There are a number of reasons that people will need to use commercial color copiers. From a professional presentation for business, or greeting cards in your personal life, you will find that there are endless possibilities.
Business Related Uses
To begin, it is important to understand what these color copiers can do for your business. Since they have been crafted to produce a quick print job, for a high volume of work, you can anticipate the average commercial color copier to reproduce pages anywhere from 12 to 100 pages each minute. The quality tends to be superior and are useful under most circumstances.
For large business meetings and other instances, where a high volume of work will be needed, these copiers have the ability to shed hours from an assistant’s job of copying, so they can focus more on work that is better suited to their talents or more cost effective.
The documents that can be printed, might include a chart or graph that has been designed in color to effectively reflect information. Traditional black and white copies tend to have limited shading and design on them, and can often be misread. When you use a full color option you expand on the clarity and understanding that is available for your presentation.
In most businesses the commercial color copiers will see a considerable amount of use. Some companies will use them to prepare large legal packets of information in no time, while others might find that they use it to photocopy invoices that have been sent out to customers. Accounting will also find this useful since bills tend to arrive in a number of shades and colors, and sometimes a black and white color copier loses important information. With the color copier option, everything remains intact, and decisions can be easily backed-up with the full color results from the color copier.
Manuals and documentation can be handled effectively as well. Most companies offer their employees manuals of rules and regulations that must be followed while on the job. When this is outsourced to another company, it can become very expensive, and in no time pays for the commercial color company that a business can own. Because of this, it would prove cost effective for a business to invest in one of these copiers, and create their own documentation manuals, and other documents that were once outsourced to print centers.
They don’t just run faster, they run more effectivly as well. While the traditional copy machine might still be one of an organization’s favorite items, they aren’t as efficient as the color commercial color copiers. Those who experience the daily use of the old fashioned black and white copiers understand that they come with a number of problems on a daily basis. As machines age, their parts tend to break down. When a company chooses to use an inferior copy machine, they end up with a machine that constantly breaks down.
While it is possible that a commercial copy machine will have problems, they tend to have better warranties, and parts that are easily serviced. Even more important, the commercial copy machine can help to reduce the amount of money you spend each month on electric bills. Older machines tend to hog power and even when they aren’t in use, will drain power. When you upgrade to a newer color copy machine, they will have energy saving technology that will save electricity. This is just another way that they are proven to be cost effective.
Many times you can hook your computer up to these commercial color copiers, and in turn use them as printers. This will allow you to print booklets and other digital files quickly with efficiency as well. Often, this can save you time from having to use a staple remover, remove post it notes, and other items that can consume your time. Since newer machines also have collating and staple features, even 3 hole punching technology, you can automate and save a considerable amount of time by letting the copy machine do all the hard work for you. That way you can focus on what really matters most in your business.
Something that the office environment might find useful as well is that many of these commercial color printers come as all-in-one units as well. This means that you can hook them up to the phone line, and then have the benefit faxing along with your other functions as well. This can be a great space saver as well, since multiple machines can take up considerable amounts of room.
It should be noted that as a rule, the commercial color copier will use less ink than a traditional black and white copier. This means, that your total amount of ink consumption should go down each month when you use one of these systems. The negative on this fact is that although you do see a decline in ordering, when you use the color function, the price of the replacement units can be rather expensive. Some models use a single toner while others will use three individual colors that are mixed together for printing.
All businesses can benefit from the use of the commercial color copier, and should take a serious look into their uses and the benefits that are attached to them. They are a good business decision and since you can save both time and money with them, there is no reason to stay using your traditional black and white printer.
With that in mind, we should also take some time to look at the benefits of using a commercial color copier for the home as well.
Personal Home Use
While it is understood the average person will not be purchasing a commercial color copier for their household use, they might go to companies like Office Max, or even Staples to use the machines that are available to them. But what daily personal uses would warrant using these machines?
To begin with, there are a number of people who run a home based business that would find one of these machines useful in their daily routine. Heading down to the nearest copy store will allow them to make everything from flyers, to mailers and even catalogues.
Just like in traditional business, we find that a commercial color copier will present the average individual a way to quickly and effectively handle their large projects as well. This can be anything from sending out a newsletter to a local community, to even handling the church’s newsletter.
The low price of making your own color copies on one of these machines outweighs the average home color printer. When you consider the amount of money it takes to print up full color information or photos on your computer at home (on average it can be up to 95 cents, you can compare that with the 35 cents average price that most companies will charge you to use their commercial color copiers. Also, you have to leave home to print documentation you need so the amount of time and money you save will be worth it. In fact, these color copiers have the ability to reproduce up to five times the pages in a single minute, more than a traditional ink jet printer.
Most people will recognize that space limitations are one of the factors that prevent most people from getting a commercial copy machine in their own home. Normally, these tend to be the same size as a traditional desk, while being as thick as well. While some people might have the room to place them in the home office, the cost is the other deterrent as well. These machines can cost several thousand dollars, and with the need to replace toner cartridges that can be $100 or more each, they aren’t economical for the average individual.
In some cases, a color laser printer connected to your computer might be able to handle a portion of the tasks you will need to have done on a daily basis. This won’t however work for other items, such as reproducing items in a book, or full color documents that have been lent to you for a short period of time.
One business that would certainly be assisted by this form of printing would be one that is based on post card mailings. These are companies that place their advertisement on a postcard, and mail them out to consumers. From there, the consumer might purchase a product or service over the phone or online. Because of how these machines are setup, you can feed postcards into the machine and have them print at a high rate of speed. This means that a 50,000 home mailing can be effectively printed in no time at all, and all you would need to do is simply stamp your envelopes.
Other Considerations
When you are ready to purchase or lease a commercial copy machine, there will be some options that you need to consider, such as which brand to buy. The main three companies that offer this form of copier are Xerox, Cannon and Sharp, although you have a fourth option with Ricoh.
If you are leasing the product, you will pay a monthly fee on the number of copies that you end up making with the machine, in addition to any toner and other items you will need as well. In some cases, you might have to pay a flat fee that guarantees you a certain number of copies, and anything that you do in excess of that will be charged at an additional fee.
Should you go the route of leasing, it is possible to buy the machine after so many years. Similar to a car, at the end of your contract, you will have the option to renew your lease, buy the copier, or return it. Depending on the amount of use you put into it, and how old the commercial color copier has become, it might be a better option to begin leasing a new copier instead, especially if you are noticing there are constant break downs and other problems that can lead to headaches in the office.
When you buy a unit outright, you need to think about some important factors before you finalize the purchase. To begin with, how many copies do you intend on making each month. If the number will be higher, you will want a copy machine designed for heavier usage. If you choose to go cheaper on the unit you buy, it might have a number of service repair calls that will make the unit inoperable, and prove to be an annoyance for you.
Space will also be a factor that can limit your options for your copier as well. If you have a limited area, you might not be able to fit in the copier that your company requires. Because of this, know what your space limitations are, and get the unit that closely meets your needs. In some cases, you might be able to move office furniture around to make space for the new unit.
The other important factor is how much are the replacement toners going to cost you? While some may be inexpensive, others can be $100 or more for a refill. Knowing this information can help you make a decision on your purchase.
Finally, take the time to ask about financing options as well. If your purchase is because you cannot afford a particular unit you need right now, but don’t want to lease, some copier companies will let you make payments on their units. This option allows you to get the copier you need, without having to put too much down at once as well.