Xerox C70 opinions

[jpfulton248]

Our service provider is playing games with our contract and kind of pushing us into a new machine. We currently have a Xerox J75 and they are proposing a Xerox C70.

Our usage is only about 15k/mo and almost entirely just 12x18 65# Cover 4/4.

As far as I can tell from looking at the spec sheet, the C70 would absolutely fit the bill for us. What I don't know is how reliable it has been in the field. Any known issues that are yet to be resolved etc? Any insight is appreciated.

 

[jwheeler]

@jpfulton248 , since you said you mostly do 65# cover, I'd caution you on the C70. The replacement for the J75 is the Versant series. The C70 is more of a light production press. It slows down significantly for cover stock, where the J75 maintains full speed for all stocks. Additionally, the J75 can auto-duplex up to 300gsm, where you have to manual duplex anything over 256gsm. I realize 65# cover you run is less than 256gsm, but it's worth noting that it is a downgrade from what you currently have. If budget is an issue, then the C70 will get the job done, only slower than you're used to. Look at screenshots of the specs below:

 

[jpfulton248]

@jpfulton248 , since you said you mostly do 65# cover, I'd caution you on the C70. The replacement for the J75 is the Versant series. The C70 is more of a light production press. It slows down significantly for cover stock, where the J75 maintains full speed for all stocks. Additionally, the J75 can auto-duplex up to 300gsm, where you have to manual duplex anything over 256gsm. I realize 65# cover you run is less than 256gsm, but it's worth noting that it is a downgrade from what you currently have. If budget is an issue, then the C70 will get the job done, only slower than you're used to. Look at screenshots of the specs below:

View attachment 291682View attachment 291685

View attachment 291700 View attachment 291702

Wow. Thank you. The auto-duplexing issue will certainly be the occasional inconvenience. The slower speed is much more of a deal killer. The issue is indeed budget. The J75 we are currently running was purchased used with cash and now our service provider is kind of doing a rug pull. A month after signing, payment and installation, the service provider told us they had to shorten the previously agreed upon (and signed) guaranteed 10 yrs of service. They told us the higher-ups wouldn't accept the contract (even though it was signed by our sales guy) and they shortened it to 7 years. We obliged and since then forgot all about it. We are now at the 7 year mark and they are kicking us out of bed. Since we own the machine, we have no incentive to upgrade to a new one. They are showing us numbers on the C70 -- service plus lease -- and the payments are just slightly less than what we are currently paying on service alone. We could almost get by with the C70 but that speed reduction will be unbearable.

 

[jwheeler]

Unless you're a die-hard Xerox fan, this is the perfect time to check out the competition just to make sure you're getting the best deal. Even if you want to stay with Xerox, showing them quotes from the other big 3 brands (Ricoh, Canon, Konica Minolta) will get them to sharpen their pencil. If you have a Fiery controller, all of the other brands offer Fiery controllers as an option too, so the transition will be relatively easy. If you want to save time, many on this forum have shifted successfully from Xerox to either KM or Ricoh so you could focus on them:

• From Ricoh check out the C53xx series or C72xx series.
• From KM check out the C4065 or C4070.
• For Canon look into the V700

 

[jpfulton248]

Unless you're a die-hard Xerox fan, this is the perfect time to check out the competition just to make sure you're getting the best deal. Even if you want to stay with Xerox, showing them quotes from the other big 3 brands (Ricoh, Canon, Konica Minolta) will get them to sharpen their pencil. If you have a Fiery controller, all of the other brands offer Fiery controllers as an option too, so the transition will be relatively easy. If you want to save time, many on this forum have shifted successfully from Xerox to either KM or Ricoh so you could focus on them:

• From Ricoh check out the C53xx series or C72xx series.
• From KM check out the C4065 or C4070.
• For Canon look into the V700

Thank you. I'll take a look. Not a diehard fan of Xerox at all but we do have another printer with the same service provider currently so it would mean dealing with two different companies (not that that's the worst thing in the world).

 

[azehnali]

I sell Versant 180's fully remanufactured ready for xerox service
I could send you pricing if you are interrsted

 

[kslight]

While the j75 is getting older, the c70 isn’t that much newer…what’s to stop the service company from pulling the same shenanigans on this machine in a couple years? I agree it’s a downgrade that you probably would not be happy with, in any case.


IMHO since you own the j75 instead of lease you are in the best position to shop around for competitive options. I’m a big fan of our Ricoh 7210, though I’d assume the 5300 is more like what you’d need. But I would look at everyone. A decision is often not always as simple as what equipment or the price alone, but the service…how quickly will they take care of you, how good are they, how many techs do they have, are they local to you…etc.

Hell, some competitors might have some new customer incentive magic to get rid of your other machine that’s serviced by the old company, if that is the only thing holding you back. Depending on your BW workload (I’m assuming talking about your d125) maybe it would be cheaper in the long run and wiser to have a slightly larger machine that can handle both volumes than two light production machines. We run everything on our 7210…we don’t have a dedicated BW.

In another thread, you mentioned dissatisfaction with this dealership. Has that been resolved?

 

[jpfulton248]

In another thread, you mentioned dissatisfaction with this dealership. Has that been resolved?

Nope. Not resolved really though the machine is running. They are still terrible but they are cheap. You get what you pay for. Here's the issue: I'm not very excited about making a financial time commitment going forward. COVID has hit hard and not sure what the future holds. Cost and term will be big deciders in what comes next and service will have to take a back seat to that.

 

[kslight]

Nope. Not resolved really though the machine is running. They are still terrible but they are cheap. You get what you pay for. Here's the issue: I'm not very excited about making a financial time commitment going forward. COVID has hit hard and not sure what the future holds. Cost and term will be big deciders in what comes next and service will have to take a back seat to that.

If the future is uncertain then do you have the option to just stay with the j75…go month to month or a year or whatever you are comfortable with? Or is the machine EOL?

 

[jpfulton248]

If the future is uncertain then do you have the option to just stay with the j75…go month to month or a year or whatever you are comfortable with? Or is the machine EOL?

Machine is EOL. That’s what prompted this.