Xerox is one of the most widely recognized brands of office copiers in the market. The name has become so synonymous with the function that it is not uncommon to refer to any brand of office copier as a Xerox machine, without giving any thought to who the actual manufacturer is. The machines have evolved with the growth of the industry and come with a variety of features aside from duplicating documents. Some of these features will vary slightly from one model to another, but many features have become standard for Xerox as a whole. The purpose of this article is to discuss some of the features of Xerox multi functional peripheral machines which have copy, scan, fax and print functions.
Xerox was founded in 1906 in Rochester as The Haloid Photographic Company, which originally manufactured photographic paper and equipment. The company changed its name to Xerox in 1961, a modern word meaning “dry writing” developed from two Greek roots. The company came to prominence in 1959 with the introduction of the Xerox 914, the first plain paper copier using the process of Electro-photography. In 1963 Xerox introduced the Xerox 813, the first desktop plain-paper copier.
Xerox’s first foray into duplicating, as distinct from copying, was with the Xerox 2400. This number denoted the number of prints produced in an hour. This machine introduced the industry’s first Automatic Document Feeder, Slitter/Perforator, and Collator (sorter). This product was soon sped up by fifty percent to become the Xerox 3600 Duplicator.
Following these years of record profits, in 1975 Xerox resolved an anti-trust suit with the Federal Trade Commission, forcing the licensing of the company’s entire patent portfolio, mainly to Japanese competitors. Within four years of the consent decree, Xerox’s share of the U.S. copier market dropped from nearly 100% to less than 14%. However, by the year 2000, Xerox had re-invented itself as “The Document Company.”
During the past ten years as the role of the MFP (Multifunction Peripherals: combined copier, scanner, fax and printer) emerged as the ultimate office machine of choice, Xerox has not only kept pace with the industry, but in a recent analysis of market share, has emerged at the top of the upper quadrant, leading its 7 major competitors, Ricoh, Canon, Konica-Minolta, Lexmark, Kyocera, Toshiba and Sharp). Xerox has demonstrated strengths in all of the key factors identified by market analysts to ensure MFP market success. The company gets high scores for its capabilities and strategy, product offering and road map, delivery model, portfolio, sales/distribution, marketing, and growth execution and strategy.
Xerox’s MFP product line includes a collection of models and brands to target various channels and customer types. This includes a wide range of color and monochrome MFPs spanning a variety of speeds and customer targets from small offices up into large enterprises. Xerox also commands an impressive presence with refurbished and used Xerox copiers for sale. There are three families of MFPs in its line. The Phaser models come from the company’s printer heritage and are typically A4 configurations. The WorkCentre models show a mix of A3 and A4 configurations from both printer and copier perspectives. The relatively new A3 ColorQube family is based on Xerox’s exclusive solid ink technology and gives the company a unique value proposition in the color market around total cost of ownership, particularly the cost of color, and environmental advantages.
Xerox multifunction office equipment offers a wide range of office printing solutions that deliver flexibility and advanced features as copier, printer, scanner, and fax machine all in one multifunction printer to suit personal to high use workgroups offering cost savings and office efficiency.
As an example, take Xerox’s compact WorkCentre 7120 / 7125. It is loaded with features that save time and simplify device management:
- Fast output. Copy and print both single-sided and two-sided documents at up to 20/25 ppm in color or black-and-white.
- Scan, print, copy, fax and route files —all at once. Concurrent operation maximizes office productivity, letting multiple users perform different office tasks simultaneously.
- Never wait for a critical print job. The Print Around feature holds a job in need of resources (such as a special paper size) and prints the next job in the queue.
- Superior scanning. Easily share files or introduce electronic archiving with powerful scan capabilities. Create text-searchable files at the device for easy retrieval. Compression technology reduces network load to enable fast transmission.
- Automate everyday workflows. Create job flow sheets to automatically route documents to predefined locations, including email addresses, fax destinations and FTP/SMB sites.
- Remotely manage the device. CentreWare Embedded Web Server automates installation, troubleshooting, feature set-up and upgrading.
- Easy, accurate billing and supplies replenishment.
- The amount of paper held by a Xerox photocopier will vary depending on which model you are using. Smaller sized Xerox machines typically hold 2,000 sheets of paper, while larger office copiers will hold more than 5,000 sheets. In addition to holding a large amount of paper, Xerox machines often support multiple paper types. Most copiers hold standard 8.5-by-11-inch paper in one paper tray, while holding A3 legal sized sheets in another. Some models also have adjustable trays that can be configured for almost any paper size.
Xerox holds the title as the charter or first member of the photo copier family of products. Its reputation holds today as it continues to not only keep pace with technology and innovation, but to lead the way.