The C250i is the entry model of the bizhub C360i, C300i and C250i trio. The C300i runs at 30 pages per minute and the C360i at 36; first copy times are 5.2, 5.0 and 4.6 seconds in mono. Memory, storage, processor, resolution, media handling, scanning options, finishing and security are identical across all three.

The comparison that matters more is downward, to the bizhub C227i and C226i families at 22 pages per minute. Those are cheaper but carry 6 GB of memory rather than 8, lack the 1,200 x 1,200 dpi print mode, and scan at 55 images per minute from a reversing feeder against up to 200 originals per minute from the C250i's single-pass dual-scan option. For three extra pages a minute the headline gap looks small; for an office that digitises paper in volume, the scanning difference is the whole decision.

Note that the DF-714 dual-scan feeder is an option rather than a fitted item. Specify it if scanning matters, because the cheaper feeder gives away most of the advantage this machine has over the entry range.

The C250i suits offices of roughly 15 to 35 people that produce colour regularly and scan heavily: accountancy and audit practices digitising client files, legal offices handling colour exhibits, architecture and design studios, and marketing functions producing their own short-run material.

It is the right choice where the print volume alone would not justify stepping up from the entry range but the scanning volume does. The Bitdefender real-time scanning across print, scan and fax is also worth weighing in any organisation formalising its document security, because it goes beyond the whitelist approach most machines in this class rely on.