Blending High-Tech Equipment
with Old-fashioned Service

Office-equipment Retailers Help
Clients Meet Needs Efficiently

by Heidi Thomas

When Blackburn Office Equipment opened in Belling-ham in 1945, all office machines were mechanical – typewriters, mimeograph and adding machines. Then came the state-of-the-art electronic versions. Now, it’s rare even to find an electric typewriter in any office and you probably need to be at least 50 years old to know what a mimeograph machine is.

Today, with everything computerized, high-output and integrated, the office-equipment industry isn’t in the business of just selling copiers anymore.

“We’re becoming more and more of a consulting business,” reports Ron Taylor, owner of Office Systems Northwest in Bellingham. “The two industries are blending.”

Office Systems Northwest not only sells Konica and Hewlett-Packard office equipment, but — because everything is software-driven these days — also offers network-management services. These include designing networks, installing security firewalls and integrating systems.

Companies now offer application- and solution-based products.

“We listen to our customers’ needs and see how we can adapt our product to them,” Blackburn’s Jim Olson states.

“We look at where you are today, where you want to be in five years and how you expect to get there,” Taylor says. “We look for the flexible solution, something that will grow with your business. There is no real ‘one-piece-fits-all.’”

Calling Office Systems Northwest a “best-of-breed company,” Taylor and sales manager Dwayne Neufield explain that they offer a wide range of products and will even “shop around” for you. In business 20 years, Office Systems Northwest employs four software engineers and Taylor plans to double the copier sales and support staff to six in the next three months.

“We keep reinventing ourselves,” Taylor quips. “We were the first to introduce the fax (machine) in the area and are the first to take on the consulting role.”

“We try to help businesses build a firm foundation, because you never know what’s around the corner in technology,” adds Neufield.

Another company that combines computer and office equipment lines is CompuCare. It carries Canon office products, but also custom-builds “open architecture and industry-standard” computer systems, and features complete systems as well as “cutting-edge” components in stock, says Patrick Ranaud.

 

Fast and versatile

Small businesses need at least the “basic three” machines to start out — fax, copier and scanner. One of the latest trends in office equipment is the multifunctional device, which starts at around $1,000 and combines these three into one unit.

“In the past, copiers did just that — copy. Now, they’re a fully integrated system,” observes Rick Michaels, owner of Michael Business Machines, which provides Toshiba products from its Bellingham store to customers in Whatcom and Skagit counties.

Some printer-copiers, such as the Minolta and Muratec lines carried by Oasys, have an output of 600 pages per minute (ppm) and start at about $1,300, advises Allen Grenz, owner of the Mount Vernon business, which has many Whatcom County clients.

Some new digital, connectable printer-copiers can be connected to a computer system, single PC or a network. With these units, you can print, collate, punch and staple, all without leaving your desk. With another option, you can scan a document to your computer program, make a copy and send an e-mail while standing at the copier.

These printer-copiers can save a business money by combining several machines into one and bring down the per-page cost by printing at “blazing speed,” explains Fred Schacht, owner of Benchmark Document Solutions in Bellingham. Because of the paradigm shift in the workplace — fewer people doing more jobs — the customer can “get more from his assets” with these machines.

Another machine that “isn’t your father’s copier” is the newest in color copiers. Benchmark carries the Xerox Color Series 50, which puts out 12.5 pages per minute, features five paper drawers, document feeder, auto duplexing, sorting and the ability to print on 12-point cardstock. It produces photo-quality color at a cost of 15 cents a page, as well as excellent black-and-white copies for 1.5 cents at a rate of 50 ppm, Schacht says. The machine retails at about $30,000, but most of Benchmark’s installations are leased. The lease price varies with number of trade-ins and type of contract with the individual business.

Blackburn carries a similar machine, the Sharp full-color copier, which can be hooked to the network, makes copies from 15-25 ppm, duplexed and up to 11x17 full-bleed process color, says Olson.

 

Improved phone systems

Telephone systems are another area of office automation linked to the computer revolution. Phil Bratt, owner of Baron Telecommunications in Bellingham, sees a continuous introduction of “more intuitive, easier-to-use” products. With advanced technology, “We are doing more with less,” he observes.

For example, where it once took 50 wires to connect mechanical phone systems, the new digital systems are down to using two wires. And with 3COM technology, when wiring a new building, installers can use the same wire for both voice and data products, Bratt explains.

Another advance in telephones is the speech recognition feature. Instead of the caller reaching an automated greeting telling him to “dial one… dial two…” etc., he can simply state who or what he needs.

 

Savings fuel demand

Despite news reports that the national economy is slowing, the office-equipment industry continues to grow.

“When the economy is down, there is more interest in investing in products that bring immediate cost savings,” notes Schacht. “New technology brings new opportunities.”

“Everybody is more cost-conscious because of the energy situation,” agrees Grenz. “And it helps if you can bring your printing costs down from 3-4 cents to 1 cent a page.”

“The economy may be causing things to happen,” adds Taylor. “Businesses want to be as cost-effective as possible. Leases also allow companies to continue to upgrade.”

Olson, on the other hand, believes that most in the industry are overlooking the predictions. “Personally, I think it’s too much media. They’re determined to talk us into a recession. The world has to keep on going. We all still need the same things.”

 

Solid reputations

Office systems and solutions are available for any need and tailored to the individual business by long-time, reputable businesses in the Whatcom County area.

Oasys, started by Grenz’s father, Jim, has been in business 19 years and employs four on-site technicians to cover a five-county region. It recently purchased Neff Internal Systems to add computers, network, software and phone systems, repair and support to its business repertoire. Oasys received the Elite Dealer Award in 2000 from Office Dealer Magazine, and its technicians have received regional awards for service support from Minolta.

Michael Business Machines is the only authorized Toshiba dealer in Whatcom and Skagit counties and has radio-dispatched, factory-trained technicians guaranteed to respond within four hours. Rick Michaels has been in business 27 years, and is proud of Toshiba’s reliability and support. He says it’s the only company in the world that will exchange machines on a one-to-one basis if the customer is not happy with what he purchased.

Michael carries small digital copiers and multifunctional fax/scanner/printer packages, as well as those that staple, punch and sort. The company can outfit a small start-up business as well as large corporations and organizations.

CompuCare started in 1993 and has three Washington stores. It is listed in the top 100 system-builders in the country. The company supplies hardware, network administration and set-up, design and maintenance for clients such as the Navy, a local-based national streaming-video company and a large local plant, which contracts for 70 workstations.