4 Key Questions to Consider Before Investing in an Office Printer

Buying or leasing a new office printer for your business can provide a wide variety of benefits and make tasks faster, easier and more professional looking. Of course, choosing the wrong printer for your business can be a constant source of frustration or unnecessary expense.

Just like any business expenditure, you need to understand what your needs are, what you hope to gain and what is the best way to pay for it. While there are a wide variety of printer options and a dizzying number of printer features, asking yourself the following questions can help you narrow your choice.

What is your printing volume?

Understanding how many pages are typically printed in your office can help you identify what capacity you’ll need. Since quality printers last for years, you’ll also want to project what your future usage might be. Printer speed is also important — the faster a printer can process pages the less time is wasted by employee work being stuck in a printing que.

What type of printing do you do?

Reviewing the amount of color versus black and white printouts can help you decide on the right machine for your use. You also need to consider the size of paper you use. Most printers can print up to 8.5 x 14 in. If your business requires printing larger format paper, thicker paper stocks or odd-shaped paper sheets, you need to be sure to choose a printer designed for those sizes.

What additional functions do you need?

Multifunction printers offer an amazing array of options to streamline your work flow. A few functions that are popular include:

• Double-sided printing
•  Hole punching
•  Stapling
• Correlating
• Scanning
• Password or key card access
• Faxing
• WIFI capabilities

Depending on your usage, these and other features can significantly increase your productivity.

Should you buy or lease?

Buying allows you to own the equipment but requires a larger upfront payment and may also require a separate service contract. Leasing offers lower payments over time and the ability to upgrade to a new machine when the lease is over or buy the printer at the end of the lease. Normally most contracts through office equipment dealers have maintenance agreements included, taking away any worries if a problem occurs with your copier or printer.

The Value of a Print Analysis

The best way to truly understand your office printing needs today and in the future is by doing a comprehensive print analysis that tracks usage, print styles and functions utilized or needed. You will also want to review what security measures you will need to protect your company’s and customers’ information. You can either do this yourself or work with industry  professionals like a Century Business Products analyst. By using an analyst, you can be confident in the data gathered and they also will have a better understanding of the latest technology and solutions for your specific needs.

To learn more about print analysis and Century Business Products’ industry-leading Kyocera office equipment, call 800-529-1950 or go to our contact us page.