8 Factors To Consider When Buying a Multifunction Printer for Office Use

Multifunction printers (MFPs) can serve a variety of important purposes for your office. There are several factors to consider so you can select the right printer for your office’s unique needs.

#1 – Budget

One of the first things you think about when shopping for a multifunction printer is your budget. But try not to think about how little you can spend. Think about what you need to spend for an MFP to do what your business needs to be done. A cheap printer may be slow, which can negatively impact your staff’s productivity. A cheap printer may not be robust or reliable enough to handle the page volume you need. A cheap printer may cost you more on a cost-per-page basis than a higher-volume printer would. Do you send some color copy jobs out to quick print shops? If so, maybe you can bring some of those outsourced jobs in-house and print them on your own multifunction printer. How many prints, copies, and scans, does your staff produce in an average month? Is your business growing or do you plan to grow? A cheap, slow, inefficient printer may cost you more money over the longer term. All these factors should be included in your budget consideration.

#2 – Color or Monochrome

Are your print applications strictly used for more than internal record keeping, forms, and memos? Will you never need to produce customer-facing marketing collateral? If no, than perhaps a monochrome MFP is an appropriate choice. Monochrome prints are commonly used by law firms, accounting firms, in healthcare, and in mortgage lenders. But even in these office environments, some color printing may be needed. Color printing usually costs more than black-and-white (monochrome) printing, sometimes 3x to 5x more per page. Will you allow your employees to use the color printer, or will you want to restrict its access? Will you want multiple printers in your office, with some of them color-enabled and others only monochrome? Consider these factors in your total cost of ownership (TCO).

#3 – Paper Size Capability

Will you need 11”x17” (ledger), 8 ½”x14” (legal), and 8 ½”x11” (letter) paper sizes? What paper sizes can each MFP model handle? Models that can print 11”x17” paper typically cost more, but you need to consider the types of applications your business needs to produce. Even if 10% of your page volume is on 11”x17”, it is probably beneficial to select a model that has that page size capability.

#4 – Page Volume Rating

Each multifunctional printer model has a maximum monthly page volume recommended by its manufacturer. To plan for growth and for stretch capacity, it is a good idea to select a model than can handle a higher volume than you need. If you think your team will regularly be printing, say, 30k pages per month, it is probably better to select a model that is recommended to handle 40k, 50k, or more pages per month. This buffer will improve your MFP’s reliability in the short term and in the longer term.

#5 – Print Quality

Another factor to consider when buying a multifunction printer is the device’s print quality. Typically, laser printers offer very high-quality digital prints. Print quality may be critical for producing your branded marketing collateral, customer-facing proposals, and external communications. However, the quality of inkjet printers has improved significantly in recent years as technology has improved. HP has made great advances in the print quality of its business inkjet printers and subsequently leads the market. Some printers produces better quality on coated paper while others are better suited for uncoated paper. Ask your sales representative for print samples on a variety of paper types.

#6 – Print Speed

If you’re running a busy office with frequent printing needs, then a slow MFP may cost you more than you may think. If your staff member earns, say, $50 per hour, how much does wasted time cost you? Do you want him or her standing by the slow printer waiting for the job to be finished? For example, the Kyocera TASKalfa 8052ci can produce 80 pages per minute in black and white, whereas the Kyocera TASKalfa 307ci can only produce 32 pages per minute. If she is printing 500 flyers for a marketing event, the 8052ci would take less than seven minutes, while the 307ci would about 17 minutes. Lost time can mean opportunity cost for your team and your company.

#7 – Product Features

Generally, multifunction printers can print, scