The business copier is a wonderful combination of science and engineering that helps businesses effectively manage their correspondence and move away from centralized filing and recording structures.
What Is a Business Copier?
Business copiers came into being in the early 1960s when Xerography was developed. This is a process by which a light-sensitive photoreceptor uses electrostatic charges to draw toner particles and then transmit them onto paper, forming an image. Pressure, heat, or a combination of the two fuses the toner onto paper. Chester Carlson invented this process in 1938, and it’s since boomed into a widely used day-to-day necessity.
Over time, business copiers evolved into various components and devices used for multiple needs, and nowadays, it’s hard to decide which copier is the best for your business.
Copiers vs. Printers
To assist you in making the right choice, let’s look at some comparisons between copiers and printers. Most often, the two are linked together, but they have notable differences.
| Copiers | Printers |
| Faster than printers | Are more flexible |
| Cost more than printers therefore good for leasing | Cheaper but need additional extras |
| The tech advances slowly and they have a longer lifespan | Print technology is speedily evolving with new features, toners and finishes |
| Made for mass production | Made to produce high-quality imaging |
| Contains a hard drive that has to be secured if the data is confidential | Also uses a hard drive and any data held on the drive can be automatically deleted or secured |
| Can be used standalone without needing network connection, but can be connected if need be | Can be controlled and networked |
| Limited to the sizes, paper types and weights it can accept | Can work with a variety of mediums, toners, substrates, in-line finishing, etc. |
| Use smaller CMYK or black cartridges that need to be changed often | Use bigger long-lasting cartridges with choices for toners like high gloss or UV |
| Created for speed and pump out large volumes speedily | Have many useful features like file management and numbering, imposition |
Multifunction Business Copiers
These copiers are also known as small business copiers or all-in-one copiers. They combine the scanning abilities, speed, and fax of copiers with finishing options like multi-feeds, heavier paper, binding, hole punching, intelligence, and flexibility of a printer. Multifunction copiers can print from the internet, a network or a USB.
Multifunction copiers have become required in all businesses due to their utility, flexibility, and speed.
The Different Types of Business Copiers
Inkjet Printers for Home
Inkjet printers are all-in-one and combine the functionality of a multifeatured printer with the technology of normal inkjet printing. They can provide an office with a full service but also maintain inkjets renowned for high-quality printing.
Advantages
- Prints in high-quality
- Is power efficient
- It is a good option instead of buying several machines
Disadvantages
- Hard to connect to a network
- Expensive to run
- Produces wet prints
Laser Copiers
These copiers are commonly used in bigger offices due to being less financially demanding than inkjet printers. They were initially created in the 1960s by Xerox.
Advantages
- Have a high printing speed
- Have a high paper capacity
- It can be expandable with finishers and paper trays
- Increases productivity
- Cost-effective
- Grows along with a business
Disadvantages
- Bigger carbon footprint
- Needs time to warm up
3D Printers
3D printing has taken the world by storm with its impressive technology, and 3D printing is becoming affordable for domestic and professional users. These printers can recreate 3D objects with different forms of good-quality resin.
Advantages
- Printed products are 3D
- Customization options
Disadvantages
- The initial setup is pricey
- The technology is still developing
- Resin is expensive
Wide Format Printers
Wide format printers are mainly used in architecture, education, and marketing industries. These printers print onto larger materials for signage, tradeshows, and presentations.
Advantages
- It can also be used for printing detailed, realistic prints
- The costs are more comparable to digital print
Disadvantages
- The toner and inkjet differ in various ways
- It has to be frequently run
- Take up much space
Inkjet Printers and Copiers for Business
For busy offices that rely heavily on printed output, these printers and copiers are commonly used because they’re robust and reliable.
Advantages
- Doesn’t need too much warm-up time
- Has a small footprint
- Producers photo-realistic prints
Disadvantages
- Prints wet
- Has a higher cost per page than other printers
- Less reliable
How to Use and Apply Business Copiers
Black and White Multifunctional Business Copiers
These copiers function like faxes, scanners, copiers, and printers, with an output range from around 22 pages per minute to over 95. They can use over 6,000 paper sheets and insert, sort, collate, etc.
- It can be used for external and internal correspondence
- Scan to disk
- Signage, business documents, flyers, and leaflets
Multifunctional Color Copiers
Multifunctional color business copiers have competitive speeds but still produce vibrant colors. Additional features such as color banding and auto-skew correction are built into some models.
- Reports, presentations, posters, charts, sales materials, and graphics
- Cards, photos, specialty stocks, letterheads
- Automatic image correction or color correction for scans
3D Printers
Creating is limitless with 3D printers as they take the world by storm with their resin 3D creations.
- Manufacturing at a low volume
- Can create mechanical repair parts
- Create samples, models, prototypes, design iterations
- Giveaways and marketing elements
Wide Format Copiers
These copiers have similar features to ordinary printers/copiers and also come in black and white and color. They handle large, heavy stock; you can print on canvas, rolls, sheets, PVC, shrink wrap, and more.
- To print larger banners, you can feed in rolls
- Can print on foam, glass, window clings, and wood
- Can produce defined detail
Which Is the Right Business Copier for You?
With so many options, deciding on a business copier to suit your organization’s needs can be challenging. Do you need a color or black and white machine? Which speed is better suited for your office output? What additional features should your copier possess?
The questions are endless, and that is where we at Wisconsin Document Imagining come in. We aim to make your organization more efficient, equipped, and productive by supplying you with the newest technology.
Contact us for assistance in choosing and purchasing your business copiers in Fox Cities, Green Bay, and Menomonee Falls.