Copier Dealers Eliminate “No-Problem Found” Service Calls with Line Power Conditioning

(PRWEB) February 16, 2005

Most copy machine dealers routinely deal with machines that inexplicably spew error codes, costing wasted time and money on service calls that come back as “no problem found.” Yet, with increasing frequency, dealers are turning to power conditioning units that filter “dirty” line power into “computer grade” power that allows the machine to operate as designed without the temporal damage caused by frequent spikes or over-voltages. New innovations have now brought the price of full-featured power conditioners down to that of a simple surge protector, so that dealers can afford to put one on every copier.

“The feedback from our dealers is that when they follow our recommendations of using a good quality line filter, they have experienced a decreased number of service calls; which has increased their bottom line and improved customer satisfaction,” says Anthony LoGiudice, Assistant VP of Service for Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd.

According to studies by well-known manufacturers and independent labs, 87% of power-related component failures result from low-voltage spikes and surges that cause “logic confusion” which yields system errors and frozen screens.

In response, recent technological advancements in the field of power conditioning have now yielded devices that provide “computer grade” power — a clean, filtered power supply to the copy machine — at the same price as limited-function surge protectors. Known as transformer based filtering (TBF) devices, their protective feature set is such that some copier OEMs have already recognized the benefits and started recommending these new TBF power conditioners.

“For three years now, I’ve been highly recommending the use of power conditioners from SmartPower Systems to all our dealers,” says Sharp’s LoGiudice. “By putting this product on the line you can actually eliminate many reliability problems.”

Located in Houston, Texas, SmartPower Systems (http://www.smartpowersystems.com) has traditionally been an innovator of hi-performance power conditioning and UPS products for the mission critical market. But in 2002, SmartPower developed a new circuit and patented the third generation of its “TBF for digital” technology that creates electronic power conditioners with more features, such as prolonged over-voltage protection. If the power goes too high (>160VAC) for more than 12 cycles (200 milliseconds) — which is powerful enough blow out the power supply and motherboard of most machines — then it cuts the power off to the protected device. This prevents any further damage to the copier machine and significantly reduces unnecessary service calls.

“If a dealer were in San Francisco, where we have lots of dirty power, they could reduce service calls by 40% using the SmartPower TBF,” says Bob Schoon, President of Schoon Corporation of San Leandro, California; with 30 continuous years in the copier-fax-printer business. “The lower price point makes it a no-brainer to make sure you have a power conditioner on the line.”

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