The Good Old Days

Many people my age are nostalgic for "The Good Old Days". For office equipment, however, the good old days are now. 

As a service technician, I have seen tremendous change both in processes and in the equipment over the last 25 years.

When I started in 1984, a typical service call took twice as long as it does today, while generating much more waste per click.

It was common for large production machines to have maintenance intervals of 20-30k. This would be like having your car serviced (for 4-6 hours at a time) every week or every 1000 miles.

Back in the day, many copiers used liquid toner. This is as bad as it sounds. The liquids were flammable and VERY toxic. Many unscrupulous individuals simply poured this hydrocarbon cocktail into the sewer to dispose of it. In today's society that would never be allowed.

Office equipment today is cleaner, easier to repair, and runs more reliably. For the end user, the future is even brighter. The machines themselves have more productivity increasing features than ever before.

They have incorporated the technology that previously was only available in commercial printing equipment into every day document production, allowing end users to often times fix an issue without waiting for technical assistance.

Xerox has also made a real commitment to the future. From the reduction of hazardous materials in manufacturing (RoHS) to the implementation of the ColorQube family and it's Solid Ink Technology, Xerox has shown an impressive and innovative environmental focus.

And to the future that my 5 year old granddaughter will one day inherit, with companies like the Northwest Group (CTX, QBSI and Pinnell) and Xerox working hand-in-hand, it can only get better.

- Mark: Senior Service Technician