Océ cps900

Discussion in 'Océ Digital Presses' started by Majd Mahayni, Dec 23, 2008.

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  1. Majd Mahayni

    Majd Mahayni New Member

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    Hi everybody,
    I'm about to purchase a second hand Océ cps900, and start my small print on demand print shop business.
    if there is anything i should know about this system, or any advices concerning this business please tell me.

    thanks
     
  2. smatros

    smatros New Member

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    this machine is pretty outdatet. how much are you paying for it? i heard rumours that the machine several times doesn't want to start and requires technical intervention, which is costy and time consuming. Make sure you have full service contract based on click charge!
     
  3. Julian Poggenpoel

    Julian Poggenpoel Member

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    We had this machine for 2 years and I must admit it served us well when starting up our business. Fairly consistant as far as colour is concerned and fairly reliable. Only thing I would point out is that the machine runs odd size stock, for example, it doesn't run SRA3 (320x450) the biggest paper size it takes is 305x457 which is a bit frustrating if you buying in SRA3 and have to cut to waste to get 305x457. The trays are very small. Another thing is its VERY SLOW, so I'm not sure how you gonna manage in your print on demand business if you need to turn work around fairly quickly. Also we had quite a few jams that we had to call a technician out for. The technician comes along and plugs his laptop into the machine and only then can you release the pressure of the fuser roller to get to the jam......it kinda defeats the purpose calling a techinician to clear jams for you!!!!! Other than that I know its probably the cheapest machine out there at the moment to start a business with so I'd say go for it.....on the other hand I would suggest you look into a Xerox 700 which will give you the same quality at double the speed!!!
     
  4. hmips

    hmips Member

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    We´ve got one here too.
    They say it works fine. I can just say printquality is fine (I´m just a consumer of this engines products). We use it for commercials, brochures and some internal newspaper production.
     
  5. Jeff

    Jeff Senior Member

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    The xerox customer replaceable unit design is a great design for anyone who is more than a few minutes from their tech and/or who doesn't have multiple machines to easily take up the slack while one is down for service.

    But I'm definitely intrigued by the cps900 -- have not seen any prints from it (at least none that were identified as being printed by it) and had not read about it until this thread. The 7-color engine seems quite interesting. Does that not translate into a superb color gamut? Also I'd be curious how the cps900's non-light-imaged-drum design holds up in terms of tonal range consistency and print imperfections after 20,000, 50,000 prints, etc.
     
  6. hmips

    hmips Member

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    Well in my opinion it is the big problem of océ that most possible customers never have heard anything about em.
    Take a tour at www.oce.com and look out for a customer center in your area.
     
  7. Hemlock

    Hemlock Member

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    I'd recommend against.


    Plusses -

    Drum life is measured in millions. No laser or other exposure needed as the image is created inside each of the 7 drums. Think of a monitor, which creates an image by charging pixels on a screen. Now, make a cylinder of that screen and have it make a tiny charge point to attract toner, instead of emitting light. That's how the drums work. You can run the machine with all the covers off (been there done that) with no loss in image quality whatsoever.

    No developer. 7 color monocomponent toner gives the exact same image (in theory) from the 1st print to the 10,000th.

    Negatives - (hold on, it's a long ride)

    Tech cost. This is a biggie. Most copiers you can likely find a tech who, even if he doesn't know the exacts on a machine, can figure it out. He can hit up Google to find out how to get into service/tech rep mode and reset errors/counters, et cetera. Probably even find part numbers online for replacements or consumables. Not so with Oce', they have the whole process locked down. The tech will have to have Factory authorization just to view the manuals. They'll need a laptop with Lotus Notes to view said manuals and parts lists. They'll also need that laptop along with a valid sds license to run simulations (test motors/sensors) and reset counters/errors. You aren't going to be able to just call the local copier shop.

    The start up and shut down procedure is 6 minutes from moderately warm up to 17 minutes if the machine is dead cold. Now, quite a few of the repair procedures require the machine to cool all the way down or come back up from dead. You're gonna pay an awful lot if you're on a charge per call basis.

    Parts cost. That drum, if you need to replace it, is a grand or more. The developer unit - same ballpark. The main fusing roller (called an intermediate) came up as 1800 or so (after the company discount our dealership gets). Cleaning rollers (called spirals, you need 2) are around a hundred each. No working around the spirals; when they're done, you're done.

    The spiral rollers; if they're not perfect, you'll get stripey copies.

    The intermediate - when you replace it, you have to replace a corresponding pressure roller. Not cheap.

    You have to add fusing oil.

    The trays. Oh, the trays. the bulk tray holds 3 reams. But only up to 32 pound. If you wanna run anything heavier, you have to use the 3 cassettes. 3 cassettes that hold a ream each. Think about this, if you're gonna run a print shop - you can only set it up to do 3 reams at a shot of heavy stock. Ream of heavy != 500 sheets. A ream of 110 lb is only 250 pages.

    No add on paper trays. that bulk tray and 3 cassettes is all you're gonna get.

    Did I mention parts costs? Just replaced a solenoid on a rotator - $1300. Yes, thirteen *hundred* dollars for a solenoid.

    Oh, the rotator. Y'know how you can load 8.5x11 going longways (landscape) in most machines? Not happenin'. It goes in portrait style and then has to get spun 90 degrees before hittng the optional bookletmaker.

    Bookletmaker only cuts one edge. Full bleed right off the machine ain't gonna happen.

    30 ppm. That's 15 pages per minute when you're running duplex. 17" duplex and you may wanna grab a book. Like War & Peace. Don't worry, you'll have time to finish it.


    I've got big love for the Konica Minolta 6500 (Oce' rebadged this as their CS650). Konica has consistently made good color stuff over the past decade or more; anything you get less than 6 or 7 years old (and low copy count) should serve you well. Downside is the PM every 200 to 400 k (can't remember exactly). And, this'll sound nuts, the new Sharp stuff runs pretty well. Hated Sharp for years but they've really made great strides lately.

    Unless they've had some kind of miracle, stay away from Kyocera color. Their b&w is really good for office work, but color is inconsistent and difficult to maintain. Toshiba color was ok but the guts of the machine and the service interface (sim mode) always seemed 5 years behind the industry.


    Good luck!
     
  8. agronomy

    agronomy Member

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    Wow well said Hemlock! This guy is right on the money!:D
     
  9. Hemlock

    Hemlock Member

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    Thanks; I don't necessarily hate Oce' - I work on the B&W and color. Their 250ppm B&W machine is amazing (does front & back at the same time for impossibly perfect duplex registration, speed & lack of jams). But whoever designed the 700/800/900 never bothered to ask a customer (or tech or salesperson) for input. Designed by engineers, for engineers.
     
  10. punter

    punter New Member

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    Hi Hemlock
    Can I ask what you mean in regards to that whoever designed the 700/800/900 never bothered to ask a customer. Also do you know if many of these machines were sold.
     
  11. Hemlock

    Hemlock Member

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    Paper trays are difficult to access, they hold an inordinately low amount of paper, it's horribly slow, requires a tech to clear a basic fuser jam, toner is a major pain in the rear to install.

    Not sure how many were sold.
     
  12. Uimeas

    Uimeas Member

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    Hemlock you basically stole the show! a great insight, so helpful for even me, thanks!
     
  13. Hemlock

    Hemlock Member

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    Thanks. It's been 4 years, I forgot this post is still out here.
     

  14. robsta

    robsta New Member

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    Hi,
    I know this is a really old thread but I thought I'd try it any way. I have a full set of used drums for the cps900 and I know it's a long shot. Would anyone know where I would sell these drums in the UK. Thanks.
     
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