If you have recently been working with your copier supplier and are in the process of purchasing a new copy machine, then you likely have been thinking about a wide variety of factors. The speed of the copier is one thing that you must think about very carefully. However, a speedy printer is not always better. Keep reading to understand when a speedy copy machine is and is not required.

High Speed Is Best For Large Volume

If you need to print out tens of thousands of in-house copies a month to produce reports, order sheets, or internal memos, then you probably need a speedy printer. This is especially true if end-of-the-month reports need to be printed in large volumes. Copiers can typically produce between about 20 and 120 pages per minute. Generally speaking, if you need to print out around 30,000 to 40,000 pages a month, then a copier with a 50 to 60 page per minute speed is best. Copiers with 75 to 80 page per minute speeds are probably needed if your copier volume is between 40,000 and 75,000 a month.

You also will need a high-speed copier if you must print several thousand pages at one time. Otherwise, it may take a long time to print reports. For example, if you need to print a 10,000 page report at the end of the month, then you will spend a full 8 hour day using the copier to create the report with a 20 page per minute copier. If you have a machine that prints 60 pages a minute though, then you can cut this time frame down to a little over 2.5 hours. This can help to free up the copier more quickly so other employees can print. High-speed copiers can also reduce stress and late reports if changes need to be made or errors were found in the original and a new report must be created. 

Low Speed Has More Options

If you do not create a large amount of documents in a month, then a high-speed printer is probably not required. High-speed printers cost more, so a low-speed one may be a better fit for your budget, especially if you do not need a powerful machine. Also, low-speed printers will often have features that high-speed copiers will not have. A lower speed will allow the copier to complete other tasks that would not be possible if the machine had to work quickly.

For example, low-speed machines may be able to staple papers together. This is often called a finisher or a finishing capability. The feature aligns all the papers together and places a staple in the left or right corner. This is advantageous if you have multiple packets to prepare. Other finishing features include punching, folding, and binding. 

Document feeders are extremely popular features that you are likely to see on a low- or medium-speed copier. The feeder will accept a large stack of papers. Each paper is pulled into the copier separately and scanned by the device. Scans can then be compiled for digital storage or each page can be printed.

There are a few different automatic feeders you can choose from. Reverse automatic and duplex feeders are two options. The reverse automatic feeder will pull in a page, scan one side, flip the page over, and then scan the other side. A duplex feeder will pull in a single piece of paper and scan both the top and bottom of the page at the same time. These types of feeders are a great addition to your copier if you typically copy, scan, or print two-sided documents.

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