Finding an office printer today can seem like a herculean task. There are so many models available, with such a range of different functions that choosing one to invest in feels almost impossible. However, with a little research and the right search criteria it’s simple to find an office printer that will suit your business down to the ground.
Key questions to ask to find the best office printer
- How much do you want to spend? This is an essential question as few businesses can simply invest in equipment without considering the cost. However, it’s not just the up front expense that you need to bear in mind but also how much the printer will cost on an ongoing basis. For example, how much is a replacement cartridge and what will you have to pay to get this particular printer regularly serviced?
- How many pages do you need to print per month? This is tied into the overall cost of the printer as it relates to page yield i.e. the number of pages that you’ll get from a single printer cartridge. Some printers have high yield cartridge options that will have a much higher output than others before they need to be replaced. Dividing the printer’s page yield by the cost of the cartridge will also give you another key metric to work from: cost per page. If you’re going to make sure you choose the best office printer then finding the most attractive cost per page option will be important.
- What features are essential? When you’re researching the best printer for your office, break down the features you’re looking for into “essential” and “nice to have.” For example, it may be essential for the printer to have scanning inbuilt but not so important to have faxing functionality. Printers today come with a very wide range of different features available and you’ll need to work out what’s best for you if you’re going to find the right one.
- How fast do you need your printer to be? In a large office where a printer is constantly in heavy use and demand can be time critical, printer speed may have an important bearing. Print speed – “ppm,” “pages per minute,” or “ipm” (images per minute) will tell you what kind of output you’ll get and which model is likely to be the fastest.
- What do you need in terms of monthly duty? Depending on the size of your office, and its printing needs, some printers may simply not be up to the job. One way to ensure that you avoid making the wrong decision with a new office printer is to work out your office’s monthly duty cycle. Can the printers you’re considering match that? Monthly duty cycle is the total number of pages that a printer can print per month without breaking down. If your total is around the same as that of the printer you’re considering then it’s a match.
The process of choosing the best office printer involves understand the needs of your office and comparing these to the performance of the printers that you’re considering buying.
That’s where we come in. Our Managed Print Service is designed to remove the hassle from choosing and managing your printers, giving you a simple solution to your office printing needs. This empowers you to cut costs, reduce waste and improve efficiency. Find out more here.
