The Average Photocopier For Dummies

Okay, so it's your first day on the job. New office. New coworkers. New position. You're pretty excited to get to work, but you may not be as technically adept as your fellow workers. You need to make a copy of a document. You never did like copiers or printers cause you could never work them, but there is hope for you yet. They say that knowing your enemy is half the battle, but the copier doesn't have to be your enemy. Just by learning what makes them tick, and what goes on when you copy something, working the copier won't be nearly as difficult.

So what exactly is going on when you decide to hit "start" on the copy machine? Well, oddly enough, it has a lot to do with static electricity. It may seem nearly impossible for that to be the case but think about this. When you photocopy something, you are typically using toner. Well toner isn't ink. It is actually an extremely fine black powder that can be charged with static electricity. There is a drum inside of every copier that allows the toner to gain charge and stick to the drum. Now, obviously, not every picture is going to be completely black, so there has to be a way to keeps of the paper white. This is where the drums ability to use selective charge really comes in handy. The drum selectively charge certain sections of itself in order to attract toner on the specific parts that have charge. It's selective charge is all thanks to the power of light! See how the name "PHOTOcopier" works now? When the paper finally comes through, it is statically charged so the toner becomes attracted to the paper. The toner is then fused to the paper through the use of heat, since the toner particles themselves are very sensitive to heat.

For A Rental Quote On Your Next Short Term Copier Need Call
www.Rentacomputer.com At 800-736-8772

Another thing to remember; Toner is NOT ink! It can be referred to as dry ink, but again, it's not ink at all. The toner itself is actually stuck to slightly larger beads that have a positive charge inside the toner cartridge. Once the toner beads are rolled over by the drum, the particles of the toner are more attracted to the positively charged areas on the drum. This cause them to stick to the drum (again with the static electricity). Once the statically charged paper rolls on through, the particles jump to the paper, but since the toner particles still contain charge, they could still fly off the paper. In order to make sure the particles stay, the toner particles are made with plastic in them that become melted to the paper once the toner is heat. Static problem solved.

Simply by knowing whats going on inside that photocopier can greatly help when trying to figure out what is wrong with it. Not every copier is going to have problems so don't let that fool you. Maybe you aren't really looking for a full time purchase. Maybe you are just looking to rent to get the feel of a new photocopier. If you are business just starting up, you need as much info on all of the office equipment you are going to get. Also remember that renting can help make things a lot easier for you. Instead of your company having to spend money on repairs, let the rental company take care of that "toner cartridge probelm", or nasty "paper jam".

Source.

Would It Be Better To Rent Or Buy Your Copier?

Every morning, there is always some sort of conundrum in the office. Jim is late to work again. Tammy ate the last doughnut. You forgot to file those TPS reports. The worst part of it all? The fact that your companies copier, for reasons unbeknownst to you, is refusing to work in any way, shape, or form. Now this begs the question of whether you should pull an "Office Space" and take the copier out for a good ol' fashioned beat down, or just get a new copier all together. That also leads to the next question however. Would it be best for you and your company to buy or rent your next copier. Remember that there are pros and cons for each, so research is a good idea from the start. But, here are a few things to think about when it comes time to decide on leasing vs. owning.

Owning
No matter what the case may be, you first need to decide what your needs for your company are. This will help you determine what type of copier you will need to cater to your company's specific needs. If you can see your company using the copier for quite an extended period of time, it may be better to just go ahead and buy one. This however leads to looking into the budget. Should you have enough within the budget to justify a new copier, pull the trigger on it. Just make sure that you look into the warranty for the copier. Also make yourself fully aware of what could void the warranty. In the event that you have voided your warranty, you have just pretty much bought your company a brand new and extremely heavy paperweight. Again, it all comes down to assessing what you need and how long you need it.


Renting
When you decide to rent your copier, you give yourself quite a bit more wiggle room. Think about the idea of your copier becoming obsolete. We live in a world today that has a new smartphone or laptop coming out every week. That leaves the one you just walked out of the store with yesterday, already obsolete. This is the same with copiers. These machines can depreciate in value very quickly, as their lifespans are not very long at all. By going with the lease option, you can give your company and budget less stress. Much like that of a car lease, renting your copier offers a much lower expenditure rate versus buying your copier outright. Since these machines are advancing so rapidly, and should you decide to renew your lease after the current one is up, you gain access to the top quality copiers out on the market to date.

When it comes down to it, the decisions need to be made before you choose to go with either option. What type of copier do we need? What are we going to be using it for? How ofter are we going to use it? How much ink will we be going through weekly? How long are we going to need this copier? After answering these questions, you should then be able to decide very easily which option is best for you. Just remember, renting is usually always easier and a lot less hassle to begin with. It is aslo less responsibility, normally, on your part should it break or malfunction.

