Art Post
Once upon a time we sold just a copier, that machine only made copies and nothing else. There was no stapling, no two-sided copying, no document feeders, one paper tray and a single-sheet bypass tray was the norm. You also had to make sure you didn’t place a cup of coffee on top of the copier since most of these devices incorporated a moving top (platen).
As the industry evolved we saw the emergence of companies that developed sorters (remember Gradco?), key counters (remember Hecon?), coin-op units (can’t remember one of these), copier cabinets, and even a company that sold custom covers for the devices. Yes, back in the day every new copier came with a cover and yes when asked “do ya think I should cover the copier at night?” we stated yes, but please make sure you turn it off.
I can distinctly remember one company back in the eighties that manufactured a foil overlay for plain-paper copiers. It was a novel idea that allowed users to make a copy of a document and then you could either slide the copy underneath the foil sheet (which was sealed on one side) or then run both the foil and the copy through the by-pass of the copier in one pass. Presto chango, all of the black image on the page was changed to the color of the foil. The foil would only stick to the black toner once the media passed through the fusing section. These foils came in many different colors and the most dramatic was the gold foil, we used to tell potential customers that you could turn your copies into gold (lame). You could even get fancy and with the use of removable tape and scissors, cutting strips of foil to get different colors on the copy. This was probably the inexpensive and easiest way to get a color copy. The foil media was primarily used for certificates and proposals. It was awesome, walking in with a proposal that had the look of gold print. Check it out, you can still get this stuff. I just may buy a pack to mess with some of the younger reps in the office.
Someone’s novel idea added some sizzle to copiers at a time when the analog copier market had matured. That was also true for companies like Gradco and Hecon, and it’s been so long I can’t remember the rest. The point is new products and new services not only helped us with hardware, but we provided solutions for our customers.
How about the key counters? Can you remember how popular they were? It seemed that every school had one. The concept was that you had to have a little box that had a mechanical counter in it and the key counter connected to the copier. If the key counter was not in the copier, well the copier would not work. This was used as a way to control copy usage.
At a time when the analog copier industry was maturing these products and solutions allowed copier dealers to sell more machines and capture additional clicks (back then toner was not included in any of the maintenance agreements). The copier manufacturers saw the success of these companies and thus started adding their own sorters, their own counters, and expanded the offering for accessories for copiers.
Dealers and Manufacturers have always been on the front lines to introduce new technology that will help customers increase efficiencies, and reduce costs. In my 33 years in this business it’s more about how we can improve our customers workflow and reduce costs, whether it’s imaging with copiers, printers, duplicators, managed print, or document management.
I’ll have part two of this ready in a few days.
Good selling!
