BEST COLOR COPIERS | 8 MIN READ
Who would have thought there were so many commercial color copiers out there to choose from? The sheer number of options available to companies can quickly become paralyzing if you don't know what to look for. In this article, with the help of our friends at Buyer's Lab, we'll break down the 15 best office copiers (including ones suited for small business) of 2020.
As a company who has sold nearly every brand of office copier on the market for over 50 years, including big names like Canon, Sharp, HP, and Ricoh, business managers often turn to us and ask for our recommendation on the best color copiers. So, we thought we should write about it!
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10 Best Color Copiers of 2020 List
Best Color Copiers [Over 50+ PPM]
Best Color Copiers [50 PPM and Under]
Everyone has a budget, but settling for the cheapest copier may not be the best bang for your buck. There are additional crucial factors to consider when purchasing a copier, which we've worked into our selection criteria.
The criteria listed below are certainly not the only factors to consider when purchasing an office machine. Your company may have unique needs that are not covered in this review, so it is important to consult an industry professional before making a final decision.
If you decide to purchase a copier from this list, you have to consider more than just the copier with the highest score.
Determine which factors are the most important to you before examining this list. For instance, if reliability is the most important factor, then you are likely going to prefer a different copier on the list than someone who values security the most.
All of our data was compiled from our company's internal data throughout 2019, as well as heavily from Buyer's Lab, a trusted independent resource within the copier industry. If you would like even more detailed information on these machines, we recommend reaching out to Buyer's Lab for their full reports.
Buyer's Lab is an industry resource for copiers, printers, scanners, and fax machines. Their database includes thousands of machines that are thoroughly and consistently tested. We analyzed how Buyer's Lab scores machines to determine how our rankings and scores would be built.
Reliability was listed on Buyer's Lab as the most important factor. This is because a machine with great features and image quality isn't that great if it's broken all the time. Therefore, only machines that received a reliability rating of 8.5 or more were considered for our list.
Reliability also makes up 50% of our total SOS Rating. The other four factors (image quality, ease of use, security, and features) were averaged and then added to the reliability score to create a total possible score of 20.
Broken down as a formula, our scoring looks like this:
Reliability + [(IQ + EU + S + F)/4] = SOS Best Office Copier Rating
It should also be noted that we only considered machines that had been lab tested by a third party, so it is possible that some high quality machines were omitted from this list. Unfortunately, we can't include a machine based on what the manufacturer claims on its spec sheets.
In this list, we've broken down each machine's score so that you can see which areas of strength each copier has. The machines are grouped by color and then by black & white.
RELATED: Best Office Copiers of 2020 [Ratings + Reviews]
Note: Take each ranking with a grain of salt. Each business' needs vary greatly, which means they place higher value on different features.
