Color digital copiers and printers continue to drive revenue growth for manufacturers and Canon is issuing its latest color digital duplicators designed to compete with the Xerox DocuColor 12, Xerox 240, and Xerox 2045.

As Canon has managed to make tremendous strides with the Canon imageRUNNER 105 and iR110, the color laser printer market is the next logical step. With the introduction of the color imageRUNNER C5180 series earlier this year, Canon announced that it was trying to create a line of affordable digital color equipment. In addition, Canon announced the introduction of the color imageRUNNER C4580/c4080/c3380/c2880 series. The excerpt below is from the press release issued earlier this week by Canon, offering the specs on the latest digital color models.
"Based on four-drum technology, the Color imageRUNNER C5180/C4580/C4080 Series delivers speeds of up to 51/45/40 pages-per-minute (ppm), based on letter-sized documents, respectively, for black-and-white output and up to 51/40/36 ppm, based on letter-sized documents, respectively, for color output. The Color imageRUNNER C3380/C2880 Series, which brings big features and impressive color to the office in a small footprint, delivers output at speeds of up to 33/28 ppm, respectively, in monochrome and up to 28/26 ppm in brilliant color."

According to the press release, issued by Canon (available here), the manufacturer's suggested retail pricing for the latest models is below.

Color imageRUNNER C5180 "i" $25,000
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Color imageRUNNER C5180 $23,000
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Color imageRUNNER C4580 "i" $22,000
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Color imageRUNNER C4580 $20,000
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Color imageRUNNER C4080 "i" $19,000
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Color imageRUNNER C4080 $17,000
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Color imageRUNNER C3380 "i" $13,000
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Color imageRUNNER C3380 $11,000
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Color imageRUNNER C2880 "i" $11,000
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Color imageRUNNER C2880 $9,000
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With many digital copiers, you need to have a fax board installed or included in the initial purchase. For example, a G3 Super Fax Board for the Canon imageRUNNER 2200 or imageRUNNER 2800, allows you to have a networked digital copier that can fax.

There are a number of fax options available on a digital copier that extend beyond a traditional fax machine.

Fax two-sided documents

If your digital copier does duplex copies, it can usually fax two-sided documents. That also means you can print on both sides of a sheet.

Edit Faxes

If your digital copier has optical character recognition software, you can edit faxes through your network and then send back the corrected document to your client.

The key to utilizing the fax capabilities is to have a networked, digital copier, one that has a fax board installed and has sufficient memory to allow you to send and receive large documents. The Super G3 Fax Board for the Canon imageRUNNER 2200 is a perfect example. It takes an offline digital machine and brings it online. You can then send faxes via your networked digital printer.

If you're looking at digital copiers and want to know about all of the options available, please consider talking to JJ Bender.

It's not how you start, it's all about the finishing options on a digital copier. If you're looking at a Xerox 6100 or Kodak NexPress 9110, then you need to know the finishing options that are available. Sorters and staplers are often referred to as finishers on digital copiers.

The high end digital duplicators offer optional three-hole punches or folders. Make sure you always know the paper size limit for the optional sorters or folders. Sometimes, the finishers only work with manual input trays, limiting a print run to 100 copies at a time and creating an environment that requires a larger amount of operator intervention.

As digital production presses are used to replace offset presses, the finishing options are becoming more impressive and able to handle larger print volumes. The custom publishing industry is driving the market expansion of color digital copiers with the Xerox iGen3 becoming the standard bearer.

If you're wondering about different finishing options or available peripherals, please consider talking to JJ Bender.

In Harry Potter, the houses in which each wizard child will study are selected by a sorting hat; your digital copier has the equivalent in sorting bins. It's less dramatic but equally effective.

Sorting bins are considered peripherals on many digital copiers, limiting the number of copy sets you can do to the number of bins that you have available. The bin is where the copies are caught and collated. Sorter bins are usually additional items with a pricetag of potentially several thousand dollars, on top of the basic digital copier features.

