iGen4 Technician recommendation

[vanhorngraphics]

We are looking for an iGen4 technician to service an iGen4. We have not purchased it yet, but intend to soon and need to have a tech available.

My questions are:

Do we need a tech or can these be maintained fairly easily by an operator?
How often do they need to have PMs done?
Are there techs other than those employed by Xerox?
We have found one, but would like other options if he becomes unavailable.

Thanks for any useful input.

 

[peels]

about 80% good for operator, if theyre not afraid of getting their hands dirty. I can generally get through just about any problem... but theres a fine line.

as far as service...? no idea. @Milo Wilson

 

[vanhorngraphics]

Yup, Milo is the one we know about.

Just hoping to find a backup if he isn't available.

;-)

 

[vanhorngraphics]

How often do they need to have PMs done?

 

[richman]

Speaking from an operator perspective I would say most companies like to hire operators as cheaply as possible. The igen4's and up are big improvements over the igen3's which require more downtime for maintenance. But still, there is a major difference between a good operator and some guy off the streets. Unfortunately, many companies don't see it that way. You get what you pay for! haha

Depending on what you use your igen for, you will need more/less maintenance.
If you do the same long run jobs all the time, it will be easier to manage. If you are going to do lots of smaller, high quality jobs you will want a good operator who can handle the change of pace. Many of the typical technician-level PMs can be handled by an experienced operator.

Still, you will definitely want to have a few techs on-call (depending on how booked you are). I don't know where you would look to find non-Xerox techs (other than Milo).

Parts do break or malfunction. It's a complex machine with lots of electrical wiring and components. Things will fail from time to time. And sometimes even diagnosing the problem can be very time consuming. And as the machine ages it goes downhill. You start getting problems you never had before. It's just the way it goes.

The machine tells you when PMs are due. After a certain number of clicks. I tend to do things as needed rather than all at once, but you can expect to be changing a consumable roughly every 100k impressions or so. But every component will vary. Cleaning can be done daily. Maybe 30 mins a day. Depends on what I need the machine for. Some jobs don't require as much maintenance. Ideally this machine is better for long run jobs.

 

[peels]

Yup, Milo is the one we know about.

Just hoping to find a backup if he isn't available.

;-)

Ill come to Florida to fix it any time during the winter. just make sure you give me a beach day LOL this California kid hates these Midwest winters.

I will add to my post, and some to what Richman said. It is important to have a rapport with a technician. A quick phone call can save a days work. Really, I could just use the service software...not have to wait for someone to come look at it. My igen is getting WAY up there in age(2010). My tech(from xerox) complains all the time about wanting it gone. but i only have service calls once every couple months, I handle everything in between. And.. usually have it nailed down by the time they get here, just needing correct parts ordered, or board and micro-electrical work (which is where I draw the line) Right now, I have the stacker belt drives torn into bits due to a squeak that turned out to be a seized bearing, that completely granaded. tech never touched it, I just sent a pic and "need this shaft" and its ordered. -VGT 2 drive shaft. (they ordered the wrong one though(vgt1) LOL)

i have many places where its jerry rigged... safety covers missing, springs gone... but the damn thing is reliable! I just gave it a detail cleaning last week. exterior looks new.. cleaned all the rollers..

as far as maintenance goes, I am a bit opposite to @richman MOST of my work is not meant for me. its overdue, mishandled, or jobs that are faulted in some way, that need to get re-done quickly, with the least amount of manipulation. I only really do maintenance when a few things all lapse at the same time. Most work is low coverage....but if its looking semi-bad, while doing a big run of Black and white... and then i get hit with a full coverage postcard... its maintenance time-i go whole hog. clean/fix/replace. this works well for me. especially, since the entirety of my training was "here you go, this is the UI, now make the drawers run variable stocks"

 

[Frank Ricci]

@Milo Wilson
Milo is the only one allowed to touch my Igen

 

[vanhorngraphics]

Milo has been great...no doubt. He has solved some of our issues of the phone. We ended up getting the iGen 150 over the iGen4. It's a great machine when it isn't down...but down-time has been hurting us. I wish Milo was local!! He seems to be very well known in the iGen community and has been a great help to us. He set up our machine and trained us on the maintenance also. I wish we could just clone him to have him here full time! LOL.