In a world that's gone increasingly digital, it's easy to believe that printers have become obsolete in the modern office. However, this is far from the truth. Printers have evolved over the decades, even as paper has become less essential to the operation of most offices, and they now play many different roles. These multi-functional machines can make offices more efficient and organized with various features and uses. Keep reading to learn more about how companies can benefit from multi-function business printers in Anchorage, AK.
Printing
The printing function is the first and most obvious use for a multi-function printer. In the past, most machines could only print, and even then, it was incredibly slow. Modern printers can produce dozens of sheets in a minute and high-quality color prints of images. The speed and quality of printers have increased dramatically, making them highly efficient and creating large document packets when needed.
Going completely paperless remains difficult, even in today's digital environment. Even if your office is mainly paperless, there are likely many instances where you'll want to print documents. You may wish to have brochures to pass out at a job fair, or you may have a client who prefers to sign a physical copy of a contract instead of a digital one. When those instances require printed documents, you'll be thankful that you have a printer on hand for the job.
Modern printers are also connected via Wi-Fi, making it possible to send printers from wireless devices like smartphones and tablets. These kinds of devices have become common in the workplace and can be excellent aids in productivity when used correctly. Being able to print off an important document with a tap on your smartphone is convenient and efficient, allowing you to get the documents you need even faster.
Scanning
Although paper is still generally necessary for most businesses, digitizing documents whenever possible is still more efficient. A scanner can help you take those physical documents you might receive from clients and employees and digitize them for more efficient storage. This cuts down on the amount of space you need to store physical documents and can offer added protection compared to a filing cabinet.
Modern scanners can produce high-quality digital reproductions of your documents, and some even include OCR technology. OCR stands for optical character recognition, which can essentially "read" the document you're scanning and make the scanned image searchable. Scanners without OCR technology would create an image and not recognize the words on the pages. This would mean you'd have to search each scanned image for any specific information you might need. For modern offices, OCR technology is an absolute necessity.
Another feature to look for related to scanning is the scan-to-email function. When you have multiple people using the same machine (usually in office settings), you want to ensure that the right person receives the needed scans as quickly as possible. The scan-to-email function allows the user to select an email to send the scan to, so you can ensure that it ends up in the right inbox.
Copying
There is often a need to make extra copies where there are documents. Perhaps it's a packet for a training session, or maybe you need multiple copies of a signed contract for your client. Whatever the reason for it, producing fast, quality copies is extremely important. This function utilizes both the scanning and printing trays, so both should be highly efficient. Your scanning tray needs to produce high-quality images without smudges and other defects, while your printer should be able to print out those crisp, clean images quickly.
The 2-sided rule should apply to printing, scanning, and copying. Any multi-function printer worth its mettle can easily copy 2-sided papers without manually flipping over the paper you're copying and reloading the copied pages. If your multi-function machine can't handle double-sided documents, you must find one with more capabilities.
Faxing
Faxing may sound like a thing of the past as well, but many offices still use them as a way to quickly send physical copies of documents to clients and business partners. This is incredibly convenient when you need a physical signature on a document. You can get a physical signature in minutes, which is ideal for critical, time-sensitive contracts. If the person you're sending the document to has a fax machine, sending the document over via your multi-function printer—and then getting it sent back to the same machine—can be highly convenient.
Binding
When printing packets of documents, you'll likely need each packet bound together in some way. This could mean an employee has the tedious task of separating each separate packet and stapling them together or punching them to put them in a folder or binder. Or, you could look for a multi-function printer to do this. Many modern machines have this added feature, which automatically staple or hole-punch every packet for you. This can save one of your employees a lot of tedious work and your company money paying for those labor hours, which could have been spent on more productive tasks.
You've been sorely misled if you've been told that printers are no longer necessary for the modern business. Modern printers do so much more than print documents and are just as crucial for an efficient office. If you're looking for a multi-function business printer for a business in Anchorage, AK, contact Arctic Office Products to learn more about the multi-function machines we carry.