An interview with Dan and Karen Snapp, owners of Empire Office Machines, 255 14th Street, Astoria.

Dan and Karen Snapp have seen a lot of change in the office supply business during their years in downtown Astoria. The Snapps have kept local businesses up-to-date through all the changes. The store is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 325-3316.

Tell us about your office machine business.

Karen: “This is our 20th anniversary in the same place. We were Bell’s office machines for five years before moving here. The owner moved to Portland and that left an opening for us.”

“We do a lot of on-site service. Our service is great. Dan knows Samsung registers inside and out. We service anything. We are totally independent, not just one brand.”

Dan: “I attend a lot of the technical schools offered by the manufacturers.”

What do you have in stock here?

Dan: “We specialize in cash registers, printers and copiers, small office and home copiers. We carry Samsung and Copystar copiers and cash registers. Registers start out on the low end at $169 but I don’t like to stock them. We like to put our name on something we are proud of. The registers we sell the most run from $389 to $589.”

Karen: “We have a good supply of ink cartridges, fax film, copier and printer toners. We also carry paper for registers and machines.

Dan: “We offer both high-quality generic compatible ink cartridges and some brand names.”

Do you sell used equipment?

Karen: “Yes we do. When a good quality machine comes to us as a trade-in we service it and offer it for sale.”

What can you tell us about your volume of business?

Karen: “Our volume is equal between sales, service and supplies. We advertise in the paper and word-of-mouth gets us a lot of business. We have to compete against catalogs and the Internet so service is very important, and a big part of our volume.”

What areas do you cover?

Dan: “Our service ranges from Manzanita to Ocean Park, Wash., and as far east as Clatskanie.”

How has this business changed in 25 years?

Dan: “Fax machines used to cost $2,000. Now they cost $150. We used to spend most of our time cleaning manual typewriters. Now we clean printers. Everything today is cheaper, lighter and smaller. Everything has gone digital and costs less and requires less service. Thank goodness for copiers and registers. Copiers require more up-keep than anything else combined.”

Do people still buy typewriters?

Dan: “Yes. We still service and carry supplies for typewriters. We carry Nakajima typewriters. New typewriters have fewer moving parts and can do many of the same things a word processor does. They are for people who don’t want to mess with a computer, especially for older people who want to keep on writing. And at $189 they cost a lot less than a computer.”