DocuTechs I've known

This note explains how to find a Xerox DocuTech 135 to print your job. (I assume you're familiar with my Introduction to RIPping.)

I often use DocuTechs when I'm on the road, away from Toronto. Usually, I use Kinko's. I have used Kinko's locations in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, New York, ..., well, you get the drift. But I have to say that the service is intermittent, at best. I've frequently found the network down, the network up but the spooler down, the machine tied up for the next 4 days, etc. Call first, and confirm that they've got a DocuTech, that it's available, and that everything is working. I know this sounds pedantic. Trust me. The great thing about DocuTech is that if you prepare the job correctly, and you jump through all of the hoops to get to the machine, and if it prints at all, then it prints perfectly.

Although Kinko's DocuTech service is generally unreliable but usable, this Palo Alto location is superb, and the La Jolla (San Diego) and Austin locations are very good:

Kinko's
249 California Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94306
U.S.A.
tel: +1 650 328 3381
fax: +1 650 328 7518

Kinko's La Jolla (For Canadians: "laah HOY-ah")
8849 Villa La Jolla Drive
La Jolla, CA 94306
U.S.A.
tel: +1 619 457 3775
fax: +1 619 457 0946

Kinko's
9222 Burnett Road, #101
Austin, TX 78758
U.S.A.
tel: +1 512 339 1191
fax: +1 512 339 1625

Aside from these gems, service at Kinko's is spotty. (Who knows, personnel might have changed at those locations.) In any event Kinko's charges an arm and a leg. Try to find a local, independent shop, if you can. I think you'll find that service and price will be better by far. Search the Yellow Pages! Search on the Internet!

Here are the guys I [used to] use in Toronto:

Print Three (ask for Adrian)
Yonge-Eglinton Centre
2300 Yonge St
Toronto ON M4P 1E4
Toronto, ON M4P 1E4
Canada
tel: +1 416 481 5159
e-mail: print3.ye@sympatico.ca

Here are three particularly great places outside of Toronto:

Techniprint
2545 N. Seventh Street
Phoenix, AZ 85006
U.S.A.
tel: +1 602 257 0686

San Jose Blue
835 West Julian Street
San Jose, CA 94306
U.S.A.
tel: +1 408 295 5770
fax: +1 408 971 3299
e-mail: MacPrinting@SJBlue.com, PCPrinting@SJBlue.com

Call Print (ask for Stuart)
163-167 Great Portland Street
London W1N 5FD
England
tel: +44 171 580 7122
fax: +44 171 580 7083

Try to find a shop is reasonably computer-savvy, so that you are able to submit your file by e-mail. Beware file size; anything more than about a megabyte could potentially cause trouble. Learn about MIME attachments.

Charles - Introduction to RIPping
2001-02-21 (b)