Berkeley Lab has chosen Microtech International (MTI) as the new vendor to provide servicing of Hewlett Packard printers. MTI has certified HP technicians and can do warranty repairs at no charge -- HP pays for the labor and parts for printers under warranty. MTI also provides all the parts for the work, eliminating one of the primary bottlenecks in servicing printers in the past (previously, the Mac/PC Support Group had to do all the parts ordering). MTI also stocks common parts for HP printers, so the mean time to repair should decrease next year.

There will be no change in how Lab customers ask for help. All printer repairs for HP printers should still be sent to the help desk via Web form or by phoning the Help Desk at X4357.

Employees should note that the Lab has been unable to find a printer-repair vendor that will include Tektronix printers among the equipment they support, and the Lab cannot afford to stock replacement parts for Tektronix printers. Tektronix users will have to arrange for their own repairs on these devices with Xerox Corp., which bought the Tektronix printer line. The Mac/PC Support Group has a purchase order with Xerox that is in effect until October. Current rates for Tektronix support are $225 for the first 30 minutes (with a minimum of 30 minutes) and $42 for each additional 15 minutes - these rates apply from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. For after-hours support and on weekends, the charge is for a minimum of four hours at $225 for first 30 minutes and $70 for each additional 15 minutes. Also, there is no alternative vendor to suggest since Xerox appears to want to keep the business in house.

Because of maintenance issues and costs, the Computing Infrastructure Support Department recommends the HP printer line instead of Tektronix, unless there are specific technical features available only on Tektronix printers.