| ENGINE SPEED |
[Normal Text Spam]Let’s start with the base unit or the “engine”. The engine is where toner is put onto the paper and is rated in speed or copies per minute (cpm). Besides the copies per minute, the engine is responsible for determining if the device supports Black & White or Color, what sizes and weights of paper can be used to print or copy on and whether or not the machine can duplex (double sided).
The copier industry separates different speed engines into different segments:
- Personal Copiers 1-10 cpm (copies per minute)
- Segment 1 11-20 cpm
- Segment 2 21-30 cpm
- Segment 3 31-45 cpm
- Segment 4 46-69 cpm
- Segment 5 70-90 cpm
- Segment 6 91+ cpm
The speed of the engine determines how many copies (prints) you can turn out in a particular time period; 10 cpm = 600 pages per hour (10 cpm x 60 minutes/hour). If this copier runs for one hour (total) every day, you’ll run 3,000 copies a week (600 copies x 5 days) or about 12,000 copies per month.
In contrast, a 70 cpm, Segment 5 engine would run 4,200 pages per hour or 21,000 pages a week. That’s about 84,000 per month for that same one hour a day running time.
The speed of the machine affects productivity in a couple ways. The first one is pretty obvious; if you need to run 10,000 copies a day then a 10 cpm engine is incapable of doing that. (10 x 60 x 8 = 4,800). Besides the fact that you’d burn the machine up by running it constantly for 8 hours a day, you just can’t get 10,000 pages out of it (unless you run 2 ½ shifts!).
The 2nd thing to consider is peak volume; how much work do I need to get done during those peak times—like at the end of the month or during tax season? Your office may average 36,000 copies a month but 90% of those copies or prints may occur during the last week of the month. In that case, you need the capability of running 6,480 pages per day; (36,000 * .9)/ 5 days.
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- Will the speed of this engine give me the appropriate average copies per minute?
- Will the speed of this engine give me enough peak volume?
- Do we have a need for color (do we outsource any color now or use a lot of expensive inkjet cartridges)?
- Could we save money by printing or copying on both sides of the paper?
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| ENGINE DUTY CYCLE |
Another important engine related factor is called the duty cycle. The engine speed determines how fast paper can run through the machine, while the duty cycle describes how many. As in our earlier example, we can run 4,800 pages a day through a 10 cpm machine, but we’ll end up drastically shortening that equipment’s life span because it’s not designed to run constantly, 8 hours a day. The machine’s duty cycle may be something closer to 4,000 pages per month.
The duty cycle can also be referred to as recommended volume or recommended volume range. It’s important to understand that the duty cycle is a recommended or “best guess” number based on past service experience with a particular model or model series. Therefore it is not an absolute number but more of a guideline. You can go over your duty cycle. Just keep in mind that the chances of equipment or part failure increase as you increase the volume over the recommended amount.
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- Will our average monthly or annual volume exceed that recommended for this engine?
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| ENGINE PAPER CAPACITY & LIMITS |
Generally, the engine is going to have a native paper capacity (i.e. 1 drawer that holds 500 sheets). Paper capacity is most commonly specified by paper weight and type of paper (i.e. 500 sheets of 20 lb bond paper). The reason for this is that heavier paper is thicker; therefore it takes less of it to fill a given space.
A particular engine will also have a specification for the paper weights that it is capable of feeding. (i.e. 20 lb bond to 80 lb index)
A lot of today’s printer and copier engines have something called a manual feed tray which is nothing more than a tray that allows for several sheets of paper to placed at a time. The paper can then be selected for a copy or a print job. Often, a job can be built where the first page of the job prints on the paper in the manual feed tray and the subsequent pages print on the paper in the normal or default paper tray. As a rule of thumb, manual feed tray usually supports a heavier paper weight and is often used for pulling cover stock or specialty paper.
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- How much paper capacity (how many sheets and what type) do we really need?
- What paper weights will we need to run through this equipment?
- Is there a manual feed tray and what does it support (paper size and weight)?
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| ORIGINAL FEED OPTIONS |
Most everyone is familiar with the concept of the flat-top or the manual feed copier. You walk up to the machine, lift the lid and then place your original on the glass in order to make a copy.
In contrast, automatic feed machines allow you to place several originals at one time into a feeder or hopper and have the machine pull the originals in and copy them for you. Automatic Document Feeders are available that allow for duplexing or double sided copying as well.
When talking about automatic document feeders, you’ll run across several terms:
- ADF Automatic Document Feeder
- RDF Recirculating Document Feeder
- RADF Recirculating Automatic Document Feeder
- DADF Duplexing Automatic Document Feeder
For the most part, these are all basically variations on the same thing.
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- Does this feeder duplex or double side?
- How many sheets can it hold at a time?
- What weight and type of paper can it feed?
- What size originals can it pull?
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| ADDITIONAL PAPER CAPACITY |
Besides the native paper capacity of the engine, most copiers and printers have the ability to add additional paper sources. These additional paper sources can be called drawers or trays. A special unit that holds thousands of sheets of paper is often referred to as a paper deck or a large capacity tray (LCT).
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- Do we do a lot of copying or printing on a single size of paper (like 8 ½ x 11)?
