The iRC1021i was released by Canon in late October last year (2008). It has been designed specifically to provide small businesses and workgroups with the means to produce high quality colour prints and copies without the expense of having to opt for a full size colour photocopier. With the current unstable economic climate, many business are needing to find a way to have tighter controls over their print costs. However, it is still vital for most businesses to create professional documents. A powerful multifunctional colour device like the iRC1021i could help businesses keep a tight control over print costs whilst still being able to produce high impact colour prints.
The iRC1021i has been made to help bridge the gap between desktop and colour printing, making it a favourable choice for offices that require features and colour printing that is more advanced than a desktop machine but do not have the need for a large A3 device. This device is also the first Canon photocopier of its size to include an embedded click counter, making it available for lease or rental contracts.
It is clear that at present many businesses are becoming cautious in their spending and trying to cut out any unnecessary costs. Choosing a device that is fully multifunctional can help manage printing costs as all necessary functions can be run from one device. Paper use can be more easily monitored and this can also prove to be more cost effective than running a printer, photocopier, fax machine or scanner all from separate devices. The iRC1021i has the ability to copy, scan, print and send, with an option to add a fax function. The send function is powered by i-send which allows documents to be scanned into the device and then sent electronically to an email address, fax, network folder or i-fax, helping to cut down on paper use.
The iRC1021i is also a favourable device for small offices wishing to reduce their power consumption. It has the lowest standby power consumption of any model in the colour photocopier range, just 1.2 watts stand-by power. This device also takes only 60 seconds to warm up from cold, something that could encourage people to switch the device off completely when not in use, helping to further save on energy costs. This new model, despite being so compact also contains the technology that has made the larger scale models so popular. Auto colour sensing can be found in the iRC1021i, which means that only the colour toner that is used is paid for.
It seems that the iRC1021i will be useful in reducing the gap between desktop and full colour printing to help small businesses and workgroups to find a way of producing professional A4 prints when they are needed from a space saving and affordable device.