By John S. Krill
first published October 1999
Catch 22 of Printers
The customer needed a new fax. I was
asked to recommend one. I suggested they get a
combination printer, scanner, and fax. They liked that
idea and purchased a Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet 600C.
It’s a Copier/Fax - NO -
It’s a Printer/Scanner/Fax
This is the catch 22 of printers. If it
is used as a stand-alone machine then it is a Copier/Fax
and if you connect it to a computer it is a
Printer/Scanner/Fax. Well so what? The so what is that
the machine must be initialized before it will function
and the only way to initialize this machine is as a
Printer/Scanner/Fax. That’s right - it has to be
connected to a computer.
Well what if you are going to use it as
a Copier/Fax and don’t have a computer handy? Hey,
it happens! In this case then the store where you
purchased your Copier/Fax must initialize it for you.
That’s right they connect it to a computer and
initialize it as a Printer/Scanner/Fax. Once that is done
then YOU can use it as a Copier/Fax. Here rest the
problem. People aren’t working at computer stores
because of the great potential for stock-options, no
they’re there because THAT’S ALL THEY COULD
GET!
So when the salesman said the machine
has been initialized you can bet your bippy that
ain’t so and you would be correct.
Customer buys machine. Tales it to the
office, sets it up and nothing. Customer calls me and
tells me to get down here and get this thing working. I
go to the customer’s office and call Hewlett-Packard
and tell them exactly what the machine is doing, nothing,
and they tell me it hasn’t been initialized. They
tell me how to initialize the machine and we part
friends.
The customer suggested we return the
machine to the store, Circuit City, and have them
initialize the machine. I say they already had their
chance to initialize. I take the machine back to my
office and connect it to my computer and initialize the
machine. It is now a Printer/Scanner/Fax. Works fine.
I take the machine back to the customer
and set it up as a Copier/Fax and everything works fine.
Moral of the story. There isn’t
one. You buy these things and take your chances.
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