Prints cost less than copies on a digital copier

Everybody knows that producing prints on a networked digital copier is cheaper than producing prints on a printer, because you merely pay the reduced price of a copy. But not everybody knows that with Minolta, producing prints on a copier is even cheaper than producing copies.

Minolta copier division product manager, Paul Symonds, says printing to a copier costs up to 10% less than copying on a copier. "The moving parts on a digital copier that scan the document to make copies are the culprits that make copying more expensive than printing," he says.

Up until now, users of networked digital copier/printers have benefited from reduced running costs, by only paying the price of a copy for prints produced on the multifunctional device. Now, thanks to the introduction of separate metres/counters on certain machines that discriminate between copies and prints, users will pay a specified cost-per-copy and a reduced cost-per-print.

This improved functionality is yet another reason why increasingly more organisations are installing digital copier/printers with their more cost-effective copier technology that produces laser print quality output and their capability to reduce a company`s total cost of ownership (TCO) by up to 76%.

Symonds says several other factors influence the TCO of a digital copier. "The capital cost of purchasing a digital copier may be high, but if a TCO exercise is conducted, the long-term benefits of the technology become evident," he says.

The cost per copy of an inkjet printer can be as much as 60c per copy, while copies or prints produced on a digital copier can cost as little as 7c per copy.

The reason why the cost per copy differs to such an extent is that copiers have separate toners, drums and starter systems, whereas these are all combined in one unit for printers. When the toner needs replacing in a printer, the entire imaging unit needs to be replaced, while in copiers, the toner is simply replaced.

Symonds says with advances in copier technology, there are also no compromises in print quality when using a digital copier as a printer. "Today digital copiers reproduce true 'printer` quality," he says.