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Author Topic: "Big Three" service philosophy differences  (Read 5465 times)

chilehead

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"Big Three" service philosophy differences
« on: September 27, 2006, 12:09:41 pm »

A visit to corporate websites with an eye toward after-the-sale service is very revealing.

Epson, has a "Professional Imaging" page:
Epson Professional Imaging page

HP, has a "Graphic Arts" page:
HP Graphic Arts page
With links to Pro Photo , Digital Fine Arts, Graphic Design and other areas.
Plus a "Large Format Printing Knowledge Center" that is really cool:
HP Large Format Printing Knowledge Center

Canon, has a "Large Format Printers" page:
Canon Large Format Printers page

A little digging and one can draw conclusions about who cares the most about their customers.  Having satisfactory experiences with equipment from all three companies, I am (hopefully) objective here in making the following ranking:

1.  HP has an extensive site, with training, drivers, and support guides.  (Heck, they even have support guides for the Z2100, a printer that has not even been released!)

2.  Epson, while more marketing oriented, also has a lot to offer from a support standpoint.  They are very good about making product updates available.

3.  (A VERY distant third.)  Canon has mostly marketing information, with a few links to drivers and software, most of which were probably included with the printer to begin with.  In other words, not much new.

If I missed anything, set me straight!

-Mark
« Last Edit: September 27, 2006, 12:10:36 pm by chilehead »
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tbonanno

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"Big Three" service philosophy differences
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2006, 11:40:52 am »

Quote
A visit to corporate websites with an eye toward after-the-sale service is very revealing.

3.  (A VERY distant third.)  Canon has mostly marketing information, with a few links to drivers and software, most of which were probably included with the printer to begin with.  In other words, not much new.

If I missed anything, set me straight!

-Mark
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=77992\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I've come to the same conclusion.. A very distant 3rd, which disturbs me as I'm enthused about the iPF5000.  Time will tell how well they get their act together.  Interesting that Canon's UK site is much more informative on the pro printers than their USA site.  Whoever is running the show here in the US needs to get their butt kicked as they are sending a very poor message to the market.  I've emailed them several times suggesting that they at least put the version numbers/dates on the drivers & software they have listed on the US site.  They apparently could care less.  Hope I'm wrong.
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Gary Damaskos

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"Big Three" service philosophy differences
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2006, 12:09:00 pm »

Personally I don't think it is that simple - of course time will tell. I dont trust HP at all. I have had expensive printers before from them and terrible customer service - and they wanted money all the time. I have had small problems with my Canon - and their phone service people have arranged overnight parts for me - and I was impressed and problem resolved fast. Nikon sold me a defective scanner that I had less than 2 weeks.  A month later still waiting - not what I call reall great CS. And epson - well, there are lots of stories - some good, some not. Inductive logic based on small observations has limits.

So for me I rate them today: Canon because I have recently received what I needed, Epson cause I trust them more than HP and no I can not prove why, and HP last because over the years I have expereinced and seen things that I did not like.
 The other side of the coin from where I sit
Gary



Quote
I've come to the same conclusion.. A very distant 3rd, which disturbs me as I'm enthused about the iPF5000.  Time will tell how well they get their act together.  Interesting that Canon's UK site is much more informative on the pro printers than their USA site.  Whoever is running the show here in the US needs to get their butt kicked as they are sending a very poor message to the market.  I've emailed them several times suggesting that they at least put the version numbers/dates on the drivers & software they have listed on the US site.  They apparently could care less.  Hope I'm wrong.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=78139\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
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tbonanno

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"Big Three" service philosophy differences
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2006, 12:32:04 pm »

Quote
So for me I rate them today: Canon because I have recently received what I needed, Epson cause I trust them more than HP and no I can not prove why, and HP last because over the years I have expereinced and seen things that I did not like.
 The other side of the coin from where I sit
Gary
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=78280\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I hope you are right Gary.  I like the iPF5000... and hope I like the support when I need it.  I've been using Canon cameras for over 36 years and have no complaints, but I'm getting the sense that the ImagePROGRAF printer organization is a different group altogether and still an unknown.  Time will tell.  I guess everyone has had mixed experiences with all the big tech companies.  Nature of the beast I suppose.  I will say that the Canon CPS camera folks are the best that I've experienced over the years.
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chilehead

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"Big Three" service philosophy differences
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2006, 02:08:33 pm »

Hmmn.  Perhaps I should have used the term "support" instead of service?

Canon's repair service seems adequate.  My Canon camera has not required repair, but my i9900, and my IS binoculars have.  Service on the binocs was done by the factory center, and was good, but not outstanding.  (Finger prints inside the eyepiece; but the alignment was good  .)

I chose to have the printer serviced at a local facility after locating them via Canon's website.  Finding them was quick and easy.

My biggest gripe with Canon is on the support of the printer.  95% of the troubleshooting, and instructional info on their website consists of material that shipped with the printer!  Good luck finding tips on using the printer to do anything remotely serious like printing with Photoshop.  I agree with the US vs UK assessment.  (Companies with a web presence must realize it's the World Wide Web!)

One would hope that owners of a high-end printer like the iPF5000 could expect more, and I hope that is the case.  (I'm not holding my breath.)

-Mark
« Last Edit: September 29, 2006, 02:23:09 pm by chilehead »
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neil snape

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"Big Three" service philosophy differences
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2006, 01:01:38 pm »

Being on the inside and only having enough time to work with one  ()HP) I see past support very good with the LFP's less so with consumer products. This is also localised so it's not the same in each country.

What I do know and what you correctly see is HP is making a big effort in this front, now, and in the near future, especially for the Z printers, but also the prosumer Photosmart 9180.
Things like integrated web server in the logic board of the printer, automatic web upgrades of firmware, software alerts through the printer utility, downloading media types and their associated profiles, relaying of the total printer information to HP support in the case of problems while online through the utility, and much more. The Z series goes further with the standard package of FAQ's , or taking it up a level to a support person, or with different support options, direct paid support levels again connected to your printer and so forth. And this is just the start. I have seen the suite that follows but of course I can only talk about what is there now and in the printers on this release (Z 2100 and 3100 have the same support base). It won't be perfect, but knowing that their intentions are there for not only making printers that are breaking ground, but support that will be there when you need it says everything about the release of the Z and 9180 printers.
I was surprised to even see quite good printed docs with the Z printer. It's backed up on a DVD with PDF's FAQ's, and films on installation and use.
Nice, very nice.
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Sfleming

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"Big Three" service philosophy differences
« Reply #6 on: October 02, 2006, 11:28:56 pm »

I suppose the industrial divison or the 'pro' printers is a whole other world but if you compare an HP printer to a Canon printer, build wise, .... the HP is a cheep piece of junk in comparrison.  Not to mention that they don't work for squat if you have a Mac and have upgraded to 10.4.7.
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tonywh

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"Big Three" service philosophy differences
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2006, 11:39:22 am »

my experiance with epson support as varied from outstandingly good to attrocious, with the average somewhere around poor. My favorites are a senior excecutive of epson uk support telling me they had only heard of one or two occassions of head clogging, and one helpline assistant saying that problems printing with obscure programs like photoshop and coral could not be considered a fault, if the test page printed everything was fine.
I have never contacted canon support which is realy to there credit as I have more canon printers  than epson and to be quite honest there current track record of reliability is far more important than good support of unreliable in my experiance epsons.
I have no experiance of HP.

tony
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