image of a printer and a copier

Background

As two common office equipment, printers and copiers each have unique functions and application scenarios. This article will discuss the differences between printers and copiers in detail, including working principles, functional characteristics and application scenarios, to help everyone better understand and choose office equipment that suits them.

1. Working principle

Printer:
The printer mainly converts information, images or text on a computer or other device into physical paper output. According to different printing technologies, printers can be divided into inkjet printers, laser printers, dot matrix printers, etc. Inkjet printers form patterns and text by spraying ink; laser printers use optical components and toner to adhere to the paper to form a pattern; and dot matrix printers form characters or images on paper by hitting the ribbon with a needle.

Copier:
The working principle of the copier is based on the combination of optical and mechanical technology. First, the image on the original is exposed to the photosensitive drum through an exposure device, and then the image part on the photosensitive drum is adsorbed by toner and transferred to the paper, and finally the toner is fixed by heating to form a copy.

2. Features

Printer:
(1) Diversified output: can print papers of different sizes, materials and colors according to needs.
(2) High customization: can print personalized text, images and graphics.
(3) Network connection: supports wireless connection, convenient for printing on mobile devices.

Copier:
(1) Fast copying: can quickly copy a large number of files or images.
(2) Zoom and sort: can enlarge, reduce or sort the original copy.
(3) Double-sided copying: automatic double-sided copying function, saving paper and time.

3. Application scenarios

Printer:
Suitable for places such as home, school or office that require personalized and high-quality output. For example, student homework, family photos, company reports, product manuals, etc.

Copier:
Suitable for places that need to copy a large number of documents, such as libraries, archives, large enterprises or government agencies. In these places, copiers can quickly and efficiently copy a large number of documents and improve work efficiency.

4. Lifespan

Printers or printer-based MFPs generally have a design life of about 100,000 pages, which is the design life of many high-end products.

The design life of copiers is very long, and high-end models are designed for millions of pages. But this also has a disadvantage, that is, in order to have a long life, more durable materials must be used to make parts, resulting in a very high overall cost of the equipment.

5. Processing cores

Standard printers generally have small memory, and companies will also reserve space for users to add. However, the printer itself is not large, so the control circuit area in the entire circuit board is also small.

But this is not the case with copiers, because many copiers have to consider many functions when designing, so many copier circuit boards are based on a complete set of components such as CPU, memory, hard disk, etc. based on the RISC instruction set. In fact, they are just a small computer that completes tedious work with super processing power.

6. Conclusion and suggestions

As common office equipment, printers and copiers have obvious differences in functions and application scenarios. When choosing, you should consider your actual needs and budget. If you need high-quality, personalized output, you can choose a printer; if you need to copy a large number of documents, you can choose a copier. At the same time, you can also consider the ease of use, cost-effectiveness and environmental protection of the equipment for a comprehensive assessment.