When it’s time to select the specific copier to meet those needs, there are a number of considerations to make. Here are a few thoughts to get you started.
Stop looking for “the best” copier and start looking for the copier that best fits your business’ process requirements.
We like to use the analogy of regular maintenance of your vehicle to illustrate the need for regular maintenance of your office equipment.
When it comes to selecting the right office equipment for your business, the vehicle analogy still works. For you and your family, you may need a van or an as SUV – something that has plenty of seating and space, is rated high in safety, is comfortable, but still nice to look at. But your neighbor – who has a long commute to work – may want a small car that’s extremely dependable and gets great gas mileage. Or you might just want a two-seater that hugs the curves in the road like a race car.
Everyone has their own needs.
Every office needs to manage documents, but your specific needs and processes will vary from your business neighbor across the street. When it’s time to select the specific copier to meet those needs, there are a number of considerations to make. Here are a few thoughts to get you started.
Copier Considerations
A printer/copier can drastically increase productivity in the office and enhance your business, BUT you need to choose the copier (or copiers – and printers and scanners) that can carry the load and complete the tasks you need it to complete.
Ask yourself these questions:
What will the printer be used for the most?
Do you have a high volume of documents to print/copy? Look for a machine with a large paper capacity and a good PPM (page per minute) speed. If it’s for high quality photos you’ll most likely need a copier with high resolution and DPI (dots per inch).
What type of jobs do you need the machine to perform?
Go ahead and make a list of them – printing, copying, faxing, scanning, etc.
And don’t over-purchase either – machines that are under-used can need extra maintenance and cost more for speed and capabilities you don’t need.
What’s your print volume a month?
This will help you in tremendously in determining what kind of copier is best for your office. If you are printing hundreds of copies a day, you want to be sure your equipment can deliver. However, if you’re only printing a few pages a day you don’t want to pay for what you don’t need.
What kind of speed do you need?
Determining volume will help you with this answer as well. More volume means you need a faster device (usually). If volume is split between two departments, two lower-volume devices could be a better fit than a single large copier. As always, it depends.
Do you need color or black and white?
If you’re law firm or in the medical industry, you probably mostly use black and white; but if you’re in marketing or photography, color is what you need.
If you’re considering a specific copier, find out if it’s digital or analog, check the output speed, and find out about included accessories and paper size capabilities.
Hopefully you’ll stop looking for that one “best” copier and start answering some of these questions to help you find the best copier for your business.
If you need want more help deciding on a copier that will meet your business needs, let us know – we’d be happy to help.
We’ve also create an eBook to help you decide on the right copier. Click on the image below to download it for free.
