Copiers can be an expensive investment and with so many features available today, finding a good fit takes careful consideration. Firms need to be strategic in purchasing their business copiers and printers.
Find the Perfect Copier Through Strategic Purchasing
Copy machine purchasing should be executed strategically to save money and procure the best performance possible.
Plan for Growth and Go Green
Something many managers fail to consider when tasked with selecting new copiers to purchase is to plan for growth. Managers need to stay apprised of how fast the company is expected to grow and incorporate these expectations into purchasing decisions.
An important impact that goes beyond the dissatisfactions of problematic or under-performing copiers is the environmental impact of copiers after they are discarded. Proper disposal of retired copy machines can be a headache. There should be protocol in place to dispose of as much outdated office equipment as possible.
Recycling office equipment is a great way to stay green, a practice that can be incorporated into advertisements as more firms take to marketing themselves as green. Managers who are cognizant of this are proactive and aim for buying copiers that will meet their needs and be used for many years.
Look for Speed and Volume
Sluggish copiers slow down business, and in this market, there’s no room for down time. Firms need office equipment capable of handling their workloads. When browsing copiers, one of the deciding factors is the volume of the machine. Businesses that copy intensively and produce vast amounts of copies must purchase a machine with high volume.
Speed and volume are closely related in that it takes high levels of both to accommodate intensive copying. Copiers that handle heavy workloads typically fetch a higher price, but are worth the expense.
Other Important Features to Consider
With business copiers, extra features tend to add up. Managers would be well advised to know what features they need. They must avoid running up expenses paying for copier features employees will never use.
Extra paper trays for instance, can greatly reduce time spent reloading the copiers with paper. However, business copiers with extra paper trays take up a significant amount of space. Therefore, the decision must be made as to what is more valuable, time or office space?
Double sided printing on the other hand, is essential. This saves enormous amounts of paper and money. Time saving options include sorting, and hole-punching. Although they may add on to the price of the copier, it is often worth the price in long term savings. The amount of time saved by copiers that have sorting and hole-punching capabilities can save the workforce a lot of time and make them more productive.
Finding the Right Copier for Your Employees
One very important factor to consider when looking for the best office copiers is the technical knowledge of the employees. The amount of features needed on copiers depends in part on the staff’s familiarity with business copier technology.
If the workforce does not have higher technical training, having extra controls will necessitate additional training. Image editing is a great extra feature to have on a business copier. It allows users to crop and flip images via the copier itself. This can be extremely useful in businesses that frequently manipulate images. However, it also adds to the amount of technical know-how required to operate the machine.
Best Copiers for Small Businesses
The best copiers for small business have a different focus than the best commercial copiers. The best commercial copiers for instance, will often have extra controls backed by trained staff to operate. Their operational needs will be higher. The copy machines best suiting these needs will be more expensive.
The best copiers for small businesses, however, will be copy machines that are lighter on features, controls, and price. However, small businesses also have more versatile needs and may require a portable copy machine. On an even smaller scale, small businesses may be able to handle all of their copying work with a personal copier, which is quite limited in features, performance, and capability compared to commercial copiers. For some businesses, however, a personal copier may be all that is required.
The Importance of Finding the Best Copiers
Copiers keep information flowing and facilitates the collection and organization of enormous amounts of data. Used for both recording, communicating directives, and marketing, businesses apparently need to produce vast amounts of copies regularly. Copy machines are certainly quite an investment, but with the right ones, businesses can see a dramatic increase in productivity.
Check out ImageNet's print solutions and find the best copier for you!