Monday, April 15, 2013

With Rapid Technological Expansion The Office Copiers Remain Critical

By William Graham


Looking back on the past few decades, it is hard to remember when the information technology wave took over and computers appeared on every desk. First introduced as business computers around 1960, they did not begin to have an impact until around 1975, then they were omnipresent within a decade. The new capabilities changed companies, and many tools were eliminated, but not office copiers.

The notion that words, ideas, and numbers cold be organized, distributed changed and recorded without every producing a paper copy was a huge paradigm shift. Corporations and organizations of every description had used enormous volumes of documents to operate since their inception. Now the holy grail of data seemed to be in sight; searching and retrieving information at the speed of electricity.

The transition to this new digital world heralded many important and beneficial changes. Speed and accuracy in transactions was greatly improved, allowing the same number of employees to handle a much larger workload with even less effort. The change is so dramatic that it is touted as a means of drastically reducing the cost of health care, by shifting to electronic health records.

There were a great many complications to moving to a paper free environment. Ironically, one of the biggest hurdles is the trust of people who conduct transactions of every kind. If the endeavor is as important as the health of an individual or legal issues, most people are only satisfied with a hard copy of the event with original signatures to record the personal commitment of the participants.

Of all the things that were overhauled due to the efficiency of digital technology, communication received the greatest beneficial changes. The internet and e-mail nearly eliminated the need for the global postal service as far as non product movement was concerned. It is now possible at reasonable cost to have a video conference and present all manner of document in real time globally, mailing letters has become almost obsolete.

Equipment once taken for granted suffered a major shake up as technology changed. While there are still office phones, most employees have some version of a cellular device, providing greater and more consistent contact throughout a work week. The typewriter and overhead projector disappeared, replaced by the word processor and monitors, and facsimile machines declined in popularity and use.

With so much change going on in the way business is conducted, it is not surprising that the tools required were eliminated or changed as well. Graphics departments and stenographer pools became unnecessary. Surprisingly the one device that experienced little change was the equipment that produces photocopies of printed documents.

When it comes to important presentations, everyone present wants a paper copy of the slides being presented, to take with them and for note taking during the briefing. Management uses their copy to preview the ideas before the presentation, and to record ideas, changes and even directions for subordinates to follow. Until the need for meeting and interaction between people is eliminated, we will need high-quality office copiers to run a business.




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