Catching the Monroe Spirit. An introduction.

At commercial calculator manufacturer Monroe Systems for Business in Tullytown, Pa., it’s hard not to catch "The Monroe Spirit." That was evident the first day I walked into the company’s lobby (the day of my interview) where I was greeted warmly by all of the staff.

Prior to my interview with Mary Jean McGrogan, customer support manager, and Jason Marsdale, VP of sales and marketing, I read up on the company’s rich history, and boy, was I impressed. For any company to celebrate 50 years is a milestone. But 106 years, that is quite a feat! The company has been so successful over the years because it has listened and responded to its customers’ needs by developing and enhancing its product portfolio and providing excellent customer service. Poised for the future, it is clear that Monroe is not going anywhere anytime soon.

After speaking with Mary and Jason, I knew that this was a company that I wanted to work for. Two months into working at Monroe, I can say that the company and its staff are just as welcoming now as they were on that first day. The staff is extremely knowledgeable about the line of calculators Monroe offers, along with the supplies that are used with each model — like ink ribbons, foam wedges and paper tape rolls. It’s not uncommon to find a Monroe calculator or two sitting on each of their desks ... as well as my own!

As the new kid on the block who has never used a commercial calculator in my life (think wordsmith), I was intrigued by the idea of learning something new — something that would take me out of my comfort zone. And coming into contact with a Monroe UltimateX — think the Bentley of printing calculators — did just that!

How I Learned to Use a Monroe Printing Calculator

Jason gave me a product tutorial of the UltimateX, Monroe's 12-digit programmable heavy-duty accounting printing calculator that combines all of the features from previous Monroe models. He described the model as having two "brains" — a user can perform all of their addition and subtraction functions on the right-hand set of keys (the right lobe) and the multiplication and division functions on the left-hand set of keys (the left lobe). 

A benefit of having these functions on two different sides is that it saves users time from having to stop their work to do multiplication and division problems, not affecting addition and subtraction (adding machine controls are located on the right of the numeric keypad because addition and subtraction are the most often used functions on a calculator). So both sides of the calculator work independently of each other, like having two different calculators side by side, giving users more control over their work. And who doesn't like that?
 

Jason then dove deeper into what makes this model so unique. Features like its Keyswitch Technology (a favorite among touch operators because it provides the lightest keytouch available), its editing and reprint capabilities (the only calculator in the industry that can edit and reprint tapes and entries up to 99 lines), and its hidden storage compartment for a spare paper roll and a twin-spooled ribbon (eliminating the need for a trip to the file cabinet). These features are what really sets our heavy-duty line of printing calculators apart in the industry.

In addition to the UltimateX, I became more familiar with the company’s other heavy- and medium-duty calculators — the 6120X, 2020PlusX, 122PDX, 8130X, 8145X and the handheld 12DHC calculator. I learned that for our customers, speed is a big deciding factor when selecting the right printing calculator. Therefore it is important to understand the difference between medium- and heavy-duty calculators. For more frequent use, a heavy-duty printing calculator would be ideal since it offers a longer lifespan and its print speed exceeds 4.0 lines per second, whereas with a medium-duty printing calculator, print speeds are between 3.0 and 4.0 lines per second.

You can learn more about selecting the right printing calculator for you by speaking with one of our calculator specialists. Call (267) 580-2600. We are also excited to announce that we will be publishing "The Ultimate Calculator Buying Guide" in the next few weeks so please be sure to look for an email from us in your inbox and visit our Website.

A Huge Market for Printing Calculators

As long as the world keeps auditing credits and debits, the printing calculator will continue to be the most reliable and convenient accounting tool. Employees that work in supermarkets, restaurants or retail stores for example, that are left with the task of balancing the cash drawer at the end of the day, can turn to a Monroe printing calculator to make their life easier. 

I continue to find myself amazed by the number of loyal Monroe customers calling into our office. One customer recently told me that she was so excited and couldn’t wait for her Monroe calculator to arrive. Another customer had her Monroe for 15 years and was looking to buy another.

And even though Monroe has built the best printing calculators on the market today, they haven’t stopped there. The company has made its customers' lives easier by selling printing calculator supplies like 20-lb. paper tape rolls, which were created exclusively for Monroe, and ribbon cartridges that have the highest possible inking degree and provide the darkest print on the market (Monroe uses its own True Red color). With Monroe ribbons, you will never experience fading or an orange-red color.

To further make the lives of accountants and financial professionals easier, the company also offers a Foam Elevation Wedge so that customers can angle their calculators, reduce noise, and protect their desktop surface. Many people (myself included) have spilled coffee, tea or some other beverage on their desks at some point or another. Not only is this embarrassing, but it becomes even more so when you have to ask for a new mouse or you hear a co-worker ask if you are ok and if you need any help? It’s times like these that make you wish your cubicle walls were soundproof. While Monroe doesn’t have a solution for soundproof walls, its Elevation Wedge provides a brilliant solution to protect a medium- and heavy-duty calculator in the event of a “desk flood.”

A Big Device Is Not Necessarily Slow

In November, a group of Rutgers School of Business students also saw the power of the UltimateX first hand when Mike Prash, key accounts manager & national casino specialist, challenged them in a race between the Monroe UltimateX, Microsoft Excel and two cell phone calculators. Demonstrating how fast and accurate the Monroe UltimateX is, Mike entered and confirmed his entries in 30 seconds. Then he decided to re-enter his entries while the students still had yet to complete their math calculations. At about 2 minutes, a student completed his entries but his total was wrong. That student tried to go back through his calculations to find the error to no avail.

The students were further wowed when they learned that the UltimateX had the ability to reprint entries.

Click here or below to watch the video: 

The students had a blast and saw that despite the UltimateX being a larger device (9.50" x 13.75") and taking up more desk space, there was no competition when it came to accuracy and speed. It is exciting to know that as this class steps out into the workforce, they can do so with confidence knowing that a Monroe calculator can perform their calculations quickly and accurately.

In addition to meeting the students, learning about the calculators and assisting customers with their requests, I have also been working a bit behind the scenes — leveraging my writing experience to contribute to company blogs and updating product pages. For me, every day here at Monroe is different and I enjoy that.

As I continue to learn more about this industry, I do hope to provide you with content in the future to help answer any questions you may have about our products and our company. Until then, it is a pleasure to meet you.