• Choose Copiers to Fit Your Business

• Evaluate Copier Features

• Decide How Much Copier Memory You Need

• Service Your Copiers

• Find Copiers on eBay

• Buy Copiers With Confidence

Choose Copiers to Fit Your Business

Choose Copiers to Fit Your Business

Most companies choose digital black and white copiers or digital color copiers with a variety of features over older analog copiers that allow users to make copies by pressing one button. Digital copiers — also called multifunction copiers — produce less noise than analog copiers, have fewer moving parts (which usually means fewer mechanical problems), better reproduce fine lines and photographs, and vary little in price from analog copiers with similar features. Even with minimal training, your staff can quickly get used to operating a digital copier.

• Digital multifunction copiers: Digital black and white copiers can use modules to combine the functions of copiers, network printers, scanners, and fax machines. Modules supporting special functions, often sold as add-ons, give you the ability to add functionality to your copier later. Some machines can be upgraded with a "plug and play" type of upgrade while others require more extensive hardware fixes. If you want to add printing or faxing modules later, ask about the specifics of the upgrade process first. If you rarely have a need to make color copies, consider buying an inexpensive all-in-one inkjet printer with scanning capabilities to complement your black and white digital copier.

• Digital color copiers: Color copiers support color printing and work much like a computer scanner connected to a laser printer. The color copier scans an original document and transfers the information via laser to a charged image drum. Then color toner adheres to charged areas of the drum, the copier heats the toner, and a permanent image fuses onto paper. High-end color copiers apply all four colors in a single application while low-end color copiers take four passes of the same image, rolling paper around the drum each time it applies a color. Low-end color copiers cost less than high-end color copiers, but have slower copying speeds. Color copiers typically cost 20% to 30% more than black and white copiers with similar speeds and volume ratings. Dedicated graphic color copiers cost more because they offer print-quality accuracy in color reproductions and faster processors.

• Hybrid copiers: For most businesses that need some color printing and copying, a black and white/color copier hybrid makes the best choice. By switching between B&W and color modes, a hybrid copier can save you money in color copier consumables such as paper, toner, developer, and fuser oil.

Base your decision to buy a copier on your monthly volume, copy speed, color copying needs, and network connectivity requirements, not bells and whistles. A small office copier should work for businesses that plan to make less than 700 copies per month. However, you'll find more advanced features and service guarantees offered with business-grade copiers. Expect prices to increase as copier capacity, speed, and monthly volume increases.

• Determine copier capacity: How many copies do you plan to make each 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. You can also use your monthly paper consumption to help determine your current copy and print volume. If you don't have a copier, examine your copy shop receipts to get a sense of your volume. Increase your figure by 30% to 50% if you plan to use your copier as a network printer. Also increase your rough volume figure by at least 15% to account for future growth. It's better to pay for more capacity than you need than risk overworking and damaging an essential piece of office equipment.

• Consider copier speed: Copier speed is measured in copies per minute (cpm), pages per minute (ppm), or outputs per minute (opm). Each term describes the number of letter-size pages the machine can produce in one minute when running at full speed. The copier industry has six segments that specify copier speed, ranging from Segment 1 machines that run 15 to 20 ppm to Segment 6 machines that top 91 ppm. Most offices will get by comfortably with machines from Segments 2 - 4, in the 20 to 50 ppm range. If you expect to make a lot of one-time single copies, ask about first-copy speed (the number of seconds it takes for a copier to produce a single copy). Also expect slower speeds for more complex forms of copying such as making two-sided copies, copying onto larger sheets, and sorting.

Look at the cost of copier consumables

Remember to figure in the cost of consumables, such as toner. Color copier consumables, such as paper, color toner, developer, and fuser oil, often have a higher cost than consumables used by black and white copiers. For example, paper used for color prints is usually brighter, heavier, and more expensive than paper used for regular copying.

Color copiers use four complementary toner colors: cyan toner, magenta toner, yellow toner, and black toner. Each toner color typically comes in a separate bottle or cartridge, so you can replace colors as they run out. Toner also needs to be mixed with developer so that it will magnetically attract to the copier drum and properly fuse to paper. Most color copiers require a separate developer for each toner color. When copies seem to get lighter, it's usually time to change developer. When you run out of toner, you'll see an overall unevenness in color. Fuser oil, required for the final step in the laser copying process, lasts longer than developer. One bottle of fuser oil generally lasts twice as long as a bottle of developer.

