We always provide a surge protector with the copiers we sell because most people think a power strip is a surge protector. It’s not. It’s easy to confuse the two and I’ve done so myself. We go to a box stores to buy a PC or something and see the section with power strips and power protectors and buy something on sale thinking we’re covered. Well those of us in Texas know some of these storms can get kind of crazy. In fact, we sometimes get service calls after a storm and the business lost a piece of equipment because of lightning, even though the equipment was on a power protection device of some kind.
I took the time to get educated on this matter. I assumed all surge protectors were the same. The more I investigated this I started to realize there are differences and the differences are often confusing and hard to explain. However, I eventually connected with the right people who sold several lines of surge protectors. They explained the different brands and what the differences were.
They are all good and better than nothing but my current favorite is made by a company named Smart Power. These high end surge protectors can’t be found in a store. They are usually resold by the same people who sell copiers because they are pretty sophisticated. Even though they can cost around a $100 if they save a copier/MFP that cost between $5,000 and $10,000 it’s probably worth it. It isn’t just thunder storms that take out equipment. It can be power surges or power fluctuations caused by nearby construction or grid problems.
Feel free to call us if you have any questions but I would put some kind of surge protector on your copier even if it’s a cheap one.
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