Ten years ago digital  duplicating equipment was not  available in the  United States.
Five years ago, use of the technology was spreading rapidly, but mostly in a few small vertical market niches.  Today, it's grown beyond those  limited uses to general acceptance in many industries ,  organizations. Yet, it's still not as widely known or used as photocopying.  The technology provides copies just like xerographic copiers do, with tremendous advantages in cost, speed and reliability. So  why doesn't everyone have  one? Is it a technology that  will benefit your organization? To answer  those  questions effectively, you need  to know a little somewhere about technology. 

In simple terms, the digital duplicator  looks & operates  like your everyday office copier, however inside, technology perform more like an offset press.
Digital duplicating blends three very reliable, high-quality printing current technology into one easy-to-use,  compact system:

• Digital Signal  Processing
• Push-Button Electronics
• Ink-On-Paper Imaging

The blend of these  three technologies  provides system, which prints high-quality documents like those done on  a  press, at the  touch of  button,  & dedicated to a  fraction of the cost  of copying:

Inside equipment, procedure is  clean, quiet and simple. The digital duplicator captures an  image  digitally &  then automatically creates  master,  which is like a plate on offset press.  Next,  ink is applied to make copy. The diagram shows how this  works  in  more detail.
The result  is system with higher reliability and lower costs  than other technologies. So why  doesn't  everyone use digital duplicating instead of copying? Well,  there  is one  catch. cost of master, usually around thirty cents,  makes digital duplicator  impractical only for  less than 20 copies of a page. majority of copy jobs (memos, letters, reports,  faxes, spreadsheets,  etc.) made  in a  typical office are between one  to three copies per page.

Digital duplicating equipment is best  used dedicated to  mid to high volume office copying  jobs. And, it  could  reduce  amount of printing done  on offset presses, either through  an in-plant print shop or on jobs  sent to  outside vendors. The advent of desktop  publishing & "On Demand Digital  Printing" has created opportunities dedicated to the growing use of digital  duplicating. As its  name implies, digital  duplicating technology is digital,  & as  a result, is connectable to PCs ,  networks.  It  also offers advantage of printing in spot  color - that is two or more separate colors per page  (as  opposed to full process color used dedicated to  magazines  or brochures). 

Common applications only for digital duplicators include newsletters, forms,  memos, fund-raising or marketing solicitation materials, training thing and manuals, flyers &  many  others: The main requirement dedicated to economic  use of the current technology  is  that run-lengths (copies per page)  are twenty or more.  longer run-length, the greater are  cost savings  versus photocopying.
As you could see only from the cost per  copy chart, the savings grow just with  every copy  made  on  digital duplicator, compared to typical  copier.  duplicator can  save money compared to  an  offset press,  which  requires  much  longer run-lengths to be practical economically. Per  copy costs  on the  duplicator could drop well below a penny per copy just with long enough runs. 

There are a few key specs that  you might want  to pay attention to when  purchasing  digital duplicator. The  following is list of  recommended specifications.  Obviously there could be special requirements based on your needs however this would be good basis only for comparison  to  a normal digital duplicator.

• Time to  First Copy:

This is the amount of duration it takes business appliance  to make the first copy. After that, every other duplicate comes  out faster. Better  machinary  perform  at no more than 26 seconds dedicated to first copy
• Speed:

Variable only from 60 to 120 copies per minute
• Scanner Resolution (dpi):

Resolution is measured  in dots  per inch.  It  is  not  wise to have  less than 300 dpi  if you want to have high  greatness duplications
• Platen Type:

It is  best to have  a  flatbed, glass platen to easily copy loose papers  or pages only from book
• Copy Paper Size Minimum

It is  average to  handle 3.6" x 5.9" paper
• Copy Paper  Size Maximum 

It is average  to handle  11 x 17" paper
• Paper Weight Minimum

It is average to accept 13 lb paper stocks
• Paper Weight  Maximum 

It is standard to accept  110  lb paper  stocks 
• Paper Feed Capacity

This is the  amount of paper business appliance can hold without reloading. Less than 1000  sheets  @ 17.6lb. Bond paper would require more  maintenance especially only with heavy runs (the way digital duplicators are purposed to be  used)
• Image Area Maximum 

Not less than 9.8" x 13.7"
• Ink Capacity 

should hold at least 600cc  to avoid  constant maintenance
• Ink Colors

This is the number  of  colors & combinations your duplicator has the ability  to print. It  is not wise to have  less than  sixteen dedicated to nice sharp colors

• Preset Reductions , Enlargements:
One  touch resizing;  Improved copy fitting for  more professional-looking documents; enables oversize originals to be  printed on normal  paper sizes; Reduces operator  error ,  wasted masters 
• Shadow & Edge Erase Modes:
Reduce  amount of ink  placed on page by erasing "gutters" & shadows; Attractive, readable prints 
• Wide Range of  Original Weights:
Heavy originals or paste-up  can  be duplicated  without jamming the  document feeder
• Speed:
Adjust speeds dedicated to desired  ink coverage;  Improve reliability of feeding various  paper weights & sizes;  Much  faster than laser  printers or petite  copiers, , as  fast  as many offset presses; Increase turnaround duration
• Combine Two  Originals:
Double productivity while  reducing  paper  cost by 50% 
• First Copy Time: 
Saves time, even on shorter duplicating runs
• LCD Display:
Easy to  read, plain  English display; Walks users through  print job for increased productivity; Program in one of five different  languages
• User Program Mode:
Saves  operator time;  Jobs could be called  up , printed by untrained personnel
• Paper Delivery Wings:
Reduces risk of having ink set-off; Easier paper  handling
• Air Pawl Sheet Separation:
Increases paper exit reliability
• Air Vacuum Paper Exit: 
Increases paper feed reliability; Allows only for wider range  of paper stock
• Copy Paper  Capacity:
Reduces need  dedicated to operator  monitoring  ,  paper loading length in time
• Copy Paper Weight:
only for added  impact;Increase flexibility;  Bring more  jobs in-house
• Large Capacity Delivery Tray:
Larger tray matches input capacity of paper tray
• Cartridge Ink:
No mess;  Easy reloading; No wash-downs
• Custom Match Ink:
Able to answer customer demands dedicated to matching school, church or logo colors 
• Economy Mode:
Reduces  ink cost  per printed page by up  to 15% 
• Master Ejection Process:
Eliminates  need dedicated to  skilled operators;  Clean, fast, automatic process;  High capacity
• No Master Waste  Confidential  Mode (Security  Mode):
Maintain document security without  wasting masters; Permanent lock  even  when  system is restarted

• Automatic Document Feeder: 

(Feeds & automatically  positions up to 30 originals) Allows only for continuous,  unattended printing  of  multiple originals, thereby increasing productivity; Makes big jobs easy; duration  saver
• Tape Separator:

(Automatically places tape between copies made from each  original)  Separates output only from multiple  originals for ease of distribution
• Computer Interface:

(Allows duplicator to be directly linked to PC  or  MAC) Improves image quality. When used only with Image Overlay function  can combine image just with  hard  copy, eliminating the  need dedicated to multiple passes.