Multifunction Printers

Finding the best  multifunction printer is a great solution for  anyone looking to have the convenience of copying, scanning, and printing at  their fingertips or looking to turn a small home work space into a functional  home office. Printer manufacturers are constantly  adding new features to their models. When choosing the best multifunction printer it is important to compare their capabilities and functions.

Here are some things to consider when buying the best multifunction printer:

Printers Work Load: It is important to first think about the number of pages you plan on printing or copying in a week.  If you plan on  printing more than 400 pages a month or are sharing the printer with  more than 3 people, and are looking for clean crisp laser quality copies, you may want  to consider purchasing a laser multifunction printer.

What’s My Cost of Ownership    : The cost of an inkjet multifunction printer tends to be low compared to its consumables. It is important to consider how many black/white vs color prints you will be making because it will make a big difference in cost. Black cartridges cost around $25 and color cartridges tend to cost around $30 depending on the make and model. One of the main ways to save money on cartridges is to look at the cartridge’s capacity. In the long run, purchasing higher capacity cartridges or buying them in  bulk may help save you money.

Printers Speed : When finding the best multifunction printer it is important to consider its speed. A typical multifunction printers speed ranges up to 22 ppm color and 28 ppm black and white. If you are looking for a printer with a higher speed capability  then you may want to consider purchasing a laser multifunction printer instead.

Media Support Features : All inkjet multifunction printers hold the three basic types of  paper formats: letter, legal, and standard envelope sizes. If you are planning  on printing on a specific paper format you may want to check with the  manufacturer’s information to see if the printer is able  to work with that specific size media. In addition to a flatbed scanner, most  printers also have a paper feeder to facilitate in making copies.

Print and Scan Resolution: A printers print resolution refers to the quality of the print or dots  per inch (dpi). The higher the dpi the crisper or higher print quality the printed image will have. The same is true for scan resolution.  A multifunction printer’s scan resolution is important for anyone making many high quality copies or scanned pictures. You will find that some printers will have a “Resolution Enhanced  Scan” option. This feature will allow you to measure how the standard resolution can be enhanced through the printers software. This won’t necessarily  increase the images quality but will allow you to change its size and format.

When choosing the best printer for your office needs you must remember that the technology in printers especially multifunction printers does not change as often as the technology in computers. There are many advanced features and capabilities that will allow you to stay with your printer for five to seven years. Due to the fact that there are many different printer manufacturers and models at times it may be difficult to choose the best printer for your business. There are several features and factors to keep in mind when choosing the right option that best fits your needs.

Factors to consider when choosing the best printer for your small business:

1. Why do I need a printer?

Each manufacturer builds their copiers with different targets and factors in mind. So knowing what will be the main usage of your printer will allow you to get the most value out of your purchase. For example, If the main bulk of your printing is office documents and you have a moderate to low print volume, then look for printer that is meant for small business usage with a speed and volume capability that will match your needs. .

2. What is my running cost for a printer?

When speaking of running cost it is important to keep in mind how many black and white vs color prints your business does. It is important to think about the running cost of a copier when choosing the best printer for your office space. The majority of your copier expense will be spent on ink cartridge because they tend to be more expensive than monochrome laser which are generally not recommended if you require high volume printing and copying. Laser printers tend to initially cost more to purchase but in the long run will end up saving you money. Also, make sure to ask for the cost per page information in order to compare your end cost per print among different manufacturers and printer models.

3. Does is Create Duplex Printing

Although finding printers with a duplex printing option can be more costly it is an important feature to have because it will allow you to print on both sides of a sheet which in the long run will help save you money on paper cost. The duplex printing feature is usually found on higher end printer models so if possible choose a printer with auto duplex instead of manual duplex. Printers with manual duplex requires you to manually reinsert paper to print on the other side and it’s cost vs the cost of an auto duplex option is about the same.

4. What’s the Fax Speed

When choosing a multifunction printer with a fax feature, always choose a fax speed of 33.6kbps or higher to help save on transmission cost. A higher speed fax will reduce the duration of sending a fax which in turn will reduce the call cost. If your business send a lot of interstate or overseas faxes, you will see a significant cost reduction.

5. Networking Features

When purchasing the best printer you might want to buy one with built-in ethernet networking to connect to your office network. Printers with build-in networking typically cost more but are very convenient when sharing a printer with other computers. If your office computers are already on a network then you can share the printer over that network.

6. Does it Support Mac?

If your currently using Mac computers it is important to check if the printer supports Mac OS X. For multifunction printers (MFP), check that you can make use of all the functions on your Mac. For example for some MFP you might be able to print from Mac but you need Windows in order to use its fax from computer feature.

