Can I join this rant? I am based in Tanzania and access to support is a
little tricky for some things. We have been running a system that prints
out A4 forms from a database. The forms are updated manually by
fieldworkers (maybe we'll be able to use PDAs in 5 years from now).
Anyway, for about 8 years we have printed these forms in 4 batches
ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 forms in each batch. We have been using
one HP Laserjet 4, printing 8 hours a day for 6 days a week for one to
two weeks, with a total of about 120,000 forms per year, not counting
basic office use. This thing is still working well and all we have to do
is change the toner, paper and brush out the dust now and then. A
rock-solid, wonderful piece of machinery.

We recently got a HP4100 and it is the biggest piece of trash ever. It
has yet to reach 500 pages total. We have not been able to identify what
the problem is (we get a helpful message that says something like "Error
52" which the manual says means "Call out the service guy". We can't
afford his airfare. It will cost us a fortune to send it back and we are
close to dumping it. Can you give me some more details on that spare
part? If I can order one I might be able to save the thing.

Dave

On Wed, Nov 27, 2002 at 02:56:14PM -0800, Ken Hawkins wrote:
> 
> If I may go OFF TOPIC and rant a little:
> 
> Our tech support group here went out on a limb, and lobbied hard to 
> standardize on the HP 4xxx series printers to reduce maintenance and 
> inventory costs. We had EXCELLENT service from HPIII's (some still in 
> service!), HP4's, 4000n's, 4050n's. On this basis, we convinced management to 
> make a large (for us) purchase of HP4100's this last year, and we are 
> regretting this sorely. Of the 12 or so units purchased in the last year, 
> EVERY SINGLE ONE has required service; under warrenty if lucky, but most not. 
> About 60% are suffering with fuzer problems, and to add insult to injury, HP 
> recently jacked up the price on the "upgraded" fuzer assembly....the one that 
> should have been installed in the first place.
> 
> I have contacted HP one more than one occasion, and have been (politely I'll 
> admit, considering the language I used) informed that it is an "end user" 
> problem. If we want the printers to work, then we have to pay for the fuzer.
> 
> I posted this for all those out there who get stuck fixing things that 
> shouldn't be broken in the first place.
> 

-- 
Dave Whiting
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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