There are many types of copiers on the market today: new copiers, refurbished canon copiers, analogs and digitals. With all the options, features and costs associated with copiers, it may be challenging to sort through the choices and make a valued decision. Refurbished canon copiers are generally just as reliable as new copiers, but hold a significantly less price tag. Refurbished models can be purchased either as analog or digital. Analog copiers use a much older process to make copies. Digital copiers hold significant advantages over analogs, can be quite cost effective, and provide the highest quality printed duplications.

Analog copiers use a mirror inside to project a copy of the document onto an internal drum. Static electricity creates an outline of the image, and draws toner particles to the blank sheet of paper. A heating element dries and secures the image onto the paper, which produces the final copy. Digital canon copiers possess different functionality. Digital copiers use internal memory to save a copy of the document which is digitally scanned. Lasers then impress a copy of the document on the internal drum, to which toner is applied, resulting in a high quality printed document. Not only do digital devices repeatedly print images from the internal memory to paper, these images can also be transferred to other digital devices that have the ability to receive digital transmissions.

Digital copiers have many significant advantages over analog copiers. Many digital copiers provide multiple functions to the user. Not only is the user able to print hard copies, he or she is allowed to transmit electronic versions directly to email addresses or fax machines. These advantages save both time and money, by eliminating steps to create multiple hard copies, then subsequently scanning, emailing or faxing, as well as reducing costs on paper, toner, postage and other office supplies.

Documents of the highest quality are produced by digital copiers. The quality is so high in fact that the replications are relatively indistinguishable from the original. Analog copiers tend to produce grainy or even smudged duplications. Although analog copiers may be less expensive upon initial purchase, their digital counterparts cost less in the long run. Long-term maintenance costs are substantially less for a Canon digital copier, as there are less moving parts of better quality tending to break down and wear out to a lesser degree.  Ink is also less expense for digital copiers, as a single ink cartridge produces more copies in a digital machine than an analog.