Who we are

OER Group is a leading independently owned supplier of office equipment solutions including digital and colour photocopiers from Ricoh,Panasonic,Canon,Brother,Xerox and many more. We have been in business now for years and have offices across the UK. To further increase our rapid rate of expansion we launched our business format franchise in January 2004 and have plans to grow to 65 sites in England by 2006. By growing through franchising we can deliver the highest standards of technical support and customer service to all our customers whether they purchase a colour photo copier, digital copiers or lease or buy and other product in our extensive office equipment portfolio.

History of the photocopier

Perfect reproduction - the goal of all photocopiers. And they do a very good job of it, too. But it wasn't always that way.

The photocopier was invented by Chester F Carlson. Amongst other things Chester work in the Patent office in the USA and was a incredible individual

During the course of his patent work, Carlson noticed that there never seemed to be enough carbon copies of patent specifications. There were only two ways to get additional copies - have expensive photocopies made or have a typist type more copies which then had to be proofread for errors - a long and tedious task. The solution to this challenge would be a small copying machine in the office. But the basic operating principle would have to depend on light-reflecting properties.

After much research the breakthrough finally came on October 22 1938 and the first photocopy was produced. He approached over 20 companies to fund making the machines but all but one turned him down and it took 15 years before the first piece of commercial equipment went on the market!

In 1946, The Haloid Company (now Xerox Corporation) got in touch with Carlson indirectly, which led to the attainment of a patent license and the subsequent development of the first commercial xerographic equipment in 1948. breakdowns and service calls. Perhaps what's most exciting about the future of digital copiers are the waiting-to-be-discovered applications. As users become more familiar with this technology, they'll become more creative in ways to use it.

How does a copier work? -

What do we do to make a copy(the easy part):

Open the photo copier lid

Place the document to be photocopied face-down on the glass

Select the options you want (number of pages, enlargements, lighter/darker)

Press the Start button

What happens inside the copiers at this point is amazing! At its heart, a copier works because of one basic physical principle: opposite charges attract .

As a child, you probably played with static electricity and balloons. On a dry winter day, you can rub a balloon on your sweater and create enough static electricity in the balloon to create a noticeable force. For example, a balloon charged with static electricity will attract small bits of paper or particles of sugar very easily. A photocopier uses a similar process.

Inside a copier there is a special drum . The drum acts a lot like a balloon -- you can charge it with a form of static electricity.

Inside the copier there is also a very fine black powder known as toner . The drum, charged with static electricity, can attract the toner particles.

There are three things about the drum and the toner that let a copier perform its magic:

The drum can be selectively charged, so that only parts of it attract toner. In a copier, you make an "image" -- in static electricity -- on the surface of the drum. Where the original sheet of paper is black, you create static electricity on the drum. Where it is white you do not. What you want is for the white areas of the original sheet of paper to NOT attract toner. The way this selectivity is accomplished in a copier is with light -- this is why it's called a photocopier !

Somehow the toner has to get onto the drum and then onto a sheet of paper. The drum selectively attracts toner. Then the sheet of paper gets charged with static electricity and it pulls the toner off the drum.

The toner is heat sensitive , so the loose toner particles are attached (fused) to the paper with heat as soon as they come off the drum.

Result = a photocopy!

The photocopiers marketplace

The UK photocopiers market for new and second user colour and digital copiers is huge. Digital and colour Photocopiers are expected to remain the largest sector with a 47.2% share of the market in 2007, reaching a value of £906.6 million in 2007.(source:Euromonitor). With increasing integration with software and computer networks the copier and colour photocopiers and playing a more and more pivotal role. Many UK companies now use document management and archiving using the office copier as a high speed scanning device. Many also use the photocopier as a fax machine, laser printer to reduce overhead costs and improve efficiency. Many colour copiers now also have internet fax or scan to email facility which enables users to scan documents automatically through the copier and send them documents instantly anywhere in the world without costs using existing broadband services. The copier is truly the most versatile piece of office equipment any business can have.

What copiers do we supply ?

OER Group supply and service both new and second user Panasonic, Ricoh, Canon, Brother & Xerox digital and colour photocopiers. We are experts at supplying both Ricoh colour copiers and Panasonic mono copiers plus other makes and models and can guide you through market to specify a copier machine that is ideal for your copying, printing and all other aspects of document management. Panasonic currently have a great software suite for document archiving and Panasonic also include networking and print facilties as standard. Both Panasonic, Ricoh and other Photocopiers can be purchased on a cash or lease basis and all copiers are great value with large discounts from manufacturers and great deals on second user photocopiers. To summarise if you want a quality copier, great copier maintenance and above all good customer service then OER Group will exceed your expectations.

