Servicing your copier
The exercise of buying or leasing a new office multi-function printer(MFP) and service contract for your office can be eerily similar to that of buying or leasing a new car.
You buy from the salesman but the real relationship will be with the mechanic. In the case of office equipment, you deal with the sales person upfront, and then the service department for the next few years.
In the office equipment business service contracts can be a tricky matter, with ever-evolving yearly renewals; renewals which often involve contract changes unbeknownst to the client.
Since an evolving, product life-long service contract can be a scary proposition, it is critical that you have a thorough understanding of exactly what you are getting into.
In most offices a malfunctioning copier will cause serious logistical issues and a great deal of frustration. Due to complexity of most modern office printers, they can be very costly to repair.
Ensure when discussing the service to inquire specifically about what is included and what isn’t, ask to speak with a technician when reviewing the terms and conditions since these are the ‘mechanics’ that your established relationship will be with.
Typical copier service contracts
A typical copier contract will usually charge you a fee for every page.
In a similar vein to mobile phone contracts, there are usually lots of different price plans to choose from and these should range from those with very low monthly fees, lower copy limits and higher costs per excess page; to comparably very high monthly fees including unlimited copier use.
In any office a broken copier will cause problems, especially as it’s fairly standard to have a combined copier and printer.
In order to minimise the disruption this causes, any good maintenance contract will have a predetermined response time, within which the supplier is obliged to send out a technician.
It is not uncommon for this to be the same day or even just a matter of hours, provided that the supplier is called within certain times.
It should also make absolutely clear who will pay for parts and labour and under which circumstances.
This will vary drastically depending on who owns the photocopier, and therefore should be thought about well in advance of purchasing a copier outright.
Alternatives to service contracts
In some cases it’s possible to have an extended warranty for your photocopier (small A4 desktop multifunction printer).
This will usually only apply to lower value machines (sub-€2,000), where it is not economically prudent to take on a service contract.
Extended warranties will usually cover much less than a typical service contract and it is highly unlikely that a technician would be sent to your office on the same day as the call-out. As such, relying solely on a warranty will usually mean longer delays to repair your copier.
Intuity Technologies provides Canon copier service support directly in the greater Dublin area and via our partners nationwide.
Our key business areas are Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Meath and Louth. We can provide service support in all others regions of the Ireland through the Canon Ireland dealer support network.
If you already own or lease a Canon copier and are looking for a new service support company, please contact us on 1890 987 900