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The Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library operates an
Ozalid 5025 copier. It is owned by a commercial vendor who
provides all copiers & copier maintenance here at UCSD
libraries and also at the University of Arizona I
understand. They set the copier price @ $2.00 for UCSD
people and $3.00 for non-UC people. A copy is 36" wide by
any manageable length (the paper is on a 500' roll).
The copy quality of this Ozalid is quite good when it is
working, but crashes occur frequently. Parts and labor are
expensive and overall I believe the machine is a money loser
for this vendor. I have observed a high turnover rate of
their technicians and in addition to operating the machine
for library users I find it necessary to train the
under-trained repairmen on how to fix and load toner &
paper. The unforgiving nature of this machine requires that
I run it rather than allow self-service. The Ozalid was
purchased by this vendor rather than a Xerox brand because
only Ozalid would sell them parts and allow service to be
performed by this vendor instead of Ozalid technicians.
The large format copier will revolutionize how a map
collection is used and who will want to use it. Consider
all ramifications carefully before investing in this tool.
- Paul Leverenz
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