Buy or lease a copier

Few copiers sell at list price and you can generally expect to see 10% to 20% off the manufacturer's suggested retail price. You'll also find that prices vary widely, even among similar or identical models. Certain vendors offering service contracts price copiers below market value, but negotiate additional fees for extended service contracts, options, accessories, and add-on features. You may get even greater discounts depending on the competitive situation or if you are buying an older or discontinued model. Before buying a copier or signing a service contract, make sure you understand all current and future costs.

When deciding to lease or buy a copier, know that, as with most products, leasing a copier will cost you more in the long run. Many leases charge on a per-copy basis and may include monthly copying minimums. Consider leasing a copier if you want to avoid a significant capital outlay. Some leases also include provisions to trade up to newer models as technology changes. But be careful: complex language around minimums can disguise higher costs in the future.

Evaluate Copier Features

Evaluate Copier Features

Digital copiers have a lot of built-in features which may have little to no impact on price. You can expect to find traditional copier features on most models.

• Automatic document feeder (ADF): An automatic document feeder (ADF) allows you to copy multi-page documents without having to lift and lower the cover for every sheet you copy. Instead, you drop a stack of originals (up to 50 pages) into the feeder, press start, and the ADF automatically pulls each page through. If you copy lots of double sided originals, you should invest in a re-circulating automatic document feeder (RADF), which can flip pages inside the machine for simplified double-sided copying.

• Sorting: Digital copiers can sort copied sets electronically without the use of sorter bins. Instead of separate bins, the copies are placed in a single tray at a right angle or offset from each other, allowing you to easily identify where one set ends and another begins. Bin-free sorting allows you to make unlimited sets at one time rather than only as many sets as you have sorter bins.

• Finishing: You may want a finisher if you are frequently going to copy many sets of multi-page documents. The most familiar type of finisher is the automatic stapler, which can be a huge time-saver. More advanced versions include three-hole punches, saddle stitch binding, folding, and more. Finishers are optional on many machines, and usually carry an additional cost.

• Paper supplies: Each paper tray, cassette, pedestal, or paper feed unit is a separate paper source. The number of sources is important if you want to be able to copy onto different paper stocks, such as letterhead, legal size stock, or transparencies, without reloading the machine. Paper sources typically hold a minimum of 50 to 100 sheets, and the largest-capacity units can hold up to 3,000 sheets.

• Paper trays: Typically, copiers include at least one fixed-size and a couple of adjustable-size paper trays. Unfortunately, heavy paper stock often jams if you load it into a standard paper tray. To get around this problem, most copiers include a bypass tray, a special tray that provides a straight paper path for heavy paper and labels.

Connect a network multifunction copier to your internal network and allow your staff to print, copy, or send faxes from their computers. Because the machine is still a copier, users can also make collated, even stapled, sets of documents without having to leave their seats.

• Printing: Add a printer module and network card to a digital copier and it can double as an office laser printer — working at the same speed it makes copies. For example, the copier can allow your employees to produce dozens of stapled copies of a five-page, two-sided proposal without leaving their desks. Most offices can benefit from using a copier as a printer as per-page costs can be as little as 20% of laser printer printing costs. Most copiers run standard networking protocols, but you still need to make sure the model you choose is compatible with your network. Involving your IT department in this aspect of the copier purchase decision upfront can save you significant headaches later.

• Faxing: With the addition of a fax module, you can send and receive faxes through the copier. You can easily send multi-page faxes using the document feeder, or you can use the copier glass to fax single pages or parts of books or catalogs. Incoming faxes print as they're received, sometimes into a separate output tray. With a network interface, users can even send faxes from their computers.

• Stackless duplexing: Digital copiers with enough memory can support stackless duplexing by storing each side of the original page in memory, then printing both sides of the copy. This means the number of two-sided copies you make is no longer limited by the capacity of a duplex tray. You will get your duplexed copies much faster, too.

• Automatic sizing: Digital copiers usually offer an automatic sizing function that enables the copier to note the dimensions of your original document and adjust itself using preset reduction/enlargement settings, even if your copying paper is a different size than your original.

• Automatic shut-off: Almost all copiers now have an automatic shut-off option - it saves energy and decreases wear on a copier by turning the machine off if it has not been used for a set period of time.

• Security: Many digital copiers allow you to require that users enter a code before they can make copies. This provides a level of security, preventing unauthorized usage and allowing you to analyze current usage patterns by department. Some machines can also hold faxes or network documents in memory until the correct code is entered, then print them. This prevents confidential documents from being left in the output tray for any passerby to view.

