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Facsimile reproduction means making an exact copy of anything imprinted on paper by using electronic devices such as copiers, fax machines, and scanners. Material may be reproduced electronically on a computer's monitor (soft copy), or reproduced on paper (hard copy). In reproducing information either electronically or on paper, one wants a quality copy that will be acceptable for the task at hand.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The first method used to make a printed copy was carbon paper. Although a Britain named J. W. Swan invented carbon tissue paper coated with gelatin about 1862, it didn't come into general use for office work until the mid-1920s. It provided a somewhat less than perfect copy of typed material. At that time one could choose between very messy carbon paper that made several copies or single-use carbon paper that was much easier to use. The first reverberations of the death knell for carbon paper occurred in 1937 when Chester Carlson invented the xerography process of duplication.

In the late 1890s the mimeograph machine began to be used to produce copies. This process involved typing on a lightly oiled surface called a "master," which involved retyping a preexisting original—a very time-consuming process. As time passed, however, the mimeograph machine was improved enough to permit masters to be reused if stored properly.

In 1906 the Haloid Company was founded to sell photographic paper for its early version of today's copier. This early piece of reprographic equipment was hardly an office tool—it was very expensive, very cumbersome, and very difficult to use. Trained operators were scarce.

In 1913 Edouard Belin invented the Belinograph, a portable facsimile machine capable of using ordinary telephone lines.

In the 1920s, the Gestetner office duplicating machine was considered to be one of the first modern examples of efficient industrial design.

In 1937 an electrostatic copying process known as "xerography" was invented by an American law student named Chester Carlson. This process, which involved the effect of light on photoconductivity, led to the unprecedented success of the "Xerox" commercial copy machine, introduced in 1959. The major problem with this copier was that it was heat-sensitive and resulted in paper scorching.

After World War II, 3M and Eastman Kodak introduced the Thermo-Fax and verifax copiers into the workplace. The copies were of poor quality and continued to darken long after having been pulled from the machine. Although these office machines were relatively inexpensive and easy to use, they required special paper that was extremely expensive.

As computer use continued to develop, additional copying methods such as fax, Ditto, and Mimeograph appeared.

In 1971 dot-matrix printers were introduced, providing a reasonably efficient way to reproduce computer-generated information on paper.

In 1974 the first international fax standard was set by the United Nations, allowing for fax messages to be transmitted at a rate of one page every six minutes. Special paper was required for these early fax machines. Today's fax equipment will accept either special fax paper of a greatly improved quality or plain paper. In 1990 facsimile machines (commonly called fax machines) that could transmit in color became available.

In 1975 IBM introduced the first laser printer. Using light lasers in the process of copying greatly improved both the process and the product.

Today's evolving technology provides reprographic-related equipment. Scanners are used in conjunction with digital cameras to reproduce pictures, sounds, and other images electronically and on paper.

COPIERS TODAY

Today's copiers are advancing rapidly, consistent with continuing advances in technology. Although using a copier today is a simple process, choosing one is not. Training is required, along with knowledge of what is best in an individual situation. Cost is a major factor in determining the most appropriate copier to use, as is the type of material that is to be reproduced.

COPIER FEATURES

Copiers are sold by a variety of vendors who offer an array of products to meet individual needs. When selecting a copier for possible lease or purchase, individual features and individual needs should be studied and matched carefully. Doing so can save time and money in the long run.

Copy Speed: The number of copies that can be produced in a minute is an important feature. Most copiers can make from twelve to fifty copies per minute, depending on the model. Most of today's copiers are also capable of creating transparencies, address labels, and letterheads. However, the quality of paper is important because poor-quality paper can cause jamming.

Paper Trays: Only specified amounts of paper can be loaded at one time into today's copiers. Paper can be loaded from the front using either a specified tray or a "bypass" tray. A bypass tray permits two-sided copies or copies on special paper stock or paper sizes to be made by programming the size individually.

