Ikon or Xerox..looking for a printer

[VTsignguy]

Good info..thanks!! I moved forward today. IKON agreed to my request that they throw the large feed tray into the lease for no extra cost. I also decided NOT to take advantage of the free copies they were offering if i committed to 15k color copies per month. Being a seasonal business we are coming into a slow period so the free copies wold not be that beneficial, and i have several months in the year that i do not do 15k copies.

They are bringing a demo unit next week...i will be sure to include some verbage in the lease pertaining to lack of support. In my previous conversatons along that line they emailed me the "Ikon guarantee"

Xerox seems to have faded away....

 

[VTsignguy]

Xerox is back in...they found a 260 demo that they are working out "some fantastic" numbers on and will present them to me tomorrow. They pretty much know what the IKON offer is...so if they come in and match the IKON offer I am right back to the original question......

CPP660 or DC260 ???

Tomorrow shold be a fun day

 

[sweatyclimber]

For my 2 cents on the two...

If the DC260 meets your needs you'll gain "clarity and certainty" with the Xerox way. They clearly will continue to support there own products and do it well. The DC260 is a known comodity so you should have a great idea from the forums here about what it does/ doesn't do and how well it runs.

The relabled KM aka CPP660 is now a 3rd hand stepchild. It was part of a strategie of IKON's that is no longer relavent now that Ricoh owns them. Likely in the future its "end of life" support will be accelerated over what KM would give you if it was a KM branded model and also over what Xerox would give you...

All things equal, you'll get a lot less uncertainty with the Xerox which is what I'd want for my business. The other side of the coin... If they're done with prices and the prices are similar... I'd ask what else they'll bring to the table for you. Both want the business bad, if they choose to set there pricing to an equal level and neither will go lower, what other "feel good" items can you get to help one set themselves apart. Just as an example, maybe that will get one to send you to ITEX or On Demand or something else that could benefit you but would never normally be included in a machine bid.

Out of curiousity... Did you ever contact the local Global company? Were they just not a player? I assume not which is why I assume I've not heard of that sister company before but of course was currious about how they might stack up.

 

[VTsignguy]

I agree....if all things become equal I think i would choose the Xerox.

Regarding the Global dealer, I did not contact him, but was told he was only in business for 6 month's whihc is why you may not have heard of them.

but one thing that i have not posted since i found out is that technically I am no longer dealing direct with Xerox as they do not cover my area, the xerox guy I contacted initially put me in touch with another salesman who does cover my area...the company is Exterus Technology and i am dealing with the owner/gm. He has been doing this along time so you may know him...his first name is Wright. Very impresive sales pitch...we just may be too small a company to make a fit for his company. But he seems very interested in getting more of our copiers so we'll see tomorrow.

Another thing is that this is not a print for pay shop, and i am not the owner, only the manager...so to be honest both mahines will work for me and are leaps and bounds above the CPP500 i inherited when i took this job 2 years ago. The x-factor is i have a VERY good technician and feel confortable with him, of course i can't base my desision solely on that as he could be gone tomorrow. But he has been with the company for 18 years, so i feel pretty safe.

 

[sweatyclimber]

A quick few notes for you on that.

The global dealer wouldn't have qualified to be purchase if they were that new in business... Likely they are 10+ to 30+ years in the industry. I think they're simply small, thus don't put up the "huge" numbers of some of the other markets and that is why I haven't heard of them.

On you Xerox person... a heads up. That is an agent. Agents do not do there own service. The one I compete against actually boasted to a client that "once the sale is done you'll never see me again!" I was dumbfounded at the stupidity of the that comment. The client ceased talks with him. Your service will come from Xerox Direct. It should be fine, the only difference is that the person your buying from does not have the authority to do anything about it if you run into problems. On top of that agency's can be subject to "restructuring" as Xerox changes the way that channel goes to market. I would be a little leary about that option.

Lastly I realize your not a print for pay, I just was describing profit and you making money on this because ultimatly the deliverables you create are just that.

Knowing he's an agent, I would say the "call" would be closer on who to choose if all other things are equal. I would suggest you at least call the Global dealer and here's why. If they are up to speed on what you're looking into, then should the agent way not fair well, you could always have them pick up the service. That way even though the agent method presents a few uncertainty's you'd have contingency to resolve the problem.

 

[VTsignguy]

I just got a "taste" of the arrogance that I have been hearing about Xerox.

I basically handed him the quote from Ikon and let him know that it was up to him to compete or not compete.

Xerox doesn't compete on price with anyone...and i am stupid if i buy a CPP660. And why am i wasting his time if i have already decided to buy the 660.

I'm just like...give me a price on your 260 and a 252 like we agreed you would do last week and let me decide which one i want...

i think he is $70 more a month for a 260 with embedded and a light production feeder....which is pretty much the exact machine i want....but i just need him to send me a proposal...but he wants to get in here and present it himself to the money people.

anyway i was right...this is an interesting day.

 

[sweatyclimber]

sounds like he's an "old school" rep... snappy presentation and "let me to the DM" so I can bring down the hammer close type! LOL you would think one would learn...

Well of course he has to do business your way or not with you... Guess this will be his 1milionth learning session on that lol!

 

[sweatyclimber]

Hey also, check your PM inbox.

 

[Bal digit]

Im looking to export an ikon 605 to the uk, has anyone done this?

Im looking to export an ikon 605 to the uk, has anyone done this?

i am looking to get into a new printer lease very soon, and i would love to be able to get input from everyone on what would be best from these 2 companies. I am interested in the xerox 700, but this would be a giant step up from my current km cpp500.

I have a meeting with ikon on monday and xerox on wednesday. I run about 60,000 clicks a month split about 50/50 color and b&w.

I am looking to upgrade quality and capabilities...speed is not the main focus here...but cost might be.

Cliffnotes: Km650 or dc252 or xerox 700 or ricoh c900 are the 4 i am looking at...

im looking to export an ikon 605 to the uk, has anyone done this? Is there a power issue? J

 

[SirPrintsAlot]

VTsign,

The Ricoh C900 is in a different league than the Xerox 700. If you want to compare the Xerox to the Ricoh look at a Pro 700ex from Ricoh. That is the machine that will be comparible to it with the built in Fiery. The C900 is up with the KM6500 and the 7000. Let me know if you have any questions about any of the machines.

 

[sweatyclimber]

FYI to the other sales guy's posting... look at the starting date... VT Signguy has already purchased...