When researching your next digital color MFP purchase, look closely at the manufacturer’s recommended maximum monthly volume or duty cycle. These terms are interchangeable, but they offer a guideline for the maximum copy volume you would ever want to produce in a month (but not every month). A copier/MFP brochure may show a duty cycle of 100,000 copies, but you probably don't want to approach that volume on a continual basis as downtime and reliability issues can result. Beaverton School District's purchasing department states that "a consistent monthly volume at the high end of the volume is not recommended for peak equipment performance." This is true for most toner-based copiers on the market, but not so much for RISO high-speed digital duplicators (more on that later).

So if your average monthly copy volume is 50k, what published duty cycle should you shoot for? 75k, 100k, 150k? There is no MFP industry standard that says you should multiply by a certain number so there are numerous opinions among vendors and buyers. For example, Columbia University's print services department states that the "average month should be about 50% of the machine's duty cycle." Is this the right ratio for you?

Tomorrow, I will discuss the concept of "optimum monthly volume" and we will cover some recommendations from an unbiased independent testing lab. You may be surprised at what you learn. Stay tuned...