Digital Copiers: A New Frontier in Technology.

• Author: PARDES, JOAN
• Position: Brief Article

With digital copiers, you can copy, print, fax, e-mail, scan, collate and more-all from your computer.

Here we are--the year 2000. Okay, we may not be traveling around in our own private spacecrafts or have robots brewing up our morning cappuccinos, but we have come a long way in a short time.

Technology has changed the face of business and in its wake left a trail of antiquated office equipment. The business equipment of today's changing workplace may, at first glance, look familiar--but take another look.

Across the nation, the number 1 trend in new office equipment is digital copiers. From Key West to Barrow, offices are replacing analog copiers with digital machines. For some, embracing the new technology will be easy. ("I always hated that stupid copier!") For others, saying goodbye to the old ways will be hard. ("I hate getting used to a new machine.") No matter how you look at it, within the next five years, digital copiers will have replaced almost all the analog copiers in the country relegating them to something of the past--like rotary phones.

What's the difference between an analog and a digital copier? That all depends on your business needs. Digital copiers have the capacity to copy, print, fax, e-mail, scan, collate, staple and print double-sided material consecutively--all from your desktop at a rapid speed. And, unlike analog copiers, businesses can add on features as they grow instead of having to invest in a whole new machine.

"Digital copiers are not even copiers as we think of them," said Tony Gates of Competitive Edge Office Systems in Juneau. "Digital technology bridges hard copies with the electronic world. Businesses are no longer held back by the physical aspect of the machine."

Instead of waiting for a light beam to pass over a document several times like an analog copier, digital copiers scan a document once. Then the machine stores the digital image and rapidly prints multiple versions. From a networked desktop, users can operate the machine from their computers instead of programming the machine manually. Plus, individuals can operate the machine from a remote location whether they're down the hail or in a conference room in another state.

"The greatest improvement is in production," said Karen Griffith, Era Aviation's Network Administrator in Anchorage. Griffith installed a digital copier for Era last summer. The copier is networked to 155 computers, located in various locations in different hangars, and is...