PRINTER SUPPLIES
Evaluate Copier Features
Digital copiers have a lot of built-in features which may have little to no impact on price. You can expect to find traditional copier features on most models.
Automatic document feeder (ADF): An automatic document feeder (ADF) allows you to copy multi-page documents without having to lift and lower the cover for every sheet you copy. Instead, you drop a stack of originals (up to 50 pages) into the feeder, press start, and the ADF automatically pulls each page through. If you copy lots of double sided originals, you should invest in a re-circulating automatic document feeder (RADF), which can flip pages inside the machine for simplified double-sided copying.
Sorting: Digital copiers can sort copied sets electronically without the use of sorter bins. Instead of separate bins, the copies are placed in a single tray at a right angle or offset from each other, allowing you to easily identify where one set ends and another begins. Bin-free sorting allows you to make unlimited sets at one time rather than only as many sets as you have sorter bins.
Finishing: You may want a finisher if you are frequently going to copy many sets of multi-page documents. The most familiar type of finisher is the automatic stapler, which can be a huge time-saver. More advanced versions include three-hole punches, saddle stitch binding, folding, and more. Finishers are optional on many machines, and usually carry an additional cost.
Paper supplies: Each paper tray, cassette, pedestal, or paper feed unit is a separate paper source. The number of sources is important if you want to be able to copy onto different paper stocks, such as letterhead, legal size stock, or transparencies, without reloading the machine. Paper sources typically hold a minimum of 50 to 100 sheets, and the largest-capacity units can hold up to 3,000 sheets.
Paper trays: Typically, copiers include at least one fixed-size and a couple of adjustable-size paper trays. Unfortunately, heavy paper stock often jams if you load it into a standard paper tray. To get around this problem, most copiers include a bypass tray, a special tray that provides a straight paper path for heavy paper and labels.
Connect a network multifunction copier to your internal network and allow your staff to print, copy, or send faxes from their computers. Because the machine is still a copier, users can also make collated, even stapled, sets of documents without having to leave their seats.
Printing: Add a printer module and network card to a digital copier and it can double as an office laser printer — working at the same speed it makes copies. For example, the copier can allow your employees to produce dozens of stapled copies of a five-page, two-sided proposal without leaving their desks. Most offices can benefit from using a copier as a printer as per-page costs can be as little as 20% of laser printer printing costs. Most copiers run standard networking protocols, but you still need to make sure the model you choose is compatible with your network. Involving your IT department in this aspect of the copier purchase decision upfront can save you significant headaches later.
Faxing: With the addition of a fax module, you can send and receive faxes through the copier. You can easily send multi-page faxes using the document feeder, or you can use the copier glass to fax single pages or parts of books or catalogs. Incoming faxes print as they're received, sometimes into a separate output tray. With a network interface, users can even send faxes from their computers.
Stackless duplexing: Digital copiers with enough memory can support stackless duplexing by storing each side of the original page in memory, then printing both sides of the copy. This means the number of two-sided copies you make is no longer limited by the capacity of a duplex tray. You will get your duplexed copies much faster, too.
Automatic sizing: Digital copiers usually offer an automatic sizing function that enables the copier to note the dimensions of your original document and adjust itself using preset reduction/enlargement settings, even if your copying paper is a different size than your original.
Automatic shut-off: Almost all copiers now have an automatic shut-off option - it saves energy and decreases wear on a copier by turning the machine off if it has not been used for a set period of time.
Security: Many digital copiers allow you to require that users enter a code before they can make copies. This provides a level of security, preventing unauthorized usage and allowing you to analyze current usage patterns by department. Some machines can also hold faxes or network documents in memory until the correct code is entered, then print them. This prevents confidential documents from being left in the output tray for any passerby to view.
Basic image editing: Copiers can often edit your documents by automatically numbering pages, adding watermarks such as "confidential" or "copy," or adding a date stamp while they make duplicates. Many can rotate scanned images to match the orientation of the available paper supply or combine images in creative ways, such as copying a two-sided original onto one page, or reducing and combining originals to put two, four, or eight pages onto one page.
Standard features on digital color copiers include border erasing, image centering, color adjustment, and color balancing. Some models offer a menu of additional editing functions, such as colorizing, which lets you create color documents from black and white originals. Although these advanced editing techniques can be impressive, they can be difficult and time-consuming to master. And, if your copier is set up as a network printer, you can do much more complex image manipulations using standard image editing software at your computer and print the results. Basic editing functions are enough for most users.
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