400 Digital Color Printers Recalled

Oki Data Americas, an importer based in New Jersey, has voluntarily recalled approximately four-hundred digital color printers due to an electrical issue which could cause users to receive an electric shock from them. The importer is offering an inspection and repair of the recalled printers, free of charge.

According to a press release issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recall applies to C9600-series printers with particular serial numbers. The front of the affected printers reads "Oki Printing Solutions" and "C9600", while the serial number is printed on the back-left side. The recalled serial numbers include AA56002655A0 through AA56002804A0, AA58001468A0 through AA58001617A0, and AA58002702A0 through AA58002801A0. The printers were manufactured in Japan.

They are colored beige and twenty-seven inches wide, twenty inches tall, and twenty-five inches deep. The printers were sold by Oki Printing Solutions dealers and "Solution Providers" throughout the nation, and were priced at approximately $3,500 dollars. They were sold from Aug. 2005 through the month of Sept. 2007. Fortunately, no injuries resulting from the printers have been reported yet.

Customers are called upon to immediately unplug the printers from their electrical outlets, then find the serial number and contact Oki Data Americas if it is one of the recalled printers. They can be contacted at (877) 654-6364 from 8:00AM-6:00PM Eastern time.

Oki Data has additional information about the recall on its web site. While the CPSC press release refers to a recall of about four-hundred units, the Oki Data web site indicates that "approximately 175" printers are affected. It provides somewhat more detailed instructions regarding identification of the serial number, and recommends putting the power cord of an affected printer in a "safe location" to prevent anyone from powering it on until it has been inspected and/or repaired. It also expresses regret for "any inconvenience" brought about by the recall.

According to the Wikipedia entry on Oki Data Americas, it is a subsidiary of Oki Electric Industry Company, Ltd. Its headquarters are in Mount Laurel, N.J. and it has over nine-hundred employees. Additional offices are located in Mexico City, San Paulo, Milpitas, and Toronto. It was formed in a joint venture among two entrepreneurs from Philadelphia and the Japanese company Oki Electric. It offers color, monochrome, and dot matrix printers, as well as fax machines and other products. Oki Data is among the top four manufacturers of color printers in the United States.

Sources:

1. Consumer Product Safety Commission, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08052.html
2. Oki Data, http://www.okidata.com/mkt/html/nf/c9600_safety_recall.html
3. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oki_Data_Americas,_Inc.