Digital copiers, like the Xerox iGen3 110 Production Press, offers electronic sorting. Here sets are produced at right angles to allow for quick differentiation and greater productivity. You are not limited to the number of bins that are currently attached to a machine.

If you're looking for more information about sorter bins on a Xerox 6060 for example, please consider talking to JJ Bender.

Ever wish you could fix a mistake while it was happening?

Thanks to image editing capabilities on a digital copier, your documents don't have to suffer the same fate. Machines like the Xerox DocuColor 2060 and Xerox iGen3, have auto-correct features that look at image composition and make corrections in the middle of a print run.

This can reduce streaking and help copies appear more uniform in color and tone. Thanks to these features, you don't have to sacrifice quality when you leave your digital copier unattended. You can take on larger print runs and feel confident that when you spot check your finished pieces, you won't have to worry that time or ink was wasted.

In addition to improving image quality, high volume digital duplicators can number pages and print watermarks. This ultimately saves time and improves organization while protecting against fraud.

If you're looking for the right image on a high volume digital production press, please consider talking to JJ Bender.

The ability to scan or not to scan, that should be your question for a digital copier salesman.

A majority of digital copiers have the capability to scan; however, not all of them can scan and store. A digital copier featuring a scanner with a large memory improves the efficiency of an office and reduces the need for operator intervention.

The most basic memory options will feature about 10 MB of memory, the rough equivalent of 50 letter-sized pages. That means, your digital copier can store up to 50 originals at a time, leaving you free to run jobs for weeks without having to find the original document you scanned. More memory obviously means that your copier can run unattended for longer periods of time, leaving you or an employee free to do other jobs.

If you're looking at high volume, digital copiers with or without a scanner, please consider talking to JJ Bender.

A multifunction copier is just like every other piece of digital equipment you own for your home or office. It's your TV/VCR, your clock radio, and your pen that doubles as a dictaphone.

A true multifunction copier offers you the ability to print, fax, and copy. A number of smaller Xerox phaser copiers come ready to operate out of the box with all three capabilities. As digital copiers get larger, the multifunction components come in the form of add-on peripherals. It can be in the form of a stacker or finishing option that allows you to.

In the Canon imageRUNNER 2800 for example, the print and fax options are enabled via a Canon print board and Super G3 Fax Board. These boards allow the copier to be used as a networked printer or fax machine.

Always look at what options come standard for a color digital copier and make sure that quality is not sacrificied in a given area because of a machine's multifunctionality.

If you're considering a digital copier, please consider talking to JJ Bender.

There is no perfect buyer's guide for Xerox copiers. There's no document that offers complete comparisons between equipment and you should always look at information that a copier manufacturer or vendor sends you several times to make sure you understand the exact capabilities of a given copier.

The best preparation for purchasing a copier is to know the questions (and sometimes answers) before you meet with a copier vendor. You should always know the number of copies you expect to make, color and black-and-white, the level of service you will require, and your budget.
If you really are looking for some written help, The Better Buys for Business, has a decent primer that discusses the costs of copier consumables, equipment, and service. It also compares analog copiers versus digital duplicators.

If you're looking for advice on purchasing a color copier, please consider talking to JJ Bender.

At JJ Bender we closely monitor the phone calls and e-mails we get in order to keep an eye on the fast-paced graphics industry and the needs of commercial printers and copy shop owners.

Over the past year, we've seen a revolution in color digital presses as NexPress and Canon have aggressively launched production equipment to compete with the Xerox 8000 and the Xerox iGen 3. Customers are calling us about the Nexpress 2100, Konica Minolta 1050, and Canon C3220.

All of the machines offer commercial printers the ability to generate big ticket items like a rush order of glossy brochures or variable data printing. The message, as always, is that more competition is better for the end user as manufacturers are pressed to lower prices on their digital presses. In addition, the continual innovation and launch of new products has rapidly depressed the very recent generation of high volume, digital color copiers. So, owning a digital color copier has never been more reasonable.

If you're looking into a color digital press, please consider JJ Bender.