- How much of our total monthly volume is on a single type of paper?
- Do we frequently print or copy on different sizes of paper such as legal & letter?
- Do we frequently print or copy on special paper like letter head or colored paper?
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| FINISHING |
The term finishing refers to what happens to the paper as it leaves the machine. Finishers perform functions such as:
- Stapling
- Collating (or offset stacking)
- Hold Punching
- Folding
- Booklet Making
- Output Capacity & Locations
Different machines will have different options available for them so it’s important to understand what your mission critical needs are and what the “niceties” would be.
Stapling allows for multiple, stapled sets to be produced. Stapling units are going to specify a total number of pages that can be stapled. Here again, this will be paper weight dependent as well (i.e. 25 sheets of 20 lb bond). Many different stapling options exist from how many staples to what side or corner of the paper is stapled.
Collating refers to the act of physically separating one printed set from another. Today, this is most often accomplished by offsetting the output by about an inch or so. When the first set finishes printing, the output tray shifts so that the next set is physically stacked an inch higher in relationship to the first set. The third set is then shifted back to the position of set number one.
Hole Punching is often available as a finishing option—usually in combination with an external finisher such as a collator. If you’re paying extra for three-hole punch paper, it may be that you can offset the extra cost of this option by the savings in paper cost. Hole punch units come in different configurations like 3 hole, 2 hole and even GBC.
Folding can be added to certain finishers when the need arises. If your printed or copied output is frequently hand folded or folded offline, it may be advantages to find a machine that supports this type of option. Folders are available that can bi-fold, tri-fold or z-fold. Options vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer and between models.
Booklet Making combines the ability to fold with the ability to staple and the ability to impose pages. Imposition is a term that means; to put the pages in the right order. When you create a four page folded booklet, the resulting output is on a single page with pages 1 and 4 on side one and pages 2 and 3 on the back side. When the sheet is folded, all of the pages are in the right order.
Output Capacity refers to how many sheets can be held in the output tray or area before it’s full and can’t hold anymore. In a high volume print environment, you’d want to look for finishing equipment with a lot of capacity. In a smaller office, a standard exit tray capable of holding 50 sheets may be just fine. The Output Location refers to how many different locations there are for paper output to go. Some machines have only one output location while others may have three or more. Multiple outputs often give the capability of routing different output; copy jobs to output tray 1, print jobs to output tray 2 , faxes to output tray 3.
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- Are we doing any manual finishing now that could be automated—saving on labor cost ? (collating, folding)
- How often do we hand staple sets from the copier or printer?
- Do we use a lot of pre-punched paper or frequently punch it after it’s copied?
- Could we benefit from having completed, finished booklets?
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| FAXING |
A number of today’s copiers have the ability to add a fax option. This option turns the copier into a traditional fax machine. There are some advantages to doing this:
- Smaller footprint than separate copier and fax machines
- Takes advantage of copiers faster document feeder and print speeds
- Reduced per page cost for printed output
- Frequently adds fax routing capability
- Frequently adds desktop faxing
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- Do we have a standalone fax machine close to the copier?
- Do you need a fax machine where the copier is?
- Are you looking at adding a standalone fax machine close to the copier?
- Do you frequently print documents out just to turn around and fax them?
- Are you spending a lot on fax cartridges or toner?
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| PRINTING |
Since becoming digital devices, just about all copiers are really digital print engines with digital scanners on top. As soon as you add network connectivity and the appropriate print controller, you’ve got a really nice high volume network printer.
The cost of printing on a standard digital copier is far less than that of printing on a cartridge based desktop printer. Anytime you can move volume from cartridge based devices to digital copier based device, you’ve got the opportunity to save a lot of money on printing costs.
The majority of today's digital multi-function devices are available with either a Postscript or PCL option. There are several factors that enter into the decision, but for the most part, PCL is well suited for most office applications involving printing from Microsoft programs and common business documents.
Postscript is a more graphically robust and accurate printer interface language and is generally used in marketing and other heavily graphic environments. Feel free to give us a call if you've got any questions.
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- Do we print more than 500 pages a month on desktop, cartridge based printers?
- Could we benefit from printing staple sorted sets?
- Could we save even more by printing double sided or duplexed?
- Do we frequently print a job on a desktop laser printer and then turn around and run multiple sets on the copier?
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| SCANNING |
Since becoming digital devices, just about all copiers are really digital print engines with digital scanners on top. As soon as you add network connectivity and the appropriate scan controller, you’ve got a really nice high volume network scanner.
There are several scanning options available today ranging from scan to file to scan to email. There are machines that can push scan and pull scan, usually in multiple file formats.
The question to scan from a digital copier rather than a traditional desktop scanner is a workflow question rather than a technology question. For the most part, the cost of adding scanning capabilities to a digital copier ranges from free to fairly reasonable.
WHAT YOU SHOULD ASK:
- Do we ever copy documents just to send it elsewhere?
- Are there long-term concerns about the amount of physical space our paper documents are taking up?
- Is there benefit in sending documents electronically rather than through the mail or special courier?
- Does paper flow from branch offices to feed a time sensitive or mission critical application at the main office?
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