Copier Equipment Leasing Lenders in a recent report of The Equipment Leasing & Finance Association’s Survey of Economic Activity (a monthly leasing and finance index) had  good news for businesses taking advantage of lower interest rates.

As reported by imagesource.com there where several indicators gathered by Association.  A select group of 25 copier leasing lenders and equipment leasing finance companies reported an improvement from May 2012 (Specifically a 23% increase). One remark from a copier equipment leasing CEO suggested that there should be more businesses taking advantage of historically lower rates. another noteworthy mention was that there were fewer companies in default and even less were charged off (“repo’d”).

What’s this mean for your company?

Essentially it means that in spite of economic fears and what seems to be a slow economic recovery you have options when it comes to leasing a copier. These options keep the market competitive and keeps interest rates in check. As the financial arms for copier leasing gain more confidence we expect to see easier qualification standards for new businesses.

At Flat Rate Copiers we track the market and always offer the option for conventional copier leasing with the equipment leasing lenders. If your business is new or you do not yet have established credit, have no fear we have a Guaranteed Approval program that is designed specifically for your company. What’s more is All of our copier equipment leasing lender partners offer a end of term buyout or what’s known as a lease-to-own. Now instead of a simple Tax advantage on the lease you also have the investment of ownership. Most of our clients upgrade to a new copier lease while enrolling the original copier in to a copier service program.  Call 877-871-5112 and ask us about the copier lease program.

As you may already know there are several great copiers to chose from this year. This article is about what to look for purchasing or leasing your next copier. Typically when I am sending a proposal for a quote I ask my customers to determine the number of prints that they actually go through in a month, but who really knows what this number is and why is it so important..

In my experience it’s best to speak with the person who purchases the paper and other office supplies. For example one large box of paper holds 10 reams of paper at 500 pages each, that’s 5,000 prints. Usually a small business will use between 1 and 4 boxes per month. The reason we try to determine the monthly use as accurately as possible is because the expense to maintain that copier, printer, or fax is based on the use of consumables like toner and drums. These consumables have a short life and and the drums do as well. This is critical when calculating the cost form your copier service provider.

As an industry in general, we quote a cost per "click" or print. I have seen on average .0101 per print for black and white /monochrome copiers and printers and .06-.12cents for color printers and copiers.

An easy way to think of this is as if you’re dealing with your cell phone carrier. You can choose different phones made by different manufacturers and chose a service plan that is right for you. Even more similar is the term “Overages” , we’ve all seen this in the fine print and when you go over the allotted minutes you get hit over the head with large fees for every minute over. In copier leasing and rentals this is also a pitfall. It’s to the advantage for your service company to collect overages from you every month, sometimes doubling your monthly bill. !! Ouch! What’s worse you can be locked into a 12 month contract before you can even modify that usage.

Simply stated always be as accurate with your monthly estimated use as possible. At Flat Rate Copiers we do not lock any of our clients into service contract, in fact we allow flexibility for seasonal printing and companies that are growing. We don’t believe your company should be punished for being successful and subsequently making more prints and copies. Check out our line of products From Ricoh, Canon, Konica Minolta, Sharp and Shindoh.

Copy Machines, some will call them Multifunction copiers or Multifunction printers, but the common denominator is that they are capable of multiple functions at once. Usually this means that they can print, scan, copy and fax. It seems copy machines can do it all. However, before you rush out and buy the first copier or printer you should know if they all offer some advantage or disadvantage with respect to your actual printing needs. For instance; Do you print or have the need to copy paper larger than the standard legal and letter? If you don’t then you have many options to choose from at prices low enough not to crush your budget.

You may need a true copy machine or stand alone office copier:

• When you print scan or copy on 11×17 paper*
• When you require full duplex (double sided) copies or scanning
• When you want higher speed efficiency on scanning and printing
• When you do a large volume of prints (over 5,000 -10,000+)
• When you have multiple users sending simultaneous prints, fax, scan, copy

These are just a few reasons that those little printers that you can pick up an office supply store won’t work for your business. Additionally, the larger copy machines like a Ricoh Aficio have longer yield on toner (some as much as 45,000 prints) before it needs to be replaced. When owning a copy machine like a Ricoh Aficio you can save hundreds of dollars per month on toner alone. This is Not advised with small ink and laserjet machines.

Some of the newer desktop printers have great new features like wifi and bluetooth options for printing from smartphone devices and network printing. These were traditionally seen as exclusive in the Ricoh Aficio full size office copy machines. Wifi Printers are now a common option for most desktop as well as stand alone copy machines.

Be sure to asses your office copying needs and paper sizes before selecting the copy machine, printer, fax, or copier that’s right for your business.