HP Latex 310 Needing Service

[Stephenedwardgraphic]

I've got an older HP Latex 310 needing service that is no longer under warranty. I think the pump that creates the ink vacuum is going out.

What is everyone doing for service on these? When you call HP they want you pay $2000 and then they come out to fix it no matter how small the problem is (well that was $2000 last year, I'm sure with inflation that has gone up ). Just curious if there are other tech companies out there that fix these machines.

 

[BigNate]

I've got an older HP Latex 310 needing service that is no longer under warranty. I think the pump that creates the ink vacuum is going out.

What is everyone doing for service on these? When you call HP they want you pay $2000 and then they come out to fix it no matter how small the problem is (well that was $2000 last year, I'm sure with inflation that has gone up ). Just curious if there are other tech companies out there that fix these machines.

1)Pay the service and start printing - 2)print lots of rolls at a good price and then laugh to the bank...... (this assumes you have the business to keep a printer busy....)

The price tag on repairs seems steep but you will find that for a shop with business, the cost of repair is tiny when compared to the cost of down-time (What, you mean I still have to pay my workers even though we can't print?!!!) (as a side exercise, try calculating what you would charge to send a technician somewhere - it adds up quick - One of my employees should easily be able to print $10k billable in a day - what should I charge to send that operator somewhere that will take 6-8 hours? if they stay here I will gross $10k - remove the machine and supply costs for printing, and there is still a $5k gross profit. If I send that person to fix a customers machine, I will need to have a gross profit of $5k to make it break even... ballpark your own figures to see how it is in your neck of the woods, but these days a few $k to fix something is par for the course.)

We had a digicoil that would have an $8k repair bill every-other year.... but I made almost $200k of coiled books between breaks, making the $8k significantly less expensive than any other option for coiling that many books - I would often have the internal argument that I could buy a pretty good used car, OR repair the DigiCoil... the $8k was a good investment. (tip: pull 1-2% of your gross sales to a savings account to pay for machine service - it makes scrounging up the cash for repairs less painful....)

 

[jagsouthern]

I've got an older HP Latex 310 needing service that is no longer under warranty. I think the pump that creates the ink vacuum is going out.

What is everyone doing for service on these? When you call HP they want you pay $2000 and then they come out to fix it no matter how small the problem is (well that was $2000 last year, I'm sure with inflation that has gone up ). Just curious if there are other tech companies out there that fix these machines.

Buy the service manual from Sign-in-china. Buy parts from digiprint supplies. Make repairs. Back in business. Spend the 2k on something else!

 

[cornholio]

Buy the service manual from Sign-in-china. Buy parts from digiprint supplies. Make repairs. Back in business. Spend the 2k on something else!

Having the manual doesn't make you a service technician, much less an experienced one.
Buying and replacing parts out of the blue brings you close to the 2k pretty quickly, but not necessarily closer to a working printer.
A little hint: The HP ink system uses pressure, not vacuum. So the APS could be the culprit. But it could also be leak in the pressure system or even in one of the PIPs or a leaking cartridge.

 

[BigNate]

Buy the service manual from Sign-in-china. Buy parts from digiprint supplies. Make repairs. Back in business. Spend the 2k on something else!

if the machine is running, I can make more that $2000 with the time it would take me to order and then repair the machine (and I consider myself good at repairs).... presumably the technician has enough knowledge in his field to make the repair go quickly and efficiently - but int he time it takes you to hassle with fixing the printer, I can leverage my time to make at least double the service charge. I expect any busy sign shop should be able to do the same.... How many prints do you need to make to pay for the service? and haven't you been siphoning off a percentage of billables to go toward machine maintenance? Maintenance should be considered a normal job expense just like ink and paper.

 

[richsweeney]

I just had our 360 worked on, paid a little over 2k. That seems to be a no more than price. I don't see how they are making any money. They sent a bunch of parts and the tech worked until 10pm. This is a great deal.