The Color Connection

"The slower the units get, the lower the connectivity ratio," explains Olds. About 75 percent of Canon's mid-range copiers are networked, while only about half of the lower-end machines are reported to be connected.

Hartley, of Xerox, notes that about 80 percent of his company's color copiers are connected, and attributes this high percentage to the fact that the cost of connecting a copier to the network has come down drastically in the past three years. He says back then it cost well over $20,000 to connect a mid-range copier, while today it should cost under $10,000.