Essential Copier Functions | Features Your Office Will Need

Depending upon the size and industry of your business, the copier that you choose may be dramatically different from the copier found in an office down the street. To select the right copier functions for your company, it helps to explore leading features that can benefit different offices based on staff size, work volume, industry and more.

Must-have copier features for every workplace

Document scanning

In today's digital world, a basic office copier with scanning capabilities is nonnegotiable. Larger offices with 50 or more employees that routinely deal with paperwork, like an insurance company or medical office, can benefit from a copier with a built-in scanner to scan and upload hard copy documents to save to a computer database. Paper documents can then be filed appropriately or destroyed to save space.

Automatic document feeder

Medium to large businesses with a significant daily copy volume can't do without an automatic document feeder in a copy machine. An ADF will automatically feed up to 50 original pages to copy without having to manually lift and lower the cover for each sheet. This feature best serves businesses that often copy reports, handbooks and manuals, like a law office or accounting firm with more than 20 employees.

Image editing

Businesses in technologically advanced industries, like graphic design or online marketing, can fully utilize the image editing feature in a digital copier. For example, a graphic design company of any size can use copier image editing to combine images in a two-sided document onto one concise page. A copier can also be programmed to edit documents to automatically number pages, add confidential watermarks or print a date stamp on all duplicates to support organization in any client-based industry.

More features

In addition to basic printing tasks, businesses need to perform additional tasks such as hole-punching individual pages or stapling packets to enhance the finished look of reports and documents. Today, color copiers come with features such as saddle-stitching, image mirror, image repeat, booklet creation, secure watermark and negative and positive inversion. If you use Apple devices, check for the Apple printing protocol AirPrint. Android users would need an Android printing app. Another good feature is Google Cloud Print.In addition, the Wi-Fi printing option allows you to wirelessly print from any device.

Features	HP LaserJet Enterprise 500 MFP M525f (CF117A)	Brother MFC- L9550CDW	Konica Minolta C364e	Kyocera TASKalfa 4551ci	Lanier MP C8002	Ricoh Aficio MP C2030	Sharp MX-4000N	Savin MP C8002
Wireless Printing	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Print from mobile Devices	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Print from UB Devices	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Touch Screen Display	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No
ADF	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Fax	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Automatic Duplexing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	yes	Yes
Secured Print	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Access Restrictions	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Saddle Stitching	Yes	Yes	No	NO	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
2-sided Printing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Booklet	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Negative / Positive Inversion	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Mirror Image	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Page Numbering	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Secure Watermark	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Hole Punch	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	NO	Yes	Yes
Stapling	Yes	Yes	Yes	NO	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Price	2009USD	799USD	15440USD	9675USD	Price Not Available	834USD	Price Not Available	Price Not Available

Is a multifunction copier right for your office?

In light of all of the features listed above, many businesses prefer to lump advanced copier capabilities together by purchasing one user-friendly multifunction machine. A multifunction machine can serve as several pieces of equipment, often with scanning, printing and faxing capabilities.

Many small to medium businesses appreciate a multifunction copier because of its compact size since it can replace multiple pieces of equipment in an office. In addition, a multifunction machine is cost-effective, as one piece of machinery can be purchased instead of separate models for each task.

Nonetheless, larger businesses with high-volume copy needs may experience more trouble than necessary by using a multifunction device. For a business that needs to make hundreds of copies each day, a copy machine can easily get tied up when used for faxing or scanning instead.