Top 10 Digital copiers 2024

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Digital Copiers Buyer's Shopping Guide

The standard office copier, or printer, has come an incredibly long way since it was first introduced by Xerox in 1959 as the very first plain-paper fully-automated photocopier to hit the market. When comparing copiers from the 20th century to the 21st century, the differences are mind-boggling since manufacturers can now combine the features of copying, scanning, faxing, and laser printing into one multi-functional machine. Given all these functions and choices, it's crucial to know what you need in a copier in order to make the right choice for your business. Use this buyer's guide for printers in order to understand each aspect so you'll know what to look for when buying a printer that's ideal for you. Learn about the key features you may need to use in your office as well as how they're generally priced.

Buying Considerations for Choosing the Ideal Office Copier

What does your office copier need to do?

Incorporating a multi-functional product that easily connects to your specific internal network that can print, scan, fax, email, staple, collate, and create double-sided copies and booklets will enable you to address a vast number of tasks while sitting at your computer. Copiers make it super convenient to produce finished documents quickly and efficiently. Also, they're the perfect space saver, which is especially handy when you consider that just one device can manage all your printing, scanning, emailing, and faxing needs.

Do you need a fast copier?

The speed of your office copier is primarily measured in cpm (copies per minute), ppm (pages per minute), or opm (outputs per minute). Regardless of which term is actually used, it denotes how many pages the device itself can generate per minute when it's running at maximum speed. Here are the categories to look for in terms of both speed and applicable use:

1. 15 ppm: works for a home office or very small business
2. 20 ppm: works for smaller businesses
3. 30-50 ppm: works for small to mid-sized businesses (network-ready)
4. 50-70 ppm: works for mid to large-sized businesses (network-ready)
5. 70-90 ppm: works for print runs and very large businesses (network-ready)
6. 90-100 ppm: works for commercial printers (network-ready)

Determine how much your business needs to print and copy.

If you already have your own office copier, you can easily figure out your usage by simply viewing the counter, which is typically located in internal storage or under platen glass. While it varies depending on the model, each one has its own menu that illustrates the number of prints or copies that are made and whether they're in color or in black and white. The running total always shows on the counter.

Features of Traditional Office Copiers

• Paper Supply - Every paper tray, paper feed unit, pedestal, or cassette is a separate source for paper. How many sources you need is critical if you intend to make copies onto a variety of paper stocks without the need to reload the copier, including: Letterheads, Transparencies, Legal size stock. Usually, most paper sources can hold at least 50-100 sheets in all.
• Feeders - A business copier with an ADF (automatic document feeder) enables you to copy documents with multiple pages without the need to raise and lower the lid for each sheet you need to copy. Instead, simply drop in a pile of the original documents into the feeder of the machine and press start. The ADF will automatically do the work for you.
• Printing - An innovative digital copier today can double as a laser printer, while maintaining the same speed as making copies. All you need to do is purchase a wireless network card and configure it just like you would another printer and simply plug into your specific network. This will enable your staff to generate several stapled copies for a double-sided, five-page proposal without ever leaving their chair.
• Faxing - Today's multifunctional copiers scan all documents into memory prior to printing copies. Therefore, it's only natural that they're used for generating electronic versions as well. A feeder can easily double as a sheet-fed scanner in order to quickly scan a number of pages.
• Image Editing - Digital printers can edit your business documents while duplicating them. This process may involve automatic page numbering, adding date stamps, or adding special watermarks that say 'copy' or 'confidential'. They can also rotate the scanned images in order to correctly correspond with the orientation of the paper supply, which saves both time and money from unexpected errors.
• Email - Since 2008, the majority of copiers have been email capable. However, many still have a limited amount of email addresses they are able to store. The actual number will vary from printer to printer. It's very easy to simply launch the email screen and choose one or several stored email addresses and push 'start' to finish your task.
• Faxing - Because of the fax module feature, you are able to easily send or receive faxes through your printer. Using the document feeder, you can send a number of multi-page faxes to virtually any destination or use the printer glass in order to fax a single page or parts of a catalog or book if you need to. Using a network interface, you can even send a fax from your computer if you like.
• Security - Several multi-functional machines today enable you to require that a user enters a unique code before they're allowed to make copies. This feature offers a degree of security which prevents any unauthorized usage along with letting you evaluate current patterns of usage according to each department. Some devices can also retain network documents or faxes in memory until someone enters the correct code in order to print them. This key feature protects any confidential documents from accidentally being left in the printer's output tray for prying eyes passing by.
• Digital Copier Memory and Ram - RAM, which is what the memory in computers use, is necessary for supporting key features of digital copiers such as printing, faxing, automatic page numbering, and the scan once/print many feature. Modern printers today should ideally come with enough memory built-in for any function that a user may need to perform. Although more memory can always be added in order to boost overall productivity and enhance additional memory-focused features, it's usually not necessary since most are already equipped with sufficient memory.
• Printer and Fax Memory - Faxes generally come equipped with their own unique hard drive, which is enough for most tasks around the office. Therefore, it's likely you won't need to upgrade the memory of your fax unless you intend to retain a number of international faxes in your fax memory in order to send out during non-working hours.
• Copier Memory - By retaining a scanned image of the original page within memory, digital printers can generate as many documents as needed without the need to feed the originals again. The memory in your printer will determine its overall speed and efficiency. Just like the printer, more memory is required to process more detailed documents. Also, different memory-using printer languages like PostScript often require more memory to print faster.

Prices of Copiers and How to Buy

Although there's quite a variance in the price of copiers overall, the price has come down a great deal over recent years. The prices overall are influenced by many factors. One such factor is the add-ons you want. For instance, expect to shell out 20-30 percent more on a color copier than a standard black and white model with similar volume and speed ratings. Also, network printing comes standard on all the latest models, as does automatic document feeders as well. Visit WEBSITE.COM to see how copiers are priced in today's market.

Copier Prices

• Low End Copier Models - The price of a standard business copier typically starts around $1,500 on the low end for one that's capable of an output of 20 ppm and a volume of 10,000 copies per month.
• Mid-Range Copier Models - Mid-range or workgroup copier models that run at about 21-35 ppm overall, can cost anywhere between $3,000 up to $10,000 in total. A fully loaded black and white model can range between $10,000-$13,000, while a color model with an output of 30-32 ppm can cost as much as $20,000. However, a good refurbished color model can sell for as little as $5,000 in some cases.
• High-End Copier Models - High-volume models that can generate 36-56 ppm or higher can cost nearly $40,000-$60,000. State-of-the-art models generally cost $80,000 or more, but deliver stellar performance at 100+ ppm along with a total of 600,000 to 800,000 monthly outputs. These top-of-the-line models are typically only used by extremely large corporations or print shops.

Negotiating the Price of Printers

Few printers are ever sold at their original list price. Similar to buying a vehicle, there's always room for a bit of negotiation. The price is usually flexible and varies according to the different accessories and options you need or may be considering. Several smaller or mid-size companies can implement the most recent technology into their organization by choosing to lease a copier. This option may provide a better payment plan but can cost more money in the end by paying contractual minimums overall.