By: Jason Weeks of Cavin's Business Solutions
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Buying a copier or really any piece of office equipment for your office is no simple task. With all the different brands, models and types available, it is very easy to become overwhelmed as you gather information. However, to make a smart buying decision on a copier that will benefit your business, you will need to answer these ten questions: |
1. What kind of budget do you have? Although everyone would love to have the latest and greatest copier on the market, cost will come into play for most small businesses. Some businesses are able to save money by considering refurbished copiers instead of brand new models. Also, consider which bells and whistles your business really needs from a copier. For example, if you don't need to make color copies, why pay extra dollars for a feature that you won't use in your office?
2. Does your business need other machines in addition to a copier? If your company has other office needs such as a fax machine, a printer or even a scanner, you may want to consider a multifunction machine. These all-in-one devices provide significant savings over buying several different machines at the same time, and their results are great. Another advantage is that these types of machines enable you to upgrade a large portion of your office technology at the same time rather than having
to deal with outdated machinery.
3. How many copies do you make a month? Make sure your copier can handle your office workload. To figure out how many copies are produced in your office, take a look at the counter on your current copier. If you don't have a copier, check your receipts from your local copy shop to see how large your production runs are. By figuring out how many copies you make, you will be able to pick a copier which has the speed, capacity and durability to fit your business needs. When you determine what
your current usage is, increase that amount by at least 15 to 25 percent to accommodate for company growth and to prevent straining the copier with overuse.
4. Do you need color copies? All copiers can duplicate in black and white, but not all of them can copy in color. If you need color, you will need to decide between an inkjet or a laser printer versus a copier model. Laser Printers and copiers tend to be more expensive than inkjet devices, but if you have a moderate to heavy volume, inkjets can become very expensive due to supply costs, thus making the laser printer/ copier route the best overall economic choice. Color copying is
a nice feature to have, especially if your business creates its own brochures, advertisements and presentations. Also, many color copiers can be connected to your computer and used as a color printer.
5. How much space do you have for the copier in your office? The size of the machine can play a big role in which copier you choose. Be sure to allow extra room around the copier to keep supplies such as paper and toner as well as a paper shredder and a trash can. If space is limited, you may want to consider a multifunction machine so you can put your fax, copier and printer all in the same place.
6. How fast does your copier need to be? Everybody is in a hurry these days, but it is important to note that a copier's price is directly related to its amount of copies per minute (cpm). Copying speed can range between 10 to 100 cpm depending on the machine. Today most copiers have the same available features regardless of the speed, you can save your business thousands of dollars by just shaving 10 copies per minute off your copier. When comparing color versus black and white copiers,
color copies take longer to produce than black and white duplicates.
7. Do you need to collate and staple your copies? If you make copies such as booklets and reports, you may want to invest in a machine that can sort the copies for you. Many sorters are able to staple your sets as well as fold and/or three-hole punch your copies. Features like this are great if your business has a need for them, but if you want just basic copies you may not need to have these benefits. Also, today’s copiers generally have the ability to sort/ collate without having
to purchase a finisher. Be sure to look at the amount of your businesses volume that needs to be sorted and how much of that is stapled.
8. Do you copy multiple-page documents? If you use your copier primarily for single-sheet copies, all you would need is a flatbed design with a covered glass area where you place originals to be copied. However, if you have copy jobs that require duplicating things such as reports and contracts, you need to get a copier with an automatic document feeder (ADF). By having an ADF, you can copy an entire report at the same time rather than manually putting in each page. Depending on the copier,
your document feeder can hold as many as 50-100 sheets of paper at one time.
9. Do you need to make double-sided copies? If you decide that you need a feeder on your copier , your next question must be whether you make double-sided, or duplex, copies. Duplex copies can be done manually by reinserting your completed copies into the machine, but an easier way is to buy a copier that has a recirculating automatic document feeder (RADF). These types of copiers flip paper over inside the copier so duplicates can be made on the front and back of the sheet. This feature is very
desirable if you copy reports often and it helps you save on the amount of paper you use for copy jobs. However, RADF copiers have more complex internal machinery and thus cost more than a standard ADF copier.
10. What type of paper supply do you need? This area that is overlooked often when businesses are buying a copier . When determining paper supply, you need to look at two areas. One is the amount of paper the machine can hold at any one time. Some copiers have only one tray that can hold about 100 sheets while others have multiple sources that can hold a total of over 3,000 sheets. The other area is whether the source can accommodate different paper types. By having multiple trays, you are also
able to use different types of paper in one tray such as letterhead, colored paper and overhead slides without having to remove the standard white paper constantly in the other tray. In addition, the trays should be able to adjust and accommodate different sizes of paper such as legal (8.5" x 14") and ledger paper (11" x 17"). Also, if you only use 8.5 x 11 and 8.5 x 14 sized paper, there are copiers out there for you at a fraction of the cost.
Also, something to consider when managing your operating costs is a Managed Print Services (MPS) contract. Often overlooked, printing is an infrastructure that is just as important as facilities, telecommunications, and computer/ IT networks.
How do you know if your business should explore an MPS relationship? Here are a few more points to help you determine if a MPS partner would work for your business:
1. Will this effort truly deliver a defined and hard dollar return on investment? Extensive Research says YES. According to the research, enterprises can save up to 40 percent on printing services by selecting the right partner.
2. Are you benefiting from your current investments? Consider what went into the decision-making process for your company’s current output environment – including the current fleet of multi-vendor copiers, printers and other hardware. Is it still delivering what you need? Could it do more – like scanning and imaging for easy access to documents?
3. Can your technology keep up? As a business changes and evolves, so must its output solution. If your current strategy does not provide flexibility as the total employee population fluctuates up or down, you have an opportunity for improvement. What’s more, while the economic environment may mean you need to hold onto your technology assets for a longer period of time, MPS might be able to reduce costs by combining the right technology with software, services, and proven best practices
so your business can streamline workflow, eliminate time consuming manual tasks, speed up access to critical information and reduce operational costs.
4. Does your print infrastructure support other company objectives? Implementing MPS not only tackles cost and productivity goals, but it can be a sustainable business practice too. By decreasing the number of output devices from 10,000 to 3,500. A properly implemented MPS strategy also addresses a corporate commitment to reduce paper consumption, decrease power usage and eliminate several tons of landfill waste. How? By strategically rationalizing the ratio of output devices to your employee
population, you will reduce energy usage – leading to reduced carbon production and greenhouse gases.
5. Does downtime cost you? One of the fundamental challenges when assessing printing expenses is determining what is being spent and where. When your IT department is constantly fixing hardware while employees are unable to effectively print, scan and handle documents, all departments suffer. What’s more, printing costs are often buried in various department budgets and each employee likely has a personalized work process that may not be optimal to reducing overall printing costs. By leveraging
intelligent network-based tools to monitor all devices, proactive management strategies can be implemented to help avoid unnecessary downtime. It is reasonable to expect your employees to have access to output as needed – 100 percent of the time.
While MPS is not a new solution, it is one that can maximize short-term cost savings, while adding value that will prime your business for growth in the future. The first step is to see your print infrastructure as a means of leveraging new sources of value.