Hi, I am in the process of opening a P.O. Box rental business and one
of the services I'm going to provide is photo copying… Can you help me
find ways of keeping track of how many copies someone prints? What
hardware can I use? Is there a way to use a PC and special software?
If it helps, I have not purchase any copiers yet!

Hi device-ga,

There are several ways you can keep track of how many photocopies your
customers make.

A copy management device can be connected to one or more copiers.
Before the copier can be used, the user must enter a numeric ID code
or swipe a magnetic card. The copy management device is connected to a
computer running software that will validate the ID codes and magnetic
cards, record usage of the copier, and report this usage or feed it in
to an accounting program for billing purposes.

In general, copy management devices are used with proprietary software
which is specific to the copy management device. They may be connected
to a wide range of photocopiers by means of a copier-specific cable.
They can also interface to digital copier/printers for billing of
computer printouts.

Examples of copy management devices are:

Equitrac "PageCounter 100"
http://www.equitrac.com/images/pdf/pagecounter100_brochure.pdf

KCC ims
http://www.hightech-ai.com/kcc_ims.htm

Photocopiers and copier/printers are available with copy auditing
built-in. Examples of these include:

Savin 9600 Copier
http://www.cdsaustin.com/9600.html

Sharp AR-275/235 Digital Laser Copier/Printer
http://sharp-world.com/products/copier/ar-275/text/spec.html

You could consider a prepayment system. These are simple to
administer, and beneficial to your cashflow. The controller can be
attached to most kinds of copier (via a vendor-specific cable). The
user must insert a coin, swipe a prepaid card, or enter the numeric
code of a "charged-up" account before using the photocopier.

Prepayment devices are available from Photocopiers.com:
Copier Accessories
http://www.photocopiers.com/accessories.htm

Another approach is a remote controller which is located behind the
sales counter. When a customer wishes to use the copier, the sales
assistant presses a button on the remote controller. The copier is
then enabled, and the number of copies made is displayed to the sales
assistant for immediate charging or later billing. This system is
described on the Katun website, along with a range of other
alternatives:

Tech Reference - Copy Control Systems
http://www.katun.com/resourcecenter/techtipscopycontrol.html


Additional link:

Photocopiers.com home page (includes links to worthwhile hints and
tips)
http://www.photocopiers.com/


Google search strategy:

photocopier users accounting
://www.google.com/search?q=photocopier%20users%20accounting

"copy monitor"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22copy%20monitor%22

"photocopier cards" -edu -ac
://www.google.com/search?q=%22photocopier+cards%22+-edu+-ac

"copy auditing"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22copy%20auditing%22

"copy accounting" specifications
://www.google.com/search?q=%22copy+accounting%22+specifications

"copy control" copier
://www.google.com/search?q=%22copy+control%22+copier


Regards,
eiffel-ga

Great info... Just what I was looking for...