This Week in Imaging: Is the Word ‘Copier’ the New Four-Letter Word?

by Kathleen Wirth · October 25, 2019

This week, we read of an office-imaging dealer urging other dealers to update their company by, among other things, removing the word “copier” from their company name. Meanwhile, we’ve noticed that among vendors, virtually all now refer to their combined digital copier/printer/scanner/fax machine as either MFPs (multifunctionals), MFP printers, MFDs (multifunctional devices), or, at the lower end, All-in-Ones. A few years ago, Xerox also threw off the copier name, introducing a new tag-line, “Xerox the Document Company.” For its part, HP has hardly ever used the word “copier,” (except when referring to its strategy to penetrate the A3 copier market), nor have traditional printer companies Lexmark, Epson, or Brother used it.

We all know that MFPs, MFP printers, or whatever you wish to call them, still provide a copier function, which is still used, just not as much. We also recall how not too long, HP Inc.’s and Lexmark International’s lack of experience with digital copying was seen as a big disadvantage. As HP seeks to get a bigger share of the A3 market, it’s virtually never emphasized its copying expertise – something we would indeed think ridiculous. Instead, it emphasizes its A3 models’ lower service costs (via HP Smart Device Services real-time monitoring), security, digital workflow options, and low-cost color printing for its PageWide models.

At the same time, due to customer demand, virtually all traditional “copier” office-imaging companies – Canon, Kyocera, Konica Minolta, Sharp, Toshiba, and Xerox now provide their dealers with A4 printers and MFPs. Indeed, “A4” models are no longer taboo – instead, calling anything A4 or A3 a “copier” is the new taboo.

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