Photocopiers were invented in the 1960’s in response to the need of businesses to reproduce documents quickly.
Their speed and efficiency quickly made them a standard piece of equipment for any office, particularly those in the government, education and medicine sectors where there was a heavy reliance on high volumes of paper.
Since then, apart from their capacity to reproduce copies of documents, photocopiers bear little resemblance to the machines they once were; the world has changed and the once humble photocopier has adapted successfully in response to the needs of it.
The dawn of the digital age brought with it new ways of communicating information. Industries that once relied on paper as a means of disseminating information, obtaining authority or promoting their services were no longer limited to hard copy documents to do business.
The use of fax, email and digital storage facilities transformed the way that all businesses manage their communications and much comment has been made about the potential for digital systems to make offices ‘paperless.’
However, the reality is that for most organisations, digital systems act as a complement to hard copy and are not a viable replacement of it.
Now more commonly known as the multi-function printer (MFP), the photocopier has a host of functions which continue to make it an essential piece of kit for any organisation.
Today, manufacturers like Konica Minolta, Lexmark and Kyocera produce a comprehensive range of MFPs that suit the specific needs of business users in various industries.
Some of those developments include:
- Print and copy speeds of A4, A3, Letter, Banner and Legal documents of up to 2 million pages per month
- Standardised duplex-printing to reduce wastage
- Network and Cloud connectivity which allows users to scan documents directly to, or print directly from the Cloud, network folders, web pages or email addresses
- Remote Access which gives users anywhere in the world the option to print or store documents, while assistance tools enable users to get advice or instruction on how to perform tasks or resolve issues without the need for a technician to be in attendance
- Eco-Performance tools which monitor equipment use and automatically control sleep timers to minimise energy consumption and reduce operational costs and any environmental impact
- Security Authentication functions including ID cards, password and fingerprint scanners, which control access and assure responsible use
- Digital data storage for the purposes of organising and archiving documents
- Secure 128-bit encryption which ensures that any confidential or sensitive documents digitally stored are secure
- Efficiency software including Papercut™ which tracks and audits paper consumption to maximise the cost-efficient use of consumables and Adobe EchoSign which lets users get digital signature authority in seconds
- Touchscreen panels which are user-friendly and allow users to access, modify and manage documents
So, what is a photocopier?
It’s a piece of office equipment which keeps abreast of technological developments to meet the business needs of today, and tomorrow.
To find out more about how a MFP can be an asset to your operations, contact the industry experts at Photocopier Supplier
Image via photocopiersupplier.co.uk
