Choosing Your Business Printer

Despite all the talk these last few years about the supposed migration to the "paperless office," legal and logistical considerations have rendered such a movement impracticable so far. Consequently, for now and the foreseeable future, printing services remain central to most small and medium-sized businesses. These services include shared printing across a network, personal or group printing services, and document management efforts, including scanning/storage, faxing, and copying. Given the wide array of equipment available, making the best decision about the equipment best suited to your business needs is getting more difficult all the time. As a business owner or manager, it is your job to determine costs and weigh the advantages versus the costs of implementing a business-wide printing strategy. Different factors have to be taken into account, such as document security, optimal printer locations , and the need for implementation of proactive redundancy measures, should a portion (or all) of your printer network go down.

Inkjet Printers

With the rapidly falling prices of printers, business owners and managers are now frequently purchasing inexpensive models to hook directly into individual workstations for single-user access. Though seemingly convenient - especially when the user requires frequent color pages - this does create a larger support issue. Beyond the need to install and apply periodic updates to drivers and software on all individual machines, there is a frequent need to replace many print cartridges. This is much more time consuming than replacing the toner cartridge in one shared network printer. There is also the cost of consumables to be considered if one is to make a valid "apples-to-apples" comparison of different printing solutions. Furthermore, inexpensive printers are built for home use, not for printing hundreds of pages every day. If the individual workstation places significant output demands on its attached printer, you're very likely to wear out a light-duty inkjet printer in a relatively short period of time. Furthermore, you should keep in mind that even in the case of inexpensive printers, the cost per page will almost always be higher for an inkjet than for a comparably priced laser printer.

All-In-One Printers

All-in-one printers are those that have scanning, printing, copying, and faxing capabilities combined into a single unit. Instead of investing in equipment to provide each service separately, a multi-function printer allows your business to combine them into a single machine. Given the increasing reliability these printers over the last few years, it is wise to consider one of these machines as an addition to your company's printing sources. You'll typically spend a bit more up-front for one of these printers, but you should save enough in the long run to compensate for the increased initial investment. As noted in the discussion of inkjet printers, above, the less-expensive models should be avoided unless the expected workload is very light. Attempting to meet the needs of multiple users with a machine designed for occasional home use is a recipe for user frustration at best, and incapacitation of the desired functions at worst.

Commercial-grade printers

Most larger-sized businesses, as well as an increasing number of small to medium sized operations, use printers that are designed and built to maintain a much higher monthly page count at a significantly lower per-page cost than can be realized with smaller consumer machines. Commercial-grade printers are frequently leased rather than purchased outright, and most lease or purchase agreements include some form of service package wherein experienced technicians provide onsite troubleshooting and repair, freeing up in-house personnel to focus upon their primary responsibilities. Furthermore, ink and toner capacities, as well as paper capacities, are substantially greater than those offered on consumer products, resulting in less frequent need to replenish consumables. The rated page per minute output is typically very high, especially as compared to the sometimes minutes-per-page rating of consumer-rated inkjet printers. If your business prints a high volume of materials, these commercial-grade printers represent a genuine cost savings over the long term, despite the higher initial investment in equipment.

When it comes to choosing the right printer, your options are pretty straightforward. If you have an abundance of individual inkjet or inexpensive laser printers within your business, your company could probably benefit from a centralized printing solution utilizing workgroup printers. However, if your business printing volume is light to moderate, workstation-connected or networked inkjet or compact laser printers might be your most cost-effective solution. If your business frequently utilizes additional services such as fax, copying, and scanning, you should opt for the all-in-one printers. And if those demands are anything greater than occasional, your optimal solution will be a commercial-grade document management system. By paying close attention to your daily business demands, you will find it much easier to select the solution that is most viable for providing your business with a printing solution that has the speed, efficiency, reliability, and overall productivity it needs.

THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE. Consult with a financial advisor, accountant or attorney before making important decisions in these areas.