Demand for photocopying facilities at conferences often exceeds their capacity. It is very common at a conference for processing of reproduction demands to be subject to severe bottlenecks - especially on the last afternoon. Sometimes there are "red tape" delays in the use of the photocopier.
It is best that the Bulletin has its own machine, otherwise it may not be able to maintain reproduction when others can requisition machine time. The dedicated Bulletin machine can then also be available for small production requests by others, on a second priority basis.
If the conference site is close to a commercial photocopy center, this can provide quite a satisfactory solution, especially if the copy center is open twenty four hours a day. Copying costs need of course ot be taken into account, however, if you can convince tha manager of a copy center that you will produce a substantial volume of copying, it may be possible to negotiate a special reduced rate.
Since the value of the interactive process increases with the rapidity of the Bulletin cycle, alternatives should be examined if photocopying appears problematic (including stencil, cyclostyle, and even simpler forms of reproduction - see Master Copies and Layout / E6; Typewriters /116).
Breakdowns are notorious with photocopy machines (particularly "strange" ones with "strange" operators, both of which are overloaded with work). Experience shows that the frequency of photocopier breakdown is greater with machines: