Modern multifunction copiers ship with dozens of built-in features that most businesses never activate. Teams typically use printing, basic copying, and sometimes scanning — leaving document workflows, security tools, and automation features completely idle. This article identifies which features go unused most often, what each one does, and how to determine whether any of them are worth putting to work in your office.
Most copier features go unused because businesses receive little to no training beyond basic functions at installation. Staff learn the minimum required to complete their daily tasks, and workflows get built around those habits. When employees leave, that limited knowledge often leaves with them, and the cycle repeats.
Copier manufacturers design hardware platforms to serve dozens of industries simultaneously. A single machine model might be sold to a law firm, a medical group, a school district, and a construction company. As a result, every machine ships with far more capability than any one business is likely to need — or discover on its own.
Research from TechRepublic notes that in some office environments, as many as 40 employees share a single device. When machines are crowded and located farther from desks than older setups, people default to the fastest option available — usually basic print or copy — rather than exploring what else the machine can do.
Common reasons advanced features are never activated:
The most underused copier features include scan-to-email and scan-to-folder workflows, duplex printing, secure print release, optical character recognition (OCR), booklet creation, and ID card copy. Each of these comes standard on most modern multifunction copiers but rarely gets configured or used by the average office team.
Most multifunction copiers can scan a document directly to an email address or a specific folder on a shared network drive. This eliminates the need to scan at the machine, walk back to a desk, and manually attach or move files.
Many businesses still use a two-step process — scan to a generic shared folder, then redistribute manually — when the copier could handle routing automatically. Properly configured scan-to-folder workflows can reduce document handling time significantly in high-volume environments.
Duplex printing — printing on both sides of a sheet — is available on most office copiers built in the last decade. Default settings on many machines are single-sided, and users rarely change them.
For a business printing 10,000 pages per month, switching to default duplex output can reduce paper consumption by up to 50 percent. At average paper costs, that represents a measurable annual reduction in supply spend.
Secure print release requires a user to authenticate at the copier — via PIN, badge, or password — before a print job is released. Documents are not printed until the authorized person is physically standing at the machine.
This feature is built into most enterprise-class multifunction copiers but is rarely enabled. Without it, sensitive documents sit in output trays until someone picks them up, creating compliance exposure in healthcare, legal, and financial environments.
OCR converts a scanned document image into searchable, editable text. A scanned contract, form, or report becomes a file you can search by keyword, copy text from, or edit directly.
Most multifunction copiers support OCR either natively or through included software. Businesses that scan large volumes of paper records — particularly those with compliance requirements around document retrieval — benefit directly from activating this feature.
Many copiers include finishing hardware such as staplers, hole punchers, and saddle-stitching units that fold and staple pages into booklet format. These capabilities are often included in the lease or purchase price of mid-range and high-end machines.
Businesses that produce training materials, proposals, or client-facing packets frequently outsource this work to print shops — paying per project — when the equipment already on-site can handle the job.
ID card copy is a preset function that scans both sides of a wallet-sized card onto a single sheet of paper. It is a one-button process on most copiers but is listed in a submenu that most users never open.
Healthcare offices, HR departments, and front desks that regularly process identification documents use this manually — scanning each side separately and aligning the output themselves — without knowing the automated option exists.
Yes. The most direct cost savings come from duplex printing reducing paper spend, scan-to-email eliminating manual document handling steps, and finishing features eliminating outsourced print jobs. Security features reduce risk exposure that carries its own financial cost in regulated industries.
Specific cost impact by feature:
The total financial value of these features depends entirely on print and scan volume. For low-volume offices, the savings are modest. For businesses running thousands of pages per week, the impact across paper, labor, and vendor costs is measurable.
Healthcare, legal, financial services, and education see the highest practical return from advanced copier features because their document volumes are high and their compliance requirements create specific needs around security, retrieval, and audit trails.
HIPAA compliance requires that patient documents not be left unattended in output trays. Secure print release directly addresses this requirement. OCR supports searchable records management. Scan-to-folder workflows can route documents directly to electronic health record systems when configured with the right software.
Law firms handle large volumes of contracts, filings, and correspondence that require both confidentiality and retrievability. Secure print, OCR for searchable case files, and scan-to-folder routing to matter-specific directories all serve direct operational needs in legal environments.
Similar to legal, financial offices deal with sensitive client documents and regulatory requirements around data handling. Secure print release and encrypted scan workflows reduce exposure under regulations like GLBA and SOX.
School districts and universities often use the finishing features most heavily — producing printed course materials, handbooks, and event programs that would otherwise require vendor print orders. Duplex printing defaults also have a significant paper reduction impact at scale in education environments.
Smaller businesses without specific compliance needs still benefit from scan-to-email for faster document routing and duplex defaults for lower supply costs. These are the two features with the lowest activation complexity and the broadest applicability.
Staff need two things: awareness that a feature exists and a short walkthrough of the steps to use it. Most advanced copier functions take under five minutes to demonstrate. The barrier is not complexity — it is that no one has shown employees where to look.
Effective copier feature training typically includes:
Some features — secure print release, scan-to-folder routing, and OCR — require configuration by a technician or administrator before they can be used. End-user training for those features should happen after the back-end setup is complete, not before.
Vendor representatives and managed print service providers can often configure these features and train staff as part of an existing service agreement. Businesses should ask specifically whether this is included before scheduling a separate service call.
Start by identifying your highest-friction document tasks — the steps that take the most time or create the most errors. Then check whether your current copier already has a feature that addresses that task. If it does and it is not active, the cost to enable it is typically just configuration time.
A practical assessment process:
1. List your top five document-handling pain points. These might include time spent routing scanned files, paper waste, sensitive documents left in trays, or outsourced print jobs.
2. Request a feature audit from your copier vendor or service provider. Ask them to document which features on your current machine are licensed, configured, and active versus available but inactive.
3. Match inactive features to pain points. If secure print is available and you work in a regulated industry, that is a clear match. If finishing hardware is installed and you regularly order outside print jobs, that is another.
4. Prioritize by activation effort. Features like duplex default settings take minutes to change. Features like scan-to-folder routing require network configuration. Sequence activation by effort-to-impact ratio.
5. Set a training date. Features that get turned on without a staff walkthrough often go unused anyway. Pair activation with brief, role-specific instruction.
Businesses under a managed print services agreement should request this audit as part of their regular service review. If your current agreement does not include periodic feature reviews, that is worth raising with your provider.
No. The features described in this article are standard on most multifunction copiers manufactured in the last five to eight years. Activation typically requires configuration, not new hardware. The exception is physical finishing options like staplers or saddle-stitching units, which require installed hardware accessories.
If your current machine is more than eight to ten years old, some software-dependent features like OCR or advanced scan routing may require firmware updates or may not be supported. In those cases, the conversation shifts from activation to replacement.
For businesses evaluating a new copier lease or purchase, the practical question is not whether a machine has these features — most do — but whether the vendor will configure them and train your staff as part of the agreement.