Source.

8 Reasons to Rent A Copier for Corporate Events

Renting a copier makes perfect sense in many circumstances. For example when you need a copier for a corporate event. Most company events are for a few days or a just week. Having a copier at your event is something you will need that you can't always get from the home office. 

Here are 8 other reasons to rent a copier: (Source: Rentacomputer.com)

1. If you need a big copier the logistics of getting it to the event may be worth renting a copier.
2. Buying a copier for a three day event or even a month long event generally does not make sense. 
3. A copier rental charge is generally tax deductible for most businesses. 
4. The copier rental company will install and service the copier during the event. 
5. If you need extra capacity during the event you can order additional copier capacity.
6. Networking copier to computers is a service that is generally available.
7. Copier rental fees can be charged to American Express, Visa, Master Charge, Paypal for easy transactions.
8. More options on the variety of equipment such as 11x17 format, color, collate, staple etc.

Other reasons to rent a copier include: company marketing projects, year-end financial reports, temporary offices, convention services, and special projects! 

Copier Rentals are available to rent for a day, a week, a month or even longer.

*Sources that offer all 8 reasons for copier rentals:
http://www.hire-intelligence.com.au/index.php/photocopiers - Austrailia 
http://www.copylogic.co.uk -UK
http://www.techtravelagent.com/copier-rentals.asp - United States
http://www.procarecopier.com New York, New York
http://www.rentacomputer.com/rentals/office-equipment/copiers -Worldwide

Choosing the Right Copier Based on the Size of Your Business

If you are a small business on a budget, finding the best copier can be a huge pain. Spending hours weighing out all of your options and sifting through user reviews is time consuming and stressful. You need to make sure you get the most out of your investment and spend the least amount of money possible, but it doesn't have to be hard. You just have to think about your business and let that tell you which one is right for you.

Look at the number of employees you have. Are you a small business with less than 10 employees in a home office, or a larger small business with over 30? Either way, following these guidelines can help you find a copier that meats all of your needs, packed with the best features.

Finding the best copier for your home office

It is unlikely that you will use a copy machine all the time every hour of the business day. You would probably benefit most from an all in one unit that does everything instead of having a separate printer, scanner, fax machine and a copier. This will make it much easier to balance jobs.

For small businesses and home offices, it is beneficial to start with an affordable model like the Brother DCP8110DN Laser Multifunction Copier for $299.99. This machine is really quick with copy speed (up to 38 pages per minute) and is also network ready for fast internet speed and USB 2.0 connectivity.

If your business is a little bit bigger with about 10 or so employees that will be using a copier on a daily basis, maybe in the medical or insurance industry, then you might also want to look at the Canon ImageCLASS D1300 Multifunction Copier Series for $499.99. This machine prints, copies, scans and faxes 35 pages per minute. Its other features include a 50 sheet duplex automatic document feeder.

For a small to mid sized business with more employees, ranging from 10 to 30, a standard digital copier has to have higher performance in order to support the output of a busy work environment. Check out the HP LaserJet Pro 300 color MFP M375nw at $599.99.

This copier is designed to be super efficient and to produce professional quality color copies. This would be recommended for a business that prints a lot of their own flyers and any marketing materials, like a graphic design or advertising firm. This copier also does printing, scanning and faxing. Other features include mobile printing commands that can support telecommuter employees.

When searching for the best copier option for businesses with more than 30 employees, a really great option is the Xerox WorkCentre 6505/DN. This machine is pretty impressive. It puts out 24 pages per minute in black and white or color, so no matter what you are printing, you will never have to compromise on speed or quality. Advanced features like automatic duplexing, security authentication and Xerox color correction are included.

A business of this size could also look at the Dell 3333dn Multifunction Laser Printer. It can print, copy, scan and also digitally manage documents with up to an 80,000 page monthly duty cycle. If you are running a medical office or an insurance company and are dealing with paperwork all the time, this is a very high volume machine that will give you a lot of value for your money. It also has an LCD touch screen with a 17 button keypad for easy use.

When choosing the copier for your office, make sure you look at the features that are a must have for your work environment. Then, it should be much easier to compare models and make the correct choice. For short term copier needs check out Rentacomputer.com

Copier Company Gives 100 Non-Profit Organizations a Free Copier

'Tis the season to be giving, especially if what you are giving is copiers. According to a recent report, Copiers Copiers, which sells brand-name copiers like Canon, Ricoh and Konica Minolta, is planning on giving away 100 used copiers absolutely and totally free this holiday season. The recipients of these free copiers? Well, they're non-profit groups that operate on limited budgets that rarely make possible the purchase of the new office equipment.

