KOPIKAT PHOTOCOPIERS

Help! I just want a machine to make copies… Digital – ‘Vive La Difference’ ALL new machine are now digital. The change happened circa four years ago. If you’re upgrading from the older technology (analogue) be assured that the new digital machines are as easy, if not actually easier to use! Some of the differences digital will make in your office include…. Scan Once / Print Many – Digital machines scan your originals into memory just once regardless of the number of copies you require, the copies are then printed from the scanned image in the machines memory. This means a huge reduction in the wear and tear on your document feeder.
Fewer Moving Parts - Digital copiers do have far fewer moving parts than analogue copiers resulting in far fewer incidences of jamming. Less Noise - Digital copying also makes far less noise than analogue copying, though it's possible you won't discover the importance of this until the unit is actually installed in your office. If you currently have an analogue copier, think about what it sounds like. You can probably hear it completing a job from two doors down, especially if it's using its old sorter bins. Many new owners of digital copiers find this quieter copying to be a welcome surprise.
Space Saving by Combining Originals - We often demonstrate this feature as the "wedding" booklet. Basically this enables you to place a number of A4 pages into the document feeder and get a perfectly proportioned booklet finished in order all at the touch of a button! Multi-Functionality - If space is at a premium or you intend to buy a new printer fax or scanner anyway, digital copiers can fill two or even three of your document management needs. Today's digital copiers are called digital imaging systems, digital copier/printers or even digital multifunction products. See Multi-function – Cost Effective or Bottle Neck? Better Quality - Fine lines like those in graphs or blueprints are more accurately reproduced on digital machines, as are photographs. Additionally, where output from an analogue copier can differ slightly in density across copies, each reproduction from a digital copier is a duplicate of the same scan, so it is absolutely identical to the copy before and after it. A digital copier can even be smart about how it makes copies of originals that combine text and graphics: the graphics are copied in photo mode and the text in text mode.
Electronic Sorting - Most of the new digital copiers offer electronic sorting. They hold the image of your multi-page document digitally, they print out as many copies as you need and offsets each set of copies from the next. This is a real advantage and can makes the old space-hogging sorter bins unnecessary. See Do I need the "Go Faster" Bits? More Flexible Reduction/Enlargement - Digital copiers are capable of a much larger zoom range (both reducing and enlarging) than analogue machines. 200% or even 400% enlargements are possible, compared to the traditional analogue maximum of 141%. Digital-based zoom also helps with a function called "proportional zoom," where the copier can reduce or enlarge vertically and horizontally at different percentages. Copiers that have this feature allow you to shrink a legal-sized sheet onto, say, an A4 letter-sized sheet. What’s my copy volume? The speed and strength of the copier you choose should depend upon the number of copies you make in a month. If you already own or lease a copier, you can determine your actual copier usage by looking at the counter, usually found under the platen glass. Once you have a rough volume figure, increase it by about 10%; the "curiosity" factor dictates that employees tend to use a new piece of equipment a bit more in the beginning just because it's new. Then take that figure and increase it by 30%. That's approximately the monthly copy volume you should look for. Two reasons account for this 30% increase:
Manufacturers exaggerate. All copiers, as you will see when you compare models, come with a suggested monthly copy volume. This number is supplied by the manufacturer and is notoriously inflated beyond the copier's optimum performance. If you buy a copier with a monthly copy volume that exactly matches your actual office use, you'll end up overworking it, and overworking a copier is the quickest way to a service call. You need room for growth - Good quality reliable equipment, particularly with the versatile features of the newer digital machines will invariably be used more in your office so make sure you leave room for growth.
The Need for Speed - We identify with the acknowledged fact that "time is money". The importance of speed is often not immediately apparent when considering a change particularly by the inexperienced sales rep. Copier use is rarely spread evenly over the 8 hours of a normal working day and the copy or copies of a document are usually the last link in the chain of your work. The importance of the output speed should therefore be a serious consideration. First time copy and warm up are also worthwhile careful consideration. Do I Need the “Go Faster” Bits? Bypass Tray - Bypass trays allow your copier to easily handle material that would normally cause a jam if fed via a paper tray inside the machine. Bypasses can do this because they have a short straight paper path for better feeding into the machine reducing the risk of jamming. This design makes bypass trays ideal for copying onto overhead transparencies, odd sized paper or heavy / light paper stock. Bypass trays are an inexpensive option on low to mid range machines and generally come as standard on high volume machines.
Document Feeders - A document feeder allows you to copy multi-page documents without having to lift and lower the platen cover for every sheet you copy. A platen is the glass upon which an original is placed for copying. Instead, you drop a stack of originals (anywhere from one to 50 sheets) into the feeder, press start, and the copier automatically pulls each sheet through. This really is essential for most modern office applications as it is very significant in terms of time management. Duplexer - A copier with a duplexer can automatically make two-sided copies with the press of a button. You can however use the bypass to manually make two-sided copies. If you do you will need to experiment a bit to get the image to face the right way and this can be very time consuming. If you duplex often, it's worth paying the premium for the added convenience of automatic two-sided copying.
Paper Supply - A copier's paper supply refers to the sets of trays and holders that hold paper inside the machine. Depending on which paper source you select, you can copy onto different sizes or types of paper. Remember to take two numbers into consideration when deciding on paper supply: the total paper supply and the number of paper sources available- Total paper supply. Paper sources typically start from 250 sheets, and the largest-capacity units can hold up to 7,750 sheets! Every copier has a standard paper supply. Its maximum paper supply is made up of the standard supply plus any optional paper sources (sometimes known as trays, cassettes or paper feed units) you choose to purchase. Number of sources. The number of paper trays (or sources) available is important if you want to be able to frequently copy onto different paper stocks such as letterhead, coloured paper, legal-sized paper or overhead transparencies. Finisher \ Stapler - Finishers can be equipped with automatic staplers so your sets of finished copies can be stapled once they are collated. Most finishers offer multi-position stapling. It is an expensive option that works really well, however if you do not require stapling the electronic sorting is superb and space saving. Drop us a line or call us on 278 2222. We’ll make our recommendation for YOUR office by e-mail or post together with a digital snap of that recommendation from our showrooms in Stillorgan. There’s no need to slave over boring brochures with 20 plus options and we will clearly quote the RRP, discount and your trade-in allowance! To learn more about the Insider Language, see Copier Bits Explained.