Oki Printers - what are they like

[sonofsanta]

Just to inject some positivity into the thread then... we moved to all Oki (the ES series, not C) on a managed solution just over a year ago and they've been fine. Toners last for ages, and don't cost me a penny on a managed service. Quality is fine, speed is quick, don't need too much attention from us, not really got any big complaints.

Minor problems are that the toners dump loose toner into the drum, so you soon learn to be careful and cautious when changing them, otherwise you get toner everywhere. The paper trays can be a little stiff as well but fit loads of sheets in so not as big an issue. The only model that we've had major problems with has been the ES5460, which is a rebadged consumer model (C5550 iirc), but the 4140, 6410, 7120, 8460 have all been brilliant for us.

Let me know if you want to know more.

[mrbios]

We're another that have gone with Canon for managed printers, LBP5970s are the main ones throughout the school IT rooms, MFP's are used in "areas" elsewhere. Pretty good printers overall, and like AT says, no driver issues what so ever. We're using Uniflow print management software to manage them which, while expensive is very very good and does everything we've asked of it.

I on the other hand do have some Oki experience, and to say it's not a good one would be an understatement. We have 3 in total, one was bought for the art department because it could do really long banners, it doesn't always notify our management company to send us out toners like the canons do, but when it does they sometimes can't even get stock! (apparently what happened in japan has affected these) and that's not to mention the one we've ditched completely because it was so problematic so regularly we just gave up on it. Plus our management company just tell us to bin the empties because they can't be reloaded, whereas with the canons we either send or someone picks up the empties and they get refilled which is much more environmentally friendly.

The okis also seem to make a right mess when changing the toners.

EDIT: just to add, we had kyocera before the Canons, they broke down a lot but apart from that were pretty good, didn't like the drivers much though. (physically they were very easy to take a part and get right into the bowls of the thing)

From a networking point of view, canons have been the best. From a quality stand point then it's Oki (but at a cost), being a school i know which i prefer.

[Liam]

Such contrasting opinions. I'm still none the wiser. Have a demo printer coming tomorrow so I'm sure I'll know more when I let it loose in a btec class of 30 who just love printing . I appreciate all your comments.

[bossman]

@Liam:

We have 2 managed E series OKI printers for our Art and DT departments as they required a printer which would do both A3 and A4 on 140g card to which this model copes with very well.

With it being managed we have an application which sits on one of our print servers to which the company involved can automatically take readings from our machines and also send out replacement toner and drums.

Have had them for 2 years now and no problems so far, both departments are very happy with them.

[hit]

Just add my 2p, I inherited a load of C series when I took over one school, they are a bit heavy on toner but the print quality is very good. Not had the network problems that others talk about here but I find that the pickup rollers don't last very long, I did managed to snaffle a bag of 50 from an engineer that visited the site though which has helped.

[Cache]

I have a couple of Oki C830's here which are used mainly for A3 printing and quite happy with them.

One of them had an issue where, for some reason, it would appear as offline to the server yet everything was fully accesible. A tweak to the network settings on the printer (I think it was the network size setting) and not had a problem with it since.

[this_is_gav]

Given the age of the printer, this post is next to useless, but in my first year here (2000-2001) we bought an OKI C7200. It needed a service after around 5 years due to an electrical issue, but other than that it worked flawlessly until last year. In its tenth anniversary year it we had streaks of the yellow toner across the pages, and while a good clean and a replacement of fuser unit may have been enough, it had become expensive to run (due to the lack of consumables for such an old printer the prices steadily rose year on year). I had to change a fan not long before, but I have to admit I was stunned with its reliability and resilience. It jammed far less than any of the printers we've bought since.

Since then I've bought a Xerox (6250), the build quality of which is utter rubbish, and driver continuity which has been... well patchy at best - somehow I've managed to get working 32-bit and 64-bit drivers working so they're deploying, but it took an absolute age to get there, as I had to use Windows Update as well the published ones, and matching them took an age.

Our most recent printers are Konica Minoltas, based on a recommendation. They seem solid enough, the drivers work fine, and they're fantastically efficient in terms of toner use.

[andadvice]

Hi Liam

I have read with interest the posts. I can add a positive here. I think but stand under correction that some of the managed service issues listed may have been as a result of the incorrect devices. I have knowledge which suggests that OKI Executive Series products are better suited to the managed environment. Your supplier may be recommending this solution above the stand C series products. The ES as they are commonly known have different toners with higher capacities and yields resulting in a lower cost per copy. Maybe get them to clarify for you. I can only say that from my experience ES is the answer 0 good running costs, low downtime. Have you asked for case studies or customer referrals?

Hi guys

We have used kyocera here for years and they have proved to be very good.

Recently i have been looking into a managed print solution and OKI are the main supplier of a company we have been recommended.
Everything i have read has been negative so far.

Is there anything positive that anyone can add for me?

Thanks in anticipation.

[RTFM]

Just me that has 15 or so OKI B4600n printers dotted around in IT Suites and hasn't ever had a single problem with them......

Drivers are fine, they've never lost settings, they are robust and easy to manage.....

We even have a few 4350's that are approaching 7 or 8 years old and are still battling on without issue.....

The toners for the 4600 are about £70 for the high capacity genuine but we use Silicon Alley and their inkwell system so we don't pay for what is in stock only what we use. I don't think the cost is particularly high. Oki support is good and they re a fairly easy printer to do basic fixes on yourself.

Not uite sure why everyone else is having so many issues, I must be the exception rather than the rule.......lucky me!!! *touch wood*

[andadvice]

Good to see others also seem to have a positive experience. I in fact have an old C5350dn at home. It sits in my summer house - not insulated at all and used mainly on weekends to print coursework etc. Never ever had an issue other than in very cold weather the paper becomes tricky to handle. This is down top the paper rather than the printer itself. I use it at home with my macbook and driver install was perfect. Must add that the support element of OKI seems to be really first class. I have heard of and read several posts confirming this.

Just me that has 15 or so OKI B4600n printers dotted around in IT Suites and hasn't ever had a single problem with them......

Drivers are fine, they've never lost settings, they are robust and easy to manage.....

We even have a few 4350's that are approaching 7 or 8 years old and are still battling on without issue.....

The toners for the 4600 are about £70 for the high capacity genuine but we use Silicon Alley and their inkwell system so we don't pay for what is in stock only what we use. I don't think the cost is particularly high. Oki support is good and they re a fairly easy printer to do basic fixes on yourself.

Not uite sure why everyone else is having so many issues, I must be the exception rather than the rule.......lucky me!!! *touch wood*