Despite the advancement in the use of email and soft copy documents, some important documents and images still need to be in hard copy. For this reason, the printer remains a relevant equipment in any business irrespective of the size. When looking for a good printer for your business, several things often come to your mind. Which is the best type? Is it affordable? Can it handle your workload efficiently? Can you network it with other printers or office equipment? All these questions can be quite overwhelming. Therefore, here are essential guidelines to help you find the best printer for your business.
Consider the Printer Type
The first step in selecting a printer for your business is to determine the right type. Laser and inkjet are the two common printer types in the market. Inkjets are common because they are cheaper, fairly portable, and readily available. They use ink cartridges which often require regular replacement. Different printers have different ink requirements too, so you can only put a HP 4630 Ink cartridge in a compatible HP Officejet 4630 printer. You can go for an inkjet if you are running a small business with low to medium daily printing volume.
Laser printers, on the other hand, are common in office buildings. They are great for high volume and high-resolution print jobs. Unlike inkjet, they do not require cartridges. Their only downside is that their initial cost and that for acquiring toner is quite high. Therefore, analyse your needs to find the printer type that is best for your company.
Look for Business-Oriented Features
If you are running a big business with multiple offices, you might need to share a printer to cut down on your cost. Therefore, your printer of choice should be able to support seamless connection to every user within your company. As technology advances, people need to print from their smartphones and even remotely from other devices. Therefore, consider a printer that supports Wi-Fi and smartphone connectivity.
In addition to that, you also need a multifunction printer that can handle advanced printing, copying, scanning, print duplexing, and fax duties. This way you will save yourself from incurring the cost of dedicated machines for these individual duties. Also, multifunctional printers will help you conserve office space that would have been occupied by bulky copiers and fax machines. A3 printers are an excellent choice when you are looking for a multifunction printer.
Consider the Print Speed
Having a printer that will keep you waiting is not good for business. Slow printers will reduce your company’s efficiency making you unable to meet customer deadlines. Therefore, choose a printer with a PPM (pages per minute) value that matches your business needs. Manufacturers will always indicate this figure on the printer to give you an easy time during choosing.
Cost of Operation
When determining your cost of operation, compare your print needs and the duty cycle (pages per month) of the printer to the price-per-page of the printer to find one that is cheaper. Manufacturers often indicate the price-per-page value on the printer specifications. It is also important to consider the cost of replacement parts. Print heads and drums usually are affected the most by wear and tear. They can be rather expensive, sometimes equaling the price of a whole new unit.
Finally, consider your budget and get a printer that is within your price range. Once you are well-versed with all these information about printers, you will be better-placed at getting the right machine for your business.