Enlargement Options: Copiers today often come with a choice of preset enlargement ratios. For example, one copier's enlargement ratios are preset at 65, 77, 129, and 155 percent. Other models allow one to reduce or enlarge from 65 to 165 percent in 1 percent increments. This feature can save time and money if one has predetermined the common enlargement needs and preset the ratio to assist in copying.

Book Copying: Copiers with a book-copying feature allow copying from books or bound documents without distortion of copy.

Sorting: Copiers are available that can sort with a variety of bin configurations. As paper moves through the copier, it can be sorted into a bin and then stacked, collated, and stapled. This option can save immense time.

Control Panel and Servicing: The easy-to-read control panels on today's copiers permit copying decisions to be made easily. Copiers are often designed with a front opening that allows unobstructed access for easy servicing, including changing toner for the copier. An increasing number of copiers are now designed so that they use toner cartridges, a feature that eliminates messy, time-consuming toner changes.

COPIER COSTS

The cost of a copier is determined by the model selected and the options desired. Prices range from a few hundred dollars to more than $100,000. One modern copier has a suggested list price of $120,000 for the standard configuration and $137,500 for a model equipped with additional options. These options include digital service capabilities such as permitting taking of a photo, putting it on a scanner, bringing it up on the computer and sending out copies.

The Xerox 5800 is suited for use in general office copy rooms, an application encouraged by its user-friendly touch-screen control panel. Additional trays are available that automatically combine a variety of different paper stocks, including full-color offset pages, color covers, specialty stocks, mylar tabs, and heat-sensitive materials in a single document.

It also includes an exclusive computer-based service capability called Xerox Sixth Sense. This remote service system uses leading-edge communications technology and specially developed software to enable rapid diagnosis and resolution of equipment service needs. A copier of this type is truly state of the art.

SCANNERS

A scanner is a small machine that makes a photocopy of virtually any printed matter or illustration and stores it in a computer.

Scanners have a wide variety of applications. For personal use, for example, they can be used for copying photographs and sending them to friends and relatives over the Internet.

Businesses make extensive use of scanners. They are used in doctors' and dentists' offices to photocopy patients' health insurance data for storage in their computer. Manufacturers may use a scanner to store copies of technical matter in a computer for later retrieval. Lecturers may use scanners not only to provide illustrations for brochures advertising their appearance but also to enhance overhead transparencies they may use during their lectures. People who use communications a great deal in their work find scanners invaluable in enriching the e-mails they transmit.

Selection of a scanner should involve consideration of the ease of placing the image into the user's application. One begins the operation of some scanners by merely pressing a button; others require drawing a box around a preliminary scan. Some scanners automatically make the correct setting by recognizing the difference between a photograph and printed material; others require the setting to be done by the operator. Some scanners automatically select the correct file type for the software program being used; others must have this procedure handled by the operator.

Image quality is another criterion to be studied when selecting a scanner. It is important to have good resolution and bit-depth. But additional factors are large lenses, good optics, and strong light sources. Some scanners have automatic functions that bring these good results; others require considerable adjustments or rescanning of the image.

Image quality can also be observed in color line art. Some scanners leave uneven color line-art halftones; others correct automatically for such a deficiency. In working with black-and-white line art, some scanners bring about perfect edges automatically. Other scanners must resort to rescanning.

Another factor to take into consideration when purchasing a scanner is the manufacturer. What is the manufacturer's reputation? If a question arises about a scanner, it is easy to get a satisfactory answer quickly from technical support? And is prompt service available in the event of a problem?

Finally, thought must be given to resolution. It is not true that the larger the number of dots per inch (dpi), the higher the quality of the image. Rather, the dpi must be appropriate for the scanning project. Most scanning projects require less than 300 dpi. If you could scan an image at 9600 dpi, only a small portion would show on a computer monitor.

Judging a scanner involves studying its ease of operation, the quality of the image, the reputation of the manufacturer, and the resolution of the image.