Speed: 80 ppm
Dimensions: 48" x 27-1/8" x 37-1/8"
The C7580i II is about as good as it gets by office copier standards. Receiving high marks in every category, this machine is perfect for enterprise-level offices, high print volume requirements, and multi-user environments. Like most of Canon's copiers, its display screen is highly customizable to suit your preferences. If you're looking for a high-capacity machine with few weaknesses, this is a good option.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 10 | 9 |
Total Score: 19/20
Speed: 60 ppm
Dimensions: 47-2/7" x 24-3/8" x 29-1/4"
The C5560i II is designed for businesses with complex printing and scanning needs, with high image quality and fast print speeds for its class of copier. When compared to its predecessor, this machine offers a higher-capacity cartridge, more memory, and larger touchscreen, standard wireless, standard hard disk drive encryption, and a higher paper capacity.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 10 | 7.5 |
Total Score: 18.625/20
Speed: 80 ppm
Dimensions: 41.45" x 26.97" x 31.10"
The 8052ci serves as an alternate option to the Canon imageRUNNER Advance C7580i II in terms of speed, with a perfect features rating, but lower security, ease of use, and image quality rating. This machine is designed for large work environments that need a high-volume machine for printing in color. When compared to previous editions, this model boasts a faster warm-up time, more random access memory, and a faster monochrome/black & white print speed.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
Total Score: 18.5/20
Speed: 65 ppm
Dimensions: 48.3" x 37.6" x 27.5"
This machine performed very well during third-party testing and it appears Toshiba has made strong efforts to improve many of its machines in areas that were once severely lacking. With that said, there were three minor misfeeds during the test (more than any other machine on the list). Features that are particularly helpful, include on-the-fly toner replacement for maximized uptime.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7 | 8 | 9.5 | 6.5 |
Total Score: 17.75/20
Speed: 60 ppm
Dimensions: 33" x 24" x 26"
The MX-6070N is a great choice for mid-sized and large departments. It's usability is at the top of the list in terms of ease of use, also boasting a high mark in reliability and security. Where this machine may lack a little in the image quality department, it makes up for in its functionality.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.5 | 7 | 9 | 9.5 | 6.5 |
Total Score: 17.5/20
Speed: 30 ppm
Dimensions: 31" x 24.2" x 27"
With flawless reliability in testing in addition to flexibility and customization, the C308 is an outstanding overall performer. Like many Konica Minolta machines, the award-winning MyTab offers users fully customizable drivers along with the ability to move between three different interfaces. Additional care has been taken to make integrating with mobile devices seamless, and at 30 pages per minute, this copier is great for meeting the demands of a small to mid-sized workgroup.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7 | 7.5 | 9.5 | 10 |
Speed: 30 ppm
Dimensions: 45-1/5" x 22-1/4" x 29-1/4"
An ideal copier designed for legal, financial, healthcare, educational, and other high-volume (paper intensive) environments. Its durability and reliability makes up for its slower speed when compared to its big brother machines. When compared with previous versions of this model, an upgraded four key security feature comes standard, and also includes hard drive overwrite and encryption.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 10 | 6.5 |
Speed: 50 ppm ( available in 40 and 60 ppm)
Dimensions: 36.7" x 23" x 30.3"
First Copy Time: 7.5 sec color / 6.4 sec mono
Recommended Monthly Volume: 40,000
With high reliability, a good print quality that will meet the general needs of an office based on its clear and consistent mono-color print output. This, combined with HP's industry-leading security, makes it an ideal printer for larger work groups.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 10 | 9 |
Speed: 30 ppm
Dimensions: 45"x 25.2" x 28.9"
The C8030 was designed for mid-size to large department use. Based on 110,000 impressions made, Buyer's Lab found that it only had one misfeed and required zero service. That's pretty reliable! Its ease-of-use is strong, but its feature options and image quality are a bit lower than other units. Still, this is a solid middle-of-the-pack machine.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 7.5 | 8 | 9.5 | 7.5 |
Total Score: 18.125/20
Speed: 45 ppm
Dimensions: 27" x 23.1" x 37.9"
A solid copier for mid-sized offices or departments, the C4505ex boasts a robust security rating and high marks in usability. When compared to its predecessor, this machine features a built-in web browser so that users can capture online files and images without the need for a traditional computer.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
| Reliability | Image Quality | Ease of Use | Security | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.5 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7.5 |
Total Score: 16.625/20
Once you determine which copier you want, you have two final decisions to make: will you buy or lease your machine, and will you purchase it through a dealer or manufacturer?
Buying or leasing is a decision that could go either way depending on your business' financial situation, which is why it must be carefully made.
When you decide if you want to purchase through a dealer or manufacturer, you need to look past the myths surrounding the two to make a fully informed decision. Choosing the right copier provider will determine the quality of machine servicing that you get, which can greatly affect after-market charges.
As a company that has been in the copier industry for over 50 years, we have gained enough expertise that we love to share with our readers. We hope this article answered your questions, but if you have more, we are happy to help.
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