Similarly, Xerox's dominance in the copier market was so total that its brand became a verb to mean copying.

They don't fit into existing copier markets.

We see the total optical copier market slowing and finally declining in the 90's.

Those three - the precision equipment industry's top three spots - have a 90 percent lock on the copier market in Japan.

But now both companies are chasing the copier market, and Canon is unlikely to give a competitor exclusive rights to its latest models.

Since it has only 4 percent of the overall copier market, Pitney Bowes faces tough competition.

Ricoh's various brands command about 14 percent of the total copier market in the United States, and nearly 20 percent for digital machines.

Still, it is hard to imagine margins will ever approach those Xerox enjoyed when it owned a near-monopoly in the copier market.

For decades, Xerox all but owned the copier market.

Ricoh, for one, has grabbed more than 14 percent of the copier market.