The only thing a qualifying non-profit has to do to receive a free copier is to take care of shipping and the copier is all theirs. President of Copiers Copiers Alexander Oliver stated that his company has a surplus inventory of used machines that would only be recycled or used for parts. Oliver wants these machines to be put to good use by community non-profit groups instead of being thrown away. According to Oliver, "There are so many worthy organizations that run on shoestring budgets. If we can help some of them with this offer, we're glad to do it."

In addition to that, Oliver also says that non-profit and charitable organizations are often unable to afford to take funds away from the good work they do to pay for office expenses like photocopying. With this special offer, however, 100 groups won't have to do that. Many of the copiers being given away retailed between $5,000 and $10,000 when they were new and all units are toner-based copiers that have all the important features and capabilities that brand new copiers have. 

Oliver also stated that organizations that are interested in taking part in the special offer should send an email to promo@copiercopiers.com. The email should give some background about their organization and outline why they would particularly benefit from receiving a refurbished copier or used copier. This email should also include all pertinent contact information for the organization. 

Source: Midland Daily News - Copiers Copiers Gives Away 100 Used Copiers to Non-profit Groups

New Mobile Printing App Release by Canon

Canon just announced its new Canon Mobile Printing App for the iPhone and iPad, an app that extends the company's already vast support for mobile office users and consumers. The Canon Mobile Printing App allows users in homes and offices to send print jobs directly from their iPhone and iPad to a compatible Canon output device, literally allowing them to print from anywhere in the house or office.

In addition to that, the Canon Mobile Printing App is compatible with select Canon imageCLASS desktop laser printers and multifunction printers, including the recently launched MF4000 models. The app is also compatible with Canon's recently released next-generation imageRUNNER ADVANCE C5200, 6200 and 8200 enterprise multifunction office systems.

Moreover, the app also supports most imageRUNNER and imageRUNNER ADVANCE enterprise multifunction office systems along with imageRUNNER LBP printers. Users are able to print Microsoft Office files, iWorkd files, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIFF and PDF files, photographs and even web pages directly through the app's user-friendly interface. Supported file types include: doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt and pptx for Microsoft Office and Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iWork.

According to Vice President and General Manager of Marketing, Business Imaging Solutions Group for Canon U.S.A. Sam Yoshida, "With today's mobile workforce, being able to print on-the-go is becoming an increasingly valuable asset. The new Canon Mobile Printing App provides ease of use and places the traditional print functionality at the fingertips of today's mobile worker."

Source: Canon U.S.A. Announces Mobile Printing App for Home and Office Users

Toshiba Tec's Loops Copier System Erases Printed Paper, Allows You to Reuse Paper

Toshiba Tec recently debuted a new eco-friendly copy machine that allows users to erase printed documents and reuse them as blank sheets of paper, reducing the carbon footprint in the process. This is actually a brilliant idea because, if you're like me, you always end up having a lot of papers you've printed off that you can't use anymore. Sure you can throw them away or recycle them, but this allows you to reuse them, not only making for a greener experience but also saving you tons of money on paper.

Known as the Loops Copier System, this device is the first of its kind and combines two separate machines: a special toner that uses erasable ink and a machine that applies heat to wipe the paper clean. The system also has the capability to erase as many as 30 sheets per minute, cutting down on the amount of paper used by nearly 80% compared to standard copiers. As soon as the documents are erased, the machine sorts through all the printouts and eliminates damage paper from the system. In addition to that, each sheet can be reused up to five times.

Loops is a part of a larger push by Toshiba Tec to produce eco-friendly products that drastically reduce a company's carbon footprint by using less energy and making efficient use of resources. What's more is that the copier system alone slashes carbon dioxide emissions of standard machines by almost 60%, according to Toshiba Tec. The Loops Copier System is scheduled to go on sale in Japan in February 2013 for an estimated retail price of ¥1.41 million, or over $17,000. Toshiba Tec plans to sell the green system in other countries under a different name starting in May of 2013. Source: ABC News - Eco-Friendly Copier Erases Printouts

Kodak Ends Inkjet Printer Sales, Continues to Sell Ink

Kodak recently announced that it was discontinuing the sales of its inkjet printers, which left many customers worried that the company may discontinue the sale of the ink for these printers as well. Many people bought inkjet printers from Kodak for one simple reason, that being the fact that the ink for these printers was pretty cheap in comparison to others. The good news is that even though the company won't sell any more inkjet printers, it will still continue to sell the ink to customers who have these printers.

Krista Gleason, spokeswoman for Kodak, recently stressed, "Kodak will continue to sell ink to its customers, honor all product warranties, and provide technical support and service. Customer service remains a priority." However, that raises the question of how long this will go on. According to Gleason, "The expected lifetime of the printers," which is three to four years based on industry average.

