For any investment you make in your business, it’s important to make sure that you’re choosing the best option for your business. However, it can be difficult to understand the differences between different models when it comes to printers and copiers. So, how do you ensure that you’re buying the best office printer copier in Fairbanks, AK, for your business’s needs? Keep reading to get a few buying tips that will help.
Know What Types of Documents You’ll Print Most
The first step in buying the best printer for your needs is to know what type of documents you’ll be printing the most. For the majority of offices, text-focused documents are the most common ones handled. If your office’s documents are primarily text, then a laser printer will likely be the best choice for you. Laser printers use toner, which is a powder that is adhered to the paper using heat. This creates crisp, clean lines and very clear text.
On the other hand, if you tend to print more image-heavy documents with lots of pictures and diagrams, you might be better off with an inkjet printer. Inkjets, as the name implies, use ink, which is a liquid that is applied to the paper in tiny droplets. These printers can create high-quality images in beautiful color, essential if you’re printing your marketing materials, brochures, and pamphlets.
Knowing which of these two types is best for you will set you on the right path to buying the best printer copier for your office.
Know How Much Your Printer Will Be Used
While it can be difficult to say exactly how many pages you’ll print in a month in your office, it’s a good idea to estimate how much printing you’ll be doing before you buy. If you expect there to be a lot of demand for your printer, you’ll likely want a more powerful model that offers higher print speeds and a shorter warm-up time.
While a difference of 30 seconds in the warm-up time might seem small, and ten extra pages a minute might sound insignificant, the time savings can add up very quickly when you’re doing a lot of printing. Make sure that, in addition to looking at the number of pages the machine can print in a minute, you also look at the number of copies it can create in a minute, as well as the amount of time it takes to process a scan. This can help to prevent backed-up lines at the copy machine so that your employees can get back to more productive tasks more quickly. All these are essential functions for an office machine, so efficiency in these areas is important.
Know Who Will Be Using Your Machine
It might sound silly to think about who will be using a machine before you buy it. After all, doesn’t everyone need to use it for the same things? So why does it matter who’s using it? Thinking about who’s using your machine allows you to assess your security and access needs for your machine. If the printer is available to everyone in the office, it might be a good idea to invest in a copier with user log-in codes.
This allows you to assign a unique code to every employee to see exactly who is using the printer, how many jobs they’re printing every month, and when those jobs are being completed. If there are ever any concerns about confidential information being copied, or the printer being overused, you can look at these logs to address the issues directly with the employee.
Know How Much Space You Have
Space can be a serious concern when looking at a multifunction office machine. Many of these machines take up some floor space, which can be hard to find for a small office. Before you go out and buy a machine, take a look around the office and find any space that you can dedicate to your printer. Measure that space so that you know exactly how big your machine can be. If you can’t dedicate any floor space to your new printer, determine which desk or table the printer will be placed on instead. This will often limit your options to a smaller, less powerful machine. Nonetheless, it’s still important to know just how much space you can dedicate to a desktop model.
Know Your Budget
Finally, budget is always something you should keep in mind when making a purchase for your business. Determine how much you can spend on a new printer copier for your office before you start shopping. Of course, this should be done in conjunction with assessing your other needs, as you don’t want to set your budget too low to get everything you need from your printer. Do some research into models that meet your needs so that you can get an idea of how much you’ll need to spend, and allow this information to influence your budget.
While all machines will have some costs of ownership, some models have higher maintenance and supply costs than others. With a little research, you should be able to find the approximate cost of ownership for any model you’re considering. While this may not alter your decision on the model you choose, it is something you need to keep in mind and budget for on a monthly basis. Additionally, you should consider the long-term costs of buying a printer.
If you’re unsure where to start buying a copier in Fairbanks, AK, contact Arctic Office Products today. Give us a call or stop by our showroom today to learn more about our high-quality office machines and products. One of our knowledgeable sales associates can discuss your needs and help you determine the best printer copier machine for your business.