In addition to basic systems, we can provide most system components- for either installation/integration by ourselves, or the client.

We deal with products from most component manufacturers, and extend the full manufacturers' warranties on all items.  

Component products include for example: Tape & disk storage drives, CD & DVD Writers & readers, optical scanners, digital cameras and printers - laser, inkjet, thermal wax & dye sublimation - wide carriage printers/plotters, modems & cable & wireless networking products.

Some components are held in stock for sale or as spares for system support.  When not in stock, we can still provide virtually all items overnight or within 24 hours.

Following are details of a small selection  of the products we recommend & routinely supply:

 

1. UPS Power Supply Protection

Protect your computer and key associated devices from power supply faults - such as lightning strikes, brown outs, and line transients, while enabling you to save your work-in-progress before shutting down. An essential item for system security, and minimum system downtime. A unit can pay for itself many times over when the costs to replace internal power supplies, disk drives, etc. are considered! .. more

 

2. Internet Gateway, Router & Firewall

Protect your computer, files, and personal information from intrusion from the Internet. Better and cheaper than a software firewall, these units also enable multiple users to share a common high speed Internet connection, and provide for mobility within the house or office using wireless signals.. more

 

3. Photo Quality Inkjet Printers

With the popularity of digital cameras, you need the ability to make prints to the same quality as the photographic shops. There are many printers to choose from: we have evaluated most of them and offer our selections for their print quality, while keeping the cost of supplies to a minimum (esp.inkjet cartridges!) Please note, however, that to keep the inkflow uniform, and to prevent blockages, we strongly recommend that inkjets be used, or cycled at least once a week! .. more

 

4. Low Cost Colour Laser Printers

As the costs of small black and white laser printers have fallen rapidly over the past few years, so have those of colour lasers- to the point where we believe that the overall costs of printing (including paper and ink/toner) are similar between the two printer classes (inkjet & laser). Where the typical cost of a single toner cartridge was in excess of $150, the newest colour units have cartridges in the $50 range! For general office and home printing, where you want a mix of text, illustrations and quick photo proofs, it would seem that the colour laser has finally come into its own! .. more

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UPS Power Supply Protection

 

With the de-regulation of Ontario electricity supply, and the amalgamation of the local Hydro services, there is ongoing concern, about the frequency of power outages and related fluctuations.  Some computer users have already experienced data losses and hardware damage due to intermittent power outages. 

The effects of these outages can be minimized, with no losses or damage, with the use of an ‘UPS’ - ‘Uninterruptable Power Supply’.   An UPS is shoebox-sized unit containing sealed batteries, with a power rating matched to the attached equipment. Under normal conditions, the batteries are charged by the building supply; when there is a change in the supply- a failure, a drop below normal levels (‘brown-out’), or a transient surge or spike (Local lightning or faulty electrical power switch, etc.) – the battery power will take over, smoothing out the variations and, in the case of a complete outage,  providing enough energy to maintain operations until the computer can be safely and conveniently turned off (after saving your working files !). 

The units generally provide the capability to provide a feedback to the computer of an outage, allowing for automatic shutdown – this is an advantage when systems are left unattended.

We highly recommend the use of these units, especially in the home/office environment, and have evaluated the choices for a well-priced unit with the recommended features. 

Following are details of a selected unit for the basic home office.

The UPS unit is a model rated at 500VA (other ratings are available to match your system), with 6 fully protected power outlets - 3 with the battery backup, & 3 with surge protection (for non-essential peripherals). It should provide at least 15 minutes backup for a typical home computer. The unit will include provision for phone line  (regular & DSL) lightning & fault  protection, and a (USB) data link and software to enable unattended automatic shutdown.

 

A combination of the USB link and installed software will enable automatic program and system shutdown in the event of a power outage.

  Each unit is covered by a $50,000 lifetime equipment protection policy, and a 2-year repair/replace warranty.  The sealed lead-acid batteries have a typical lifetime of about 3 years, and can readily be replaced.

Our all-inclusive price, including preparation (& charging), delivery, installation and software setup starts at $65.00, depending on the rating/model selected. ..back

 

 

Internet Gateway, Router & Firewall

 

This unit, whether cable-only, or cable & wireless, provides a central secure link between computer and the Internet.

Whether you have a single computer, a number of stations, or a combination of desktop & laptop systems, this unit enables a single internet connection to be shared from behind a secure firewall, inaccessible to hackers and internet-based software attempting to gain entry to your systems. Such a unit eliminates the need for software firewalls, such as that offered in Windows XP, with a higher level of security and control.

Built-in intelligence monitors information requests and enables transfers both externally - for internet & email access- and internally -for information transfers between your local machines, including shared access to printers, etc.

A wireless model enables portable computers to be connected into the common services without the need for additional cabling.

These units can also be supplied with an integral network printer port (USB or parallel), and with integral high-speed modem, eliminating the need for a separate modem unit and its attendant power supply and cabling!

(Illustration of a wireless model of router, with a capacity of 256 local connections, including 4 wired ports)

Models are priced at $50.00 for the basic router/gateway/firewall w/4-port Switch unit;

$110.00 for the wireless unit (54Mbps 802.11g Wireless Access Point, Cable/DSL Internet Router/Gateway/Firewall w/4-port Switch, Parallel Print Server and detachable antenna) .. back

 

Photo Quality Inkjet Printers

 

We receive regular inquiries concerning well priced, but good quality photo printers, and can recommend  a range of models to suit your requirements for quality, versatility, and volume/speed of output. 

For general colour printing, for photo proofing, and when printing infrequently, consider a colour laser printer: the costs of some units are now comparable to inkjets, and when ink costs are taken into account, a laser printer can be significantly cheaper over its full life! We are testing some models, and will be making some recommendations and cost comparisons shortly.

For a low cost photo quality inkjet, we would recommend the Epson C88+ at approx. $100.  Please check with us for current pricing & possible rebates.

Epson C88+ specs.            

If you are also interested in directly printing onto CDs & DVDs, or from your digital camera, we would recommend the Epson R280, at approx. $140.

Epson R280 specs.                    

For these and other printers, we can provide lower-cost ink cartridges, and a wide range of papers, from photo quality matte and gloss, to iron-on transfers and even to canvas!    We also have some recommendations for photo editing software and optimized transfers from digital camera to print

.. back

(to read these printer specs.  you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader)

  

 

Low Cost Colour Laser Printers

 

We have recently been evaluating the features and output quality of photo and small laser printers, and recommend the Samsung CLP-300 series of colour lasers.  They are small and light and reasonably fast (about 20 ppm for black and white, 4 ppm for colour), and provide good colour reproduction. The series starts at about $170 for the CLP-310, and $400 for the "All-in-one" model CLX-3170 (the same printer but with scanner/photocopier & fax). Cartridges are good for about 2000 copies for a typical mix of documents and pictures: we have them available for about $45 each.

Samsung CLP-315 specs.                    

If you need the versatility of the all-in-one unit (scanning, copying and faxing), we would recommend the CLX-3170:

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