Kodak added that it anticipates supporting inkjet sales beyond that, as long as consumer demand remains strong. The same thing was said last month when Lexmark announced that it was exiting the inkjet printer business. Even though both companies get some credit for not leaving customers high and dry, this isn't all about customer service.

The real profit for printer and copier companies comes from ink and toner sales. This announcement from Kodak clearly stated that it would continue to sell the ink in an effort to crawl out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. "Kodak has continued to manage its Consumer Inkjet business for profitability, and starting in 2013, it will focus that business on the sale of ink to its installed base," the company said.

Kodak's printers have been considered slower than most of the other ones on the market. Even though picture quality on Kodak devices was very good, other features and capabilities seemed underwhelming for office use. To make things worse, Kodak put these devices up against a ton of new and better devices from companies like Brother, Canon, Epson and HP. Aside from printing photos, Kodak's printers weren't fast enough to be of any real use in an office setting.

IDC's Keith Kmetz stated, "Kodak's market share never achieved the levels the company hoped for, and Kodak's financial struggles made the company's consumer inkjet effort very difficult." These problems sound a lot like the ones faced by Lexmark, where both companies wanted to sell ink and toner for printers and copiers that were mediocre and best.

Source: PCWorld - Kodak printers are gone, but the ink sells on

Lexmark Ditches Inkjet Printer Market, Focuses on Laser Printing Instead

Lexmark semi-recently announced that it was leaving the inkjet printing market altogether, which doesn't mean too much considering the company was never a top contender in the market anyhow. Regardless, the company did announce that it was phasing out its consumer and SOHO inkjet businesses as well as canceling its business inkjet line. With this news, some people are wondering if the world of inkjet printing is dead and therefore the era of laser printers is upon us.

The  good news here, at least for existing Lexmark inkjet customers, is that Lexmark Executive Vice President and President of Imaging Solutions and Services Mark Canning stated that even though the company will no longer be making new inkjet printers, it is not abandoning its current inkjet customers. According to Canning, "We will continue to provide the customers all of the supplies, support, maintenance and technical support. It's not our intention in any way to cut short the value that our customers have purchased from us."

On the other hand, Lexmark's laser printing business is doing well. Despite the company's tough financial times in its two main markets, the laser printing business for Lexmark is growing in both hardware purchases and supplies usage. This brings up the question of whether or not consumers' shift to online is hurting Lexmark's printer business. "Every time things go online, there's more to print," Canning added. "We have a lot of activity around mobile printing, cloud printing, print anywhere, print and release, and managed print services. While these things are shifting online, the volume is increasing content."

Lexmark may not be the only company planning on ditching the inkjet manufacturing business, though they are currently the only ones that have actually come out and said it. Some business analysts believe that Lexmark is making the right decision by ditching this particular industry. In addition to that, a recent increase in Lexmark's stock price is yet another positive indicator that stockholders still have faith in the company.

Source: PC World - Lexmark: Inkjet Printers Are Dead, Long Live Laser Printers

Find out what is going on in the Tech Army World.

What are the Top 10 Money Making Missions?
What other companies have joined and what do they do?
How do I join the Tech Army Organization ?

Apple Files 2 New "Shake to Print" Patents for iOS Devices

Yay! New patent filings from Apple! Just what you always wanted! Unless you're Samsung, that is. Anyway, there are a new pair of patent filings from the company that would allow users to select custom settings for printing by moving or interacting with an iPhone or an iPad in different, unique ways.

The filings were recently published this week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and are entitled Systems and Methods for Defining Print Settings Using Device Movements and Systems and Methods for Defining Print Settings Using an Input Interface.

One example of how the applications could be used described how a user could shake their iPhone back and forth in order to enable a print settings mode. In addition to that, the patents gave an example of a user shaking their iPad to cancel a print job. This isn't exactly new tech for the company, as Apple already has a system-wide feature that allows users to shake their device to undo things as well as a shake option that shuffles music on devices.

This new concept, however, could allow users to change settings, like print orientation, by rotating or moving an iOS device. One example included in the patent stated that viewing a photo in portrait mode could then send the picture to a printer with the same layout.

The patent application also presents new ways that a user could interact with an iPad to select printer settings. Users could select an array of pages to print from a document, while the template selector would show a user how their content would appear on various paper sizes.

Whenever viewing multiple pages of a document at one time on a touchscreen device, a user could also use their finger to draw across the pages and signify the order in which the pages should be printed. Whether or not this technology actually makes it on to future Apple devices remains to be seen, though the ideas are definitely interesting.

Source: AppleInsider - Apple's 'shake to print' concept would add custom printing options to iOS devices

Find out what is going on in the Tech Army World.

What are the Top 10 Money Making Missions?
What other companies have joined and what do they do?
How do I join the Tech Army Organization ?