Fellow BloodhoundBlog contributor Russell Shaw is a fountain of practical real estate knowledge… so when Mr. Shaw recommended a Xerox Phaser color printer to us – I took him up on the offer.
The street price for this particular printer is $1100, so I had to think hard about this purchase. There are so many other things that I could spend a thousand bucks on… but after all – it was a highly recommended purchase by Russell.
After checking out Ebay, I found a seller with a few of these printers brand new in stock at a [gasp] shockingly low price. So… I jumped on it.
The printer arrived a few days later (all 60 pounds of it) and it installed very easily. It’s nice having a network printer, for a change. I can send it a print job from any of my computers without worrying about a particular computer being on.
The prints are great – regular magazine quality… all nice and glossy.
The next day, I went to print some flyers and – nothing. No power lights, no indicators, nothing. I checked Xerox’s website to follow their troubleshooting guide… but to no avail. It would appear that I now had a rather large paperweight.
So I called Xerox, and they were nice as they could be. They contacted the local service representative and he came out the next day to install a new power supply. When you buy one of these printers, you get a full year of on-site service including parts and labor… a nice benefit. Russell advises us to purchase the extended warranty, as well.
Well I am tickled with this purchase… and I would like to publicly thank Mr. Shaw for his recommendation.
Now if any of you might be thinking about following Russell’s advice, perhaps I can save you a few dollars. Here’s another one from the same seller on Ebay for $599 (or $629 with Buy It Now.)
You can thank me after you thank Russell. 🙂
Chuchundra says:
These are great machines and well worth the price. We have one in my lab and it works like a champ.
One caveat. Use only Xerox OEM ink. If you use the third-party stuff it can gum up your print heads and Xerox won’t cover the repair. Ask me how I know this.
August 17, 2007 — 12:11 pm
Doug Quance says:
>Ask me how I know this.
Okay… I’ll bite. How do you know this?
😆
August 17, 2007 — 12:16 pm
SlickDealer says:
CostCo has the newer Xerox Phaser 8560n for only $699. After tax on the 8560n and the shipping costs for the 8500 it’s probably only a difference of ~$50.
August 17, 2007 — 1:03 pm
Mariana - Springs Realty Scoop says:
I LOVE my Xerox Phaser 8500!! And FYI: the knock off ink is not really “cheaper” than OEM. You DO pay less, but you GET less. The OEM ink is superior in print quality as well.
I also love how CHEAP color prints are .. and the quality is unbeatable.
August 17, 2007 — 2:49 pm
Malok says:
Thank you! I was just in the market for a new printer and was trying to decide what to purchase. Now I know. 😀
August 17, 2007 — 3:18 pm
Chuchundra says:
Lets just say that if the print heads on one of these Xerox Phaser thermal wax jobbies go and you can’t get warranty service for it, you might as well use it for a boat anchor. The cost to repair/replace the heads is a good deal more than the cost of a whole new unit.
The third-party ink blocks were much cheaper than the Xerox OEM ones but, like so many things, it turned out to be a false economy.
August 17, 2007 — 4:02 pm
Doug Quance says:
>SlickDealer: The printer on Ebay is not a 8500/N… but rather the 8500/DN with the duplexing unit for two-sided printing. Big difference. 🙂
>Mariana: I’m liking it, too. Have you got a good source for OEM ink?
>Malok: That auction on Ebay is the best thing going, no doubt.
Chuchundra: So that’s why the repairman told me I should buy another one at that price… just for the parts… 😆
August 17, 2007 — 4:07 pm
Greg Swann says:
Here’s an alternative, WinTel or Mac, networkable, PostScript. We have an earlier version, the 2450N.
August 17, 2007 — 4:21 pm
Mariana - Springs Realty Scoop says:
Once upon a time I bought a BOAT LOAD from eBay. Best source IMHO. However, for the maint. kit, I go though thenerds.net.
August 17, 2007 — 4:24 pm
Malok says:
Heh, so I should buy a least 2 of them now? Alrighty. 🙂
August 17, 2007 — 5:34 pm
John L. Wake says:
In June I bought at Costco.com the cheaper model, the 6180DN, for $550 as part of an enphasis on listings and I’m pleased with it. The set up was especially easy.
August 18, 2007 — 11:36 am
John L. Wake says:
Oh yeah, be aware the cost of toner will dwarf the initial cost.
August 18, 2007 — 11:55 am
Russell Shaw says:
Doug, thank you for your kind words.
A couple of things: THE reason this particular brand of printer (used to be Tektronix, Xerox bought them to get the “phaser” technology) is so popular with Realtors is the cost per page. There is no other color printer on the market that has as low a cost per page to print in color. It makes it practical to do all flyer printing in house.
You’ve already seen it, but never use the 3rd party ink sticks, only the OEM. The colors are not true and the print head will be ruined from using them, it is just a matter of time. When it happened to us, the repair guy from Xerox gave us a HUGE break and put ours in under warranty.
If you are looking at the different models, I suggest the “DN” version. It is full duplex printing (both sides of the paper)
And …. the cost of the printer (they used to be “free” if you would buy your ink sticks from Tektronix and then later Xerox) is not the big cost. The ink sticks are the big cost. The place I have been buying mine since my first “Phaser” printer in the early 90’s(I am now on my 3rd) is http://www.provantage.com. Very good prices on just about everything they stock.
August 18, 2007 — 11:04 pm
Doug Quance says:
Thanks for the heads up on Provantage, Russell. I’ve done business with them before, and they did offer good value and fast shipping.
I did get the DN model, btw. I just finished tweaking a 16 page booklet, and the printer delivers it ready to staple and fold. Very nicely, I might add.
I thank you again, Mr. Shaw, for your wisdom and your generosity to share it.
August 19, 2007 — 8:18 am