• Basic image editing: Copiers can often edit your documents by automatically numbering pages, adding watermarks such as "confidential" or "copy," or adding a date stamp while they make duplicates. Many can rotate scanned images to match the orientation of the available paper supply or combine images in creative ways, such as copying a two-sided original onto one page, or reducing and combining originals to put two, four, or eight pages onto one page.

Standard features on digital color copiers include border erasing, image centering, color adjustment, and color balancing. Some models offer a menu of additional editing functions, such as colorizing, which lets you create color documents from black and white originals. Although these advanced editing techniques can be impressive, they can be difficult and time-consuming to master. And, if your copier is set up as a network printer, you can do much more complex image manipulations using standard image editing software at your computer and print the results. Basic editing functions are enough for most users.

Decide How Much Copier Memory You Need

Decide How Much Copier Memory You Need

Copiers use RAM, the same memory used in computers, to support features such as scan once/print many, automatic page numbering, faxing, and printing. Copiers come with anywhere from 4 MB to 256 MB and higher of RAM, and you can install additional memory to boost productivity and enable more memory-intensive features. In some cases, a fairly small cache of memory is dedicated for each function - copying, printing, and faxing. In other configurations, a single larger cache is shared between functions. Find out how memory is allocated before you decide on how much to buy. Insufficient memory will result in slower output and an inability to print or copy new documents.

• Copier memory: By holding a scanned image of each original page in memory, copiers are able to produce as many sets of documents as required without feeding the originals through again. The number of pages that can be duplicated with this "scan once/print many" feature depends on the size of the originals and the amount of detail. With less memory, the copier may be unable to complete larger copy jobs in one run. Often, you can't take advantage of advanced image editing features without purchasing extra memory. If you intend to use any image editing features, or frequently produce complex documents with over 20 pages, make sure you get at least 16 MB of copier memory.

• Fax memory: 1 MB of fax memory holds about 60 - 80 pages, which should be enough for most offices. Unless you plan to hold many international faxes in memory to send during off-peak hours, you probably won't need to upgrade your fax memory.

• Printer memory: Printer memory determines the overall efficiency and speed of the printer. As with the copier, more detailed documents will require more memory to process. In addition, memory-hungry printer languages such as PostScript can require memory for faster printing. The standard 2 MB to 8 MB of memory many printers are equipped with is typically not enough for effective printing. Additional memory or hard drives are almost always available as an option.

Make sure your chosen copier accepts generic, industry-standard memory such as SIMMs so that you can easily purchase more memory if the need arises.

Service Your Copiers

Service Your Copiers

Some vendors offer service contracts while others can refer you to qualified service technicians in your area. Because modern copiers combine electrical, mechanical, digital, and chemical systems, maintaining them requires a unique set of skills. You'll want technicians with extensive installation and service experience familiar with your brand and model of copier.

Research your service technicians

Make sure any service agreement stipulates when and how repairs will be done and try to have someone from your IT or MIS department speak with technicians directly to judge experience based on anecdotes. Also check references. The references you decide to call should own the exact copier model you're considering. Ask how responsive the technicians have been to service calls and how comfortable they feel about the technician's competence and level of expertise. If the copier has been problematic, find out how the technicians resolved the problems.

Make the right copy volume assumptions

Service contract pricing is based on estimated copy volume. However, your actual copier usage will likely fluctuate month to month due to regular business cycles or summer vacations. Be wary of contracts that stipulate an annual or monthly copy volume that seems unrealistically large. While it may be tempting to overestimate your expected copy volume to get a lower per-copy rate, if you do not meet that maximum, you will not be reimbursed for the difference. Similarly, if you estimate copy volume too low, you may have to pay a per-copy fee for every copy above your limit. If you're still trying to assess copy volume, try to get a service plan that charges you only for the copies you make (pay as you go) or one based on your estimated annual, not monthly, number of copies.

You can also negotiate a contract with monthly payments that cover copier parts and service, but not supplies, or a lower monthly payment and higher per-copy fee.

Know what a copier service contract covers

Copier service plans typically cover costs of parts and labor for repairing and maintaining your copier. Parts that break during use are almost always covered, as are parts that wear out over time, including fuser rollers, cleaning blades, and other parts often bundled in preventative maintenance kits. "Parts" can have a different definition from contract to contract, so make sure you get a comprehensive list of what is and is not covered so you can compare plans accordingly. Consumables are usually excluded from service contracts (unless you opt for an all-inclusive contract that covers service calls, maintenance, and consumables other than paper and staples).