Great deals on Panasonic photocopiers

We supply the entire range of Panasonic copiers. Panasonic have a extensive range of photo copier equipment and the huge amount of standard features and great support make them excellent value for money. Please find as follows details of the Panasonic copiers we supply:

ppm = pages or copies per minute

Panasonic Workio DP180

Panasonic 18 ppm Digital Copier with Fax, Print and Scan. Ideal photocopiers for home use or small office. This copier is A4 only

Panasonic Workio DP1520P

Panasonic 15 ppm Digital Copier with Network Capabilities. Ideal photocopiers for small office that requires an A3 copier.

Panasonic Workio DP1820P

Panasonic 18 pm Digital Copier with Network Capabilities. Ideal photocopiers for small office that requires an A3 copier.

Panasonic Workio DP1820E

Panasonic 18 pm Digital Copier with Network Capabilities. Ideal photocopiers for small office that requires an A3 copier. Unlike the Panasonic Workio DP1820P above this machine is a duplex copier.

Panasonic Workio DP2310

Panasonic 23 ppm Multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopiers offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus additional options such as scan to email, fax and document scanning and archiving

Panasonic Workio DP3010

Panasonic 30 ppm Multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopiers offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus additional options such as scan to email, fax and document scanning and archiving. Offers all the DP2310 but is faster and capable of dealing with larger copying requirements.

Panasonic Workio DP3520

Panasonic 35 ppm Multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopiers offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus additional options such as scan to email, fax and document scanning and archiving. Offers all the DP3010 but is faster and capable of dealing with larger copying requirements.

Panasonic Workio DP4520

Panasonic 45 ppm Multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopiers offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus additional options such as scan to email, fax and document scanning and archiving. Offers all the DP3520 but is faster and capable of dealing

Panasonic Workio DP6020

Panasonic 35 ppm Multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopiers offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus additional options such as scan to email, fax and document scanning and archiving. Offers all the DP4520 but is faster and capable of dealing with larger copying requirements.

Great deals on Ricoh copiers & colour copiers

OER Group supplies second user Ricoh photocopiers. We supply both colour photocopiers and mono copiers and all are back up with are excellent after sales service as with our new products. Price and availability does change dependant on stock levels but you can always be guaranteed excellent value for money on any copier and please find as follows details of the copiers currently available:

Ricoh Aficio 350

Ricoh 35 ppm Multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopier offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus additional options such as fax and document finishing. A good all round mono office copier.

Ricoh Aficio 450

Ricoh 45 ppm Multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopier offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus additional options such as fax and document finishing. A good all round mono office copier offering the same facilities as the Aficio 350 but with a faster copier and printer speed.

Ricoh Aficio 4006 colour photocopier

Ricoh 28 ppm mono and 6 ppm full colour multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopier offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus offers good quality colour copying and printing. A network colour image scanning facility is also available.

Ricoh Aficio 4506 colour photocopier

Ricoh 31 ppm mono and 6 ppm full colour multi-function Imaging System copier. This photocopier offers fast copying, printing for the small office or workgroup plus offers good quality colour copying and printing. A network colour image scanning facility is also available.

Photocopier leasing v buying a copier cash

To lease a copier or not to lease a photocopier? Everyones circumstances are different but photocopier leasing is very popular and most OER Group customers generally decide that photocopier leasing is right for their business. That said contact your financial adviser to discuss how best to acquire equipment but in the meantime please find as follows some advantages and disadvantages of leasing your photocopier.

Some Advantages of Leasing photocopier equipment:

(a) Costs for the copier are certain and are known in advance;
(b) The copier cannot be withdrawn once the contract is signed and its conditions complied with;
(c) No need to tie up capital in fixed assets such as a photocopier;
(d) Allowances, depreciation and other calculations are not needed, since leasing is concerned only with rentals;
(e) Leasing provides a medium-term source of capital which may not be available elsewhere;
(f) Leasing provides a hedge against inflation as the use of the asset is obtained immediately - payments are made out of future funds and are made in fixed money terms, with real costs falling as inflation increases.
(g) possibility of immediate acquisition of cost -saving equipment.

Some Disadvantages of Leasing a copier:

1. It is generally not possible to dispose of the photocopier before the end of the lease.
2. The copier is not owned.
3. Funds must be found to pay the lease throughout its duration.

Should you decide to lease a copier then OER Group provides extremely competitive leasing rates from major lenders such as BNP Paribas, CF Asset and Bank of Scotland.

Photocopier installation and copier maintenance and servicing -

OER Group provides complete photocopier installation and after sales technical support on all copiers that are supplied. Photocopier service contracts are separate agreements and whether you lease a copier or decide to buy a photocopier outright from us you can be assured of the highest levels of on site photocopier technical support will be provided to protect your investment.

 

---