How to Choose the Best Copier for My Business

Well-functioning, cost-effective office equipment is key to maintaining daily business operations. When it comes to choosing the best office copiers that match your particular business needs, there are several factors that you need to take into account, such as your business objectives, the nature and regularity of the tasks the copiers must perform, and the level of support that the vendor will supply.

In this article, we will discuss a total of 5 considerations for selecting a copier for your business. We’ll begin at the logical first step, which is:

1. Assess Your Specific Needs

Of course, the most important requirement for a copier is also the most obvious: it has to print copies! Nevertheless, there are several additional factors that you should consider when deciding upon a new copier purchase, such as:

• Typical and maximum workload. If your office staff will only make infrequent use of the copier, then you may be able to get away with the procurement of a lower-end model. However, if your business demands that a large volume of documents are printed/copied on a regular basis, or even on occasion, then you will likely need a durable copier that can handle a big workload without any issues.
• Required features. Will you only need to produce black-and-white copies to fulfill business needs, or will you also need to print out color copies? What about hole punch, staple, and other finishing options? Will you need to fax or scan documents as well? In other words, do you need an all-in-one printer? You should determine which of these features are necessary for your day to day operations, and then search for a copier that has all of those features built-in.

These are just a couple of key factors to examine; there may be several other requirements that come to the surface during your assessment.

2. Examine Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Once you’ve completed your assessment of business needs, it’s time to look at the total cost of ownership involved in a copier purchase. After all, you want to ensure that any purchase stays within budget, and is cost-effective for the years ahead.

Some aspects of TCO that you should investigate include:

• Cost of supplies. This primarily centers around ink and cartridge replacement/refilling costs.
• Availability of supplies. For many older copiers, procurement of supplies can quickly turn into a headache. This is especially true if you’re accustomed to one method of sourcing, but the copier supplies are unavailable through that channel.
• Cost of repairs. Some copiers have less expensive replacement parts than others, and are typically more cost-effective with regard to repair services.
• Speed of repairs. Newer copiers often allow for remote troubleshooting, which can save a massive amount of time compared to an onsite visit from a service technician.

3. Look at Reviews

It’s always important to examine how other buyers feel about the copier under consideration. Examining customer reviews can help you to gauge the relative quality of the copier, anticipate potential problems, and determine the level of customer satisfaction with the vendor. Such an analysis can serve to confirm a good decision, or help you to avoid a bad one.

4. Ease of Use

A copier may be cost-effective, deliver amazing functionality, and meet all the requirements of your daily operational needs. However, if that copier has an extremely complex user interface that comes with a steep learning curve, then it may take quite a lot of time before your staff becomes comfortable with it.

While at first this may not seem to be a huge issue, remember that an intuitive interface can help you to avoid a number of problems, such as:

• Reduced productivity due to “bottlenecks,” since your staff will have to spend an excessive amount of time figuring out how to perform certain tasks
• The potential for additional training costs
• Frustrated team members

As a rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to buy a copier that doesn’t take a rocket scientist to operate.

5. Level of Support

If you’re planning to purchase a copier from a dealership, then you need to consider the level of support that they offer, and how quickly they respond to service requests. If you’re thinking about buying direct from a manufacturer, then what’s their service reputation in your local area? It’s important to do some research on the type of relationship you’ll likely have with your supplier.

While we’ve only discussed 5 important considerations for choosing the best office copier for your business, there are several others that you may need to examine. If you need any help analyzing your particular copier needs, then reach out to our team at Fisher’s Technology. Our office technology experts will provide prompt and professional assistance to find the copier that perfectly matches your company’s budget and requirements.

Fisher’s Technology offers a wide range of copier and multi-function machines from name brands such as Canon, Konica Minolta and Ricoh.