Find out whether service costs are covered in full or priced on an as-is basis. If paying as you go, know your costs beforehand and get a written commitment on response time (the typical maximum is four hours) and the hours service is available, particularly if you expect the copier to see a lot of use during evenings and weekends. Also ask about loaner service. Many companies will provide you with a replacement copier with equal (or better) specifications if yours requires significant repairs.

Finally, get a sense for how service contracts will be priced in the future. Costs should ideally be limited to increases of less than 8% per year.

Find Copiers on eBay

Find Copiers on eBay

Once you know what type of copier you want, go to the Business & Industrial category portal, click the Copiers link below Office, Printing & Shipping, and start searching for items on eBay.

• Product Finder: The copier Product Finder on the left side of the page will help you narrow listings by item specifics. For example, choose between Black & White and Color and narrow your color copier choices by brand and print speed.

• Keyword search: Use keywords to search for copiers with specific features. To search eBay listing titles for specific words, type your search term into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay's Search Commands page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay will email you when a match becomes available. Also remember to stock up on copier toner and supplies.

Buy Copiers With Confidence

Buy Copiers With Confidence

Hundreds of copiers listed on eBay in the Business & Industrial category will likely interest you. When trying to select the right black and white copier or color copier, get to know exactly what you're buying, research the seller, and understand how eBay and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Many sellers put a lot of time into creating their listings, making an effort to ensure they include all the information buyers need. Carefully read the details in listings for the copier you consider buying and carefully review available photos. Before placing a bid or buying an item, be sure to:

• Have all your questions answered. If you still have questions after reading the listing and reviewing the photos, contact the seller using the Ask seller a question link in the “Seller information” box in the top right corner of every copier listing. Also request additional photos if you want to see the copier from a particular angle that isn’t shown in the photos included in the listing. If you have more questions than you can address in email, get the seller’s phone number and give him/her a call. Some copier sellers even include their phone number so you can call them directly. Just remember that you need to actually bid and buy on eBay in order to be covered by eBay and PayPal protection programs (see "Buyer protection" below for more details).

• Get delivery details. Calculate and include delivery costs into your final price. This may simply be the cost of driving across the city or state if the copier is close-by or it may mean working with a shipping company that can transport the copier from anywhere in the country. To learn more about shipping costs, ask the seller or visit the eBay Freight Resource Center.

• Complete your transaction on eBay. Always complete your transaction on eBay (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay are not covered by eBay and PayPal protection programs (see "Buyer protection" below for more details).

• Kno w your payment options. Never pay for your an item on eBay using instant cash wire transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know. Instead, pay with PayPal for amounts less than $2,000 (including deposits), a money order, or direct bank-to-bank fund transfer. You can also finance certain copier purchases through Equipment Financing for eBay, provided by Direct Capital Corporation.

• Track items with eBay Toolbar. Use the free eBay Toolbar to track items you bid on and watch. It includes Account Guard, a feature that indicates when you're visiting a verified eBay or PayPal website and warns you when you enter your eBay password into an unverified site, even if it looks like eBay or PayPal.

Know your seller

Just as important as researching your copier purchase is getting to know the seller. Take time to research the seller so that you can feel positive and secure about every transaction. Look for key things when evaluating a seller.

• Positive Feedback: What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have? What do buyers and sellers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Sales history: Find out how long the seller has been a registered eBay user and look at the types of items a seller typically offers. If the seller’s Feedback seems low, take the time to look at the Feedback details; sometimes a seller's Feedback looks low until you realize that they’re a office supply dealer and their Feedback count comes entirely from copiers or other heavy office equipment sales.

• Terms and conditions: What are the terms and conditions of the sale? Are the terms agreeable to you? Sellers typically set terms and conditions, but you should make sure you agree with them. If not, find another seller/copier or contact the seller to find out if he/she is open to your suggestions.

• Good communication: Once you’ve initiated communications with the seller, how is he/she communicating with you? Is the seller courteous and professional? Is the seller responsive? Once you bid on a big-ticket item such as a copier, communicate with the seller through My Messages in My eBay. All legitimate Second Chance Offer messages will come through My Messages and not to your email address alone. Always contact the seller before accepting a Second Chance Offer, and never respond to any request to send money via Western Union or other instant cash transfer service.

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event a problem arises during your transaction, you can typically work it out with the seller. However, if you can’t, eBay and PayPal are there for you.

• Put down a deposit with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay up to $2,000 without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. Also, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorized payments from their accounts.

• eBay Security & Resolution Center: Visit the Security & Resolution Center to learn how to protect your account and use eBay's quick and efficient resolution tools.