Donovan has an inefficient office in her area, but that shouldn't
reflect badly
on the entire company.

We purchased a Canon color CLC300 from them five years ago (when they were
still Hovinga) and have had the maintenance contract through them the
entire time.  Service
calls are answered quickly, and the technicians have always been very
knowledgeable
and professional.  We are in the process of negotiating a lease on a new
color copier
(probably another Canon), and I have been equally impressed by the
knowledge,
customer service orientation, and professionalism of the sales staff.
We'll probably
switch our b/w copier over to IKON from another company when the lease
expires on that
one in about a year.

We charge $1.00 per copy (any size) for our color copies, and we use our
student library
assistants as machine operators -- only a handful of folks have permission
to use the copier
themselves.  We've found that this arrangement results in far less waste
copies from mistakes,
and it also prevents abuse to the machine (our students often use the
copier for making art and
always want to run materials through it that should NEVER be put in a color
copier!!!)  Because
our machine is so old, it is very finicky and does require much more
attention and tweaking than
the b/w copier.  We anticipate that this will not be the case with the new
machine -- today's color
copiers are much more reliable and consistent than machines made 5 years
ago.

As an aside, we decided to investigate Xerox machines as a possible option
to Canon this time
around and got very frustrated working with our local Xerox office -- we
couldn't even get basic
information and prices out of them.  So I would recommend investigating
both the local company
offices AND the third party companies in your area ... and go with
whichever one gives you the best
price and service for the equipment that you need.

Judy Dyki
Cranbrook Academy of Art Library
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Hi Ray Anne,
>
>We have a canon color CLC500 copier in my library.  It includes a fiery
>device which lets people print from computer images directly to the
>copier.
>We charge 50 cents per copy regardless of size.  Our contract costs
>around $800/month for everything (supplies, copier lease, maintenance,
>etc.). The machine is very popular and the low price encourages more
>copying.  I've had to call the service people only once in the last six
>months--it's actually more efficient than our b/w copier.
>
>One word of advice:  do NOT contract for your copier from a third party
>company.  If you get a XEROX, contract with them.  We made the mistake
>(I wasn't part of the we, fortunately) of getting our machine through
>IKON Office Solutions.  They are an incompetent bunch of clowns with
>pathetic repair people who usually have to come back repeatedly to
>fix very simple things (they do our b&w copier too,  ugh!).  Our CFO
>is now trying to get us out of our current contract and into one directly
>with Canon--they are eager to undercut the price of IKON and have us
>as clients.
>
>Being in Pittsburgh, you ought to have a pretty good collection of
>copier companies to select from.  I visited Xerox, Canon, Sharp and
>a few others.  I liked Xerox and Canon the best.  Their people are
>very service-oriented and knowledgeable and treat library customers
>as important business clients (with all the expediency that most
>business customers expect).  All in all, it's great to have a color
>copier in the library.
>
>One other point--having the copier in the library has been a plus as
>far as preventing mishaps and vandalism to the machine.  Staff here
>can intervene when frustrated students try to mess with the machine.
>When it was up in the computer lab, the machine was in need of
>adjustments/repairs, etc. weekly because no one was there to monitor
>the machine.
>
>Judy Donovan
>Moore College of Art and Design
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>
>>On Wed, 8 Jul 1998, Rayanne Lockard wrote:
>>
>> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>
>>I need to hear from art libraries that have a color photocopier.  What is
>>the cost factor?  How mucha re the copies?  Does the equipment require
>>more attention than a black-and-white photocopier?  Thanks for your
input!
>>Ray Anne Lockard
>>
>>                                Ray Anne Lockard
>>                       Head, Frick Fine Arts Library
>>                        University Library System
>>                             University of Pittsburgh
>>                              Pittsburgh, PA  15260
>>                               Voice:  412-648-2410
>>                                 Fax:  412-648-7568
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>>