The most obvious difference between a colour and a black and white copy machine is that the former can print both in colour and in monochrome while the latter can only do in monochrome. It goes without saying that black and white printing is more cost-effective than coloured printing.
Originated in 1938, photocopying took the world by storm and in 1959, Xerox’s machines enabled people to switch over to copying documents instead of the dreary and time-taking process of manually copying them. With time, these machines have become more and more advanced with new features being invented that made working that much easier.
It is true that with time, differences between colour copy machines and black and white copy machines have minimized and if you are considering buying a machine, you need to look at both kinds of machines from a 2021 perspective.
Cost
Many people stop themselves from buying colour copy machines thinking that they are inherently much pricier. While that has been true in the past, it does not hold ground anymore today. The price has plummeted considerably but for some reason the older belief that they are exorbitant is still afloat. The difference in the cost is actually not much when we factor in the diversity colour can bring to everyday communication. We also have to understand that purchase price is not the only factor that gets measured – value is a very important factor that matters more or as much.
Value
Without a doubt, communication is made vibrant and effective with the aid of colour, which subsequently makes people more productive. There are many reasons why colour simply works better –
- Visual search time gets reduced by approximately 80 percent
- Better comprehension by approximately 73 percent
- Colour coded messages are more memorable
Performance
The area of performance is also often misunderstood by most like cost. Just like the cost differences between a colour copy machine and black and white machine are not so much as we think, their performances too are mostly comparable. Initially, colour printing used to be slower when compared to black and white but that is no longer applicable. Many colour printers now can print up to 16 pages per minute in both colour and black and white while more powerful machines can print up to 27 pages per minute in both modes.
Functionality
Some people have also wrongly deduced that the adoption of colour printers for everyday office uses has been slow because they lacked all-round functionalities from high capacity paper trays to finishing options. This understanding also lacks ground now. Colour printers of today have everything that you can possibly need.
Networkability and manageability
Again, colour devices of yesteryears were not the most network-friendly but now they very much are. They can easily work as networked devices and can be managed seamlessly on any network. Earlier, only laser printers had network connections but in present times, business inkjet models and MFPs are all network-ready. In terms of networking, there are hardly any differences between colour and black and white printers of today.
At the very outset, you need to understand the primary use of your copier. If colour printing is going to be a recurrent feature of your daily business, you can work it out with your budget, because as stated earlier, there is really not much price difference between the two types. All you need to do is to sit down, plan it out and get the one printer that you think will get your work done ideally. However, if you still want to run a tight ship, you can set some printing rules so that there is less wastage and unnecessary colour printing – a few office ground rules can really work in your favour. You can also get creative and get both black and white copier and colour copier and use them as required – for instance, colour for printing and black and white for copying.
Take a look at Canon photocopiers which have plenty of options for both colour and black and white printers that will do the jobs just like you expect them to. Hope this article is informative enough to guide you to your perfect machine.
