Best advice on what printer to buy
Small/home office
For the small and home offices the most preferable copiers would be the desktop size. In fact the available space in such places are already less than standard offices, desktop size copier would be the perfect fit to conserve some space. As prices go, a simple desktop copier can be purchased from as little as €50, but it doesn’t necessarily mean, that it will fulfil all of your needs. The rule of thumb is the cheaper the machine the more you are going to spent on cartridges over the life of the machine, Most of the cheap copiers are only intended for occasional use, and will not meet all of the requirements for your office – the best choice would be choosing the copier worth €200 to €700 that includes multiple business solutions.
For the Office
For the larger office you should consider business office copiers. They are mostly large table top size or freestanding and can easily satisfy the needs of mid to large offices and multiple personnel. They are typically plugged to the Internet, and can have high printing, scanning and faxing capabilities. Also, accepting different size of the paper from different trays. The prices are significantly higher if you compare them to desktop size printers, but it’s worth it because of the capabilities they have. They start around €1500 but can go up to €3000 for high-end machines. Most office machines come with a service contract or a cost by copy, the added benefit of the service contract is everything is included in the cost per cost i.e. toner parts/labour and you only pay for what you use, normally you would have a four hour response time which gives you the peace of mind that if the copier goes down the longest you will be waiting for an engineer to repair the machine is fours ,
Production Machines
But if you are looking forward to inexhaustible printing, high resolution graphics and advanced options – you should take a look towards production printers. For them the resolution (2400×1200 dpi for color copies, and 9600×600 dpi for black/white prints) and color depth (interpolated with 8-bit color depth) is incomparably higher than all of the others for best results. The price for them vary greatly on specific features and can go above €25000, but most simple ones start around €2500.
Features to compare
If you wish to compare different copier models properly, it’s vital to look at the features that matters the most for you, as a user.
Print speed and volume
Print speed is definitely one of the main specs you should take in while evaluating the possible choices. The amount you are looking for is pages per minute (ppm), listed on the spec sheet. For smaller businesses looking for around 30 to 55 ppm are recommended. If the machine has a high copy speed it usually means it is able to print/copy large prints
Paper capacity
One of the things you should focus on is also a capacity of your “tray” or “cassette” on spec sheets. It shows the capacity of the paper printer can hold, and the sizes of paper it can print on. For significantly complex printers there will be more size and type variety of paper available. Pay attention to these details, and make sure you chose the printer that suit your needs.
Scanning
Nowadays, scanning is a big part of the office environment, nearly all of the printers have been modified to suit multiple needs. For example – every printer possess a scanning ability, but not all of them possess features to make it better. If you plan to scan a large amount of documents, you should take a look if printer have a document feeder, to avoid the struggle. Or duplex scanning ability – to scan both of the sides of the paper with just a one button. These are the things that could save your time noticeably.As an extra, you could check optical resolution of scanner – the higher the resolution, the more it’s suitable for complex scans.
Graphics
Office printers are consistently used for printings word documents which doesn’t require much of a dpi, but production printers are a different story. The standard resolution for them is 2400×2400 dpi and colors are manageable. The best choice regarding the graphics would be making a call to Copier Company’s customer support service and asking for an advice – they should be able to find the model that suits your needs.
Ink and toner
Before choosing the perfect copier for your everyday adventures, make sure you include the costs for replacing ink or toner. The best would be to consider how much it’s going to cost for one refill, and over the lifespan of your machine. Also, taking into an account the amount of pages you can get out of each cartridge.
Memory
Most of the digital copiers possess the ability to retain substantial number of your documents into their internal memory. This memory is similar to one you have in your computer. Depending on the size and capacity of the machine, the RAM memory can range from 256MB to 1.5GB, and storage memory from 1.5GB to 1TB.
Buy vs. lease
A lot of companies often consider between to options – buying or leasing. Both of the options have their pros and cons and are not an easy choice at all. While you evaluate the pros and cons, make sure you include the variables like tax incentives, maintenance issues, depreciation and costs.
Maintenance and service agreements
Standardly, a service agreement by Copier Company’s include the maintenance of toner, drums and all of the parts (includes repairs). In this way the employees of the company is free of responsibility and doesn’t have to worry about refill or situations like parts breaking down. But, you must be careful and pay attention to each dealer’s offer – in case of problems not all of the parts might be covered.
Inkjet vs. Laser
The choice between Inkjet and Laser printers depends on your business specifics. For example, inkjet printers are the best option if you only plan to print a few pages per day. If your business is small, and printing is not a constant necessity, then inkjet printer would be the most viable option just because the cost per page is quite lower than laser printers and doesn’t take up much of the space. Additionally, inkjet printers are the best solution for colored printing – images produced are much higher in quality than laser printers. If you own a marketing or media company, this is the choice you should consider.
If you take a look at the laser printer pro’s – it’s much cheaper in a long run. If you don’t care that much about the quality (graphics) of the printing and often have a large amount of pages necessary – laser printer is the best choice for you.
