Xerox 240

[pencilguy]

I'm a small offset printer thinking of purchasing this machine.
I currently outsource my 4 color work which equates to $1000 per month.

Is this a good entry level machine?
What are the pros and cons of this machine?
What should I be paying for a click charge on this type of machine?
Any other valuable advise?

[kirkreal]

They are good machines but spendy. I'd try to find a refurbished if you can.

[Keith]

The 240 has been replaced with the 242 a few years ago. And the 242 has been phased out for this year. Xerox no longer builds it. The 252 is now the entry of the entry level "production" machines. And it's just as pricey, in fact the same price, as kirkreal suggested,
unless you are considering a used 240.

I just got a 252, 6 months ago after a year and a half of research. You say you farm out $1000 worth or printing per month. That's what I pay every month for my lease and click charges. Xerox has plenty of machines "below" the Docucolor series.

To answer your questions:

Yes, it's a good entry level machine. IF you have the volume to pay for it.

Pros- low operating cost, 13x19, customer replaceable units (CRU), wide choice of RIPs and accessories.
Cons- registration, acquisition cost, your friends will make fun of you because you because you drank the Xerox kool-aid.

Click charges should be below 7 cents per click for any size.

Other valuble advise? Digital is easier than offset but don't let that fool you. It has it's own challenges. You are wise to consider adding digital as the the experts say the most successful shops are the "hybrids". I'm an all digital shop that would love to add offset. But at only $3000 of work per month, that ain't paying for a press, CTP, and operator. Everyone tells me to stick with digital and keep farming out the offset. That advice could apply to you- find a shop with strong digital capabilities to send your work to and they could send you offset work. That's what I do with an offset shop.

In closing, I'd say stick with offset. I say this not having any clue about your operation, but spend your money on upgrading your current operation. People say that offset is dying and that may be reflected in the declining sales numbers in the industry, but I think it has more to do with printers not updating their technology. Offset will at least be relevant for awhile. Stay focused on that and sell the crap out of it! Don't spread yourself to thin.

Buuutttt.... there are some desktop model printers that do pretty good and they're cheap....

Keith

Boy, I think I spoke to much. Sorry for the long post.

[pencilguy]

Thanks for your advise... any suggestions on desktop printers that you would recommend that aren't as pricey?

The Xerox machine I'm looking at is a floor model 242 (demo machine). I'm being quoted $21,000 for the machine and a firey rip. It seems like a bargain... can anyone help?

[artpost]

Originally Posted by pencilguy

Thanks for your advise... any suggestions on desktop printers that you would recommend that aren't as pricey?

The Xerox machine I'm looking at is a floor model 242 (demo machine). I'm being quoted $21,000 for the machine and a firey rip. It seems like a bargain... can anyone help?

pro930 - List price is $10,230 for this tabloid/A3 printer that features an embedded EFI Fiery System 8e controller with SmartRIP, as well as Pantone color calibration. OKI is positioning the systems as an alternative for high-quality, short-run color printing and variable data printing (VDP), with support for XMPie. The pro930 also supports a wide range of media substrates, including up to 190 lb. index stock, 12"x18" output, banners up to 12.9"x47.24", cling film, and magnetic media.

Excellent color, excellent media specs. I used to sell these before my company was bought and placed quite a few in the P4P market. Cost Per Page is a little high .09, however the best quality and flexibility on the market today.

Here is some more info: P4P Suites: Oki pro900DP Digital Color Press

[jotterpinky]

21K for this machine seems spendy to me. We purchased a brand new 250 about 4 years ago for around 30K. Included hi-cap tray, and office finisher. I would recommend looking around for something with a better price-tag. For the volume you are planning on running I think this is probably the best machine series (240, 250, 252, 260). You probably don't need the external RIP though for the volume you say you're producing, we've used the bustled RIP and it gets the job done. You can still calibrate for color, create profiles (if you have the software), and manage jobs via Command WS. I belive you're looking at the best box of its class though but take some time to look around for the best deal. We've seen these offered by several other vendors who've taken them in on a trade to get their brand of equipment in the shop and they don't want a lot to get rid of them.

You could also look at some older equipment that may get you into the entry level like a Docucolor 12 which puts out pretty good quality. Along the same lines in terms of speed, I've seen several Canon C1 machines that have excellent reproduction quality for 10K. Only problem with dropping this low is the speed sucks.

I agree with the 0.07 for clicks (any size). I would even go so far as to say you could likely get a better rate. I believe most new Xerox equipment is going for anywhere between 0.045 and 0.049 so you could probably get something in the range of 0.06-0.07 for a used box.

[RNRPRINTINGNMAILING]

Hi I am Rob I have a small printshop and I am in the same Boat
I am going to be looking at the Oki c9600 Printer. I hear it prints well and is pretty good on color and prints a few variety of different stocks and its not expensive at all. And it will do a 12 x 18 sheet with no problem.

Good Luck

[MickRose]

We are a small print shop (1 colour litho). A few years ago we bought a DC240 & it has been a good buy. It is good for very short run colour but we still farm out some colour work. Runs of over a few hundred are not competitive compared to litho & there is also a quality issue of course. But laser printers are very good for very quick turnaround on pretty short runs. That sounds very restrictive but it is a definite market & it does mean you can provide a new service for existing customers which might stop them going elsewhere.

Mick
UK