Derek, at 16:26 on May 07 1996, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

DW>> I fully support their stand. 

BG> Feathering your own nest, more likely.

DW> Nope.  I'm not associated with them at all.

In that case, you are an extremely fortunate fellow.  :)

DW>> If the service manuals got into general distribution, there would be
DW>> all sorts of people doing repairs on their products.  They want to
DW>> keep the quality of repairs up to standard.  

BG> Crap.  Now try explaining why, as I've been a qualified and experienced
BG> technician for almost 30 years, Canon are the ONLY company who have
BG> ever refused to provide me with service information in all that time. 

DW> And the reason for that is outlined above.  

That's rubbish, Derek.  For a start, there is nothing preventing anybody
from setting themselves up in business repairing Canon printers if they so
desired, and doing so without the benefit of proper service manuals, and in
that case, the quality of repairs would suffer even more than if Canon at
least had the decency to sell manuals on demand.  After all, Sharp,
Panasonic, NEC, Sony, Sanyo, JVC, and in fact, ALL other major
manufacturers are quite happy to sell or provide service information to
ANYBODY who requires it, whether they are qualified technicians or not.

BG> It has nothing whatsoever to do with maintaining standards in my case,
BG> and even the TPC agree that their attitude is restrictive of trade.

DW> Take a look at the car industry, in particular luxury cars.  When a new 
DW> model is released, the mechanics and general service people have to undergo 
DW> a training course. 

That's no less true of the electronics industry as well.  Besides, we have
several Mercs in our family, and Mercedes-Benz Australia have never refused
to sell service manuals for any of their "luxury" vehicles. 
Canon are basically the only company I know of who attempt to restrict free
trade.

DW> If mechanics other than trained service people touch a vehicle, the 
DW> warranty can be voided.  This is also often true of computers 
DW> and peripherals.

If somebody chooses to void their warranty, that's their problem but if
they wish to repair or service their OWN car, computer, printer, or
whatever once that warranty has expired, are you seriously suggesting that
they shouldn't be allowed to ?  Especially when they are QUALIFIED to do so
?

DW>> I have found them to be a great company.

BG> Oh really?  Ever tried getting Canon to supply drivers for their
BG> products?  Canon are quite happy to flood the market with their

DW> I have no hassles getting drivers.  You can call their multiline BBS on 
DW> (02) 805-2619 and download them. 

Sure, several months AFTER that printer has been released for general sale,
and chances are that Canon didn't write those drivers anyway.  I've had my
BJ-300 for 4 years now, yet for the first 2 years, I had to use the IBM or
Epson emulations, until a third-party saw fit to write specific drivers for
it.

BG> second-rate bubblejet printers, yet expect others to go to all the
BG> trouble of providing drivers for them.  Their products suck, and their
BG> attitude is even worse.

DW> I have not had any trouble with Canon products, both photographic and 
DW> computer.  Because of their reliability, I haven't had to use their 
DW> service, though.   ;-)

Boy, are you going to in for a nasty surprise when you do then.  Canon's BJ
printers are NOT reliable, and have always had major ongoing problems with
their print-heads and purge units (i.e. the ink pumping mechanism).

BTW, the 50 cent pump is not available separately, and must be replaced as
an entire assembly with the purge unit - cost around $180 plus labour. 
With new bubblejet printers available for around $230, why would anyone
bother?

Regards, Bill

--- Msgedsq/2 3.20