| Business copies sure have come a long way in the | | | | and incomplete. |
| past half-century. What was once an ink-stained | | | | Collate and Staple |
| nightmare to operate has now become a sleekly | | | | Remember the first time you saw a copier collate a |
| integrated part of your company's internal networking | | | | document - taking a 40 page report and organize it |
| system. But it hasn't always been like that. The copy | | | | perfectly in multiple sets? Heck, it's almost 2010 and |
| machine has gone through some radical changes over | | | | that's still a pretty cool looking function! Automatic |
| the years - transforming into something more | | | | stapling and document collation were considered highly |
| advanced with each passing year. | | | | advanced features about 25 years ago, but they |
| Here's a quick look at some of the more notable | | | | were much more than just "show" - they helped |
| moments in copy machine history. | | | | businesses create clean, presentable documents for |
| Say Goodbye to the Mimeograph Machine | | | | clients and customers in a matter of seconds. |
| Ask anyone who went to high school or middle school | | | | Color for the Masses |
| in the 1960's and 1970's about copier and they will tell | | | | As hard as it may be to believe now, there was a |
| you about the mimeograph machine. The mimeograph | | | | time not too long ago when color copies were only |
| was an ink-filled machine that used a rotating drum to | | | | possible through commercial printing services. And |
| reproduce images. Patented by Thomas Edison in | | | | even when the first wave of color business copiers |
| 1887, it would remain the primary means of duplication | | | | began to make their way into offices around the |
| until the rise of off-set printing, and of course, the | | | | country, the cost of printing in color was still incredibly |
| modern photocopier machine. | | | | high. Then about 10 years ago, Canon and Xerox |
| A Smarter Way to Add Toner | | | | began to introduce more cost effective ways to print |
| Back in the day, adding toner to a copier was a | | | | in color, and the industry has never been the same |
| sometimes-baffling, always-messy ordeal. It was easy | | | | since. |
| to spot the person in the office who was in charge of | | | | Network Integration |
| this thankless task, as they looked like a | | | | Once a gathering place for people from all over the |
| chimneysweep by lunch time. In the past 40 years, | | | | office, the business copier is now just another point on |
| companies like Xerox and Canon have created | | | | the network. Advanced business copiers can now be |
| easy-to-use toner cartridges that allow individuals to | | | | controlled from PC desktops and even store scanned |
| switch out new toner without getting their hands dirty. | | | | versions of the documents they copy for future use. |
| There are also much "smarter" ways for determining | | | | The ability to print, scan and copy from the central |
| whether or not the unit is low on toner. Internal | | | | copier in the office has helped transcend the industry, |
| technology now warns users if toner is about to get | | | | and keep copiers relevant into today's more paperless |
| low - as opposed to the old days, when you only | | | | corporate world. |
| knew it because your documents looked washed out | | | | |
