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Copier Confusion Case Study

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COPIER CONFUSION CASE STUDY

Abstract

The Business Company, Inc., badly needed new copying machines. The company had 20 machines, but they were old and copy quality was poor. They broke down frequently. And to change paper size from 8.5 x 11 in. to legal-size, the user had to remove one paper tray containing 8.5 x 11 in. paper and replace it with a tray containing legal-size paper. Newer machines had two trays, one for each paper size, that permitted changing paper size at the push of a button without changing paper trays. The company’s purchasing agent, thought this would be a labor-saving feature and decided to include it in a specification for purchase of new machines. The copying machine industry called this feature, “dual-cassette” design.

John Richards, the company’s purchasing agent, thought this would be a labor-saving feature and decided to include it in a specification for purchase of new machines. The copying machine industry called this feature, “dual-cassette” design.

The Business Company issued an invitation for bids for purchase and maintenance of 20 replacement machines. The solicitation included a specification that called for a machine that would permit “copying both 8.5 x 11 in. and legal-size paper without manually changing the paper trays.” The term dual cassette did not appear in the specification.

John received bids from several companies, including Copies Incorporated, a reputable manufacturer. Copiers had greeted the invitation for bids with great pleasure. Their inventory included 30 of their Model 125 copying machines, which they were phasing out. The Model 125 had only one tray, which held 8.5 x 11 in. and legal-size paper, but legal-size paper could be copied without removing the 8.5 x 11 in. tray. After pushing a button, the user could make legal-size copies by manually

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