Analogue: The analogue copier market encompasses 'stand alone' machines that are not linked to a PC or network. This market is declining due to the lower prices of digital machines, the associated benefits, and because manufacturers are no longer investing in analogue technology

Digital: Most new copiers being launched are digital machines, which means they will link up to a PC or a network and can also be used for printing, with this functionality either built-in or as an optical extra

The benefits of digital over analogue are that a linked machine offers wider functionality and facilities user sharing, in addition to more reliable operation. With analogue copiers, the document being copied is passed around the drum and scanned for every copy required. Digital uses 'scan once, print many' which means that for multi-copies the scanner only makes one pass and stores the image to its memory ready for printing. Documents can also be scanned, 'sorting' can takes place in the machines' memory and printed in a variety of arrangements which negates the need for clumsy sorter bins found on larger copiers. Digital copiers also utilise less mechanical operation and therefore increased reliability