A photocopier (also known as a copier or copy machine) is a machine that makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply. Most current photocopiers use a technology called xerography – a dry process using heat fusion. Copiers can also use other output technologies, such as ink jet, but this is used primarily in smaller low-end devices, more suitable for home office use. Xerography is the standard for office copying.
They type of photocopier you will need depends on the volume and type of copying you do each day. You may only require a small number of documents to be copied, such as accounts or bills, or you may need to copy higher volumes. Photocopiers come in a variety of sizes and copy speeds vary between models.
The basic types of copiers available now on the market are:
Mono copiers
Mono, or monochrome, means that a copier or multifunction device uses only one colour of toner – black.
For office use, these machines come in a range of sizes, from low-end low volume copiers to high-speed, high volume machines that can copy or print 100+ pages per minute.
Colour copiers
A colour copier is able to copy in colour as well as black and white. Business colour copiers and multifunction devices usually have 4 drums and 4 toner reservoirs or cartridges, sometimes more, which contain the 4 primary colours, Cyan (C), Yellow (Y), Magenta (M) and Black (K). By mixing these four colours, all other colours are created.
Multifunctional copiers
A copier is called multifunctional when it can do more than just copying. These days almost all office copiers sold are actually digital multifunction devices, or MFD’s, also known as MFP’s – Multifunction Products, Multifunction Printers or All in One Printers or devices.
The typical functionalities of these devices are copying, printing, scanning and faxing. The newest models also have internet access, can be connected to an office network to send documents to various locations with Scan to e-mail, Scan to Folder (SMB), Scan to FTP, Scan to USB and WSD Scanning (Windows® Vista) functionality. They can print from portable devices such as laptops via a wireless or USB connection and can be loaded with customised software for document management functions such as OCR (Optical Character Recognition). They also come with document finishing options, such as stapling and booklet folding with saddle stitch.
With additional software options available directly from the vendor or via third party vendors, modern multifunction devices can become a complete document print management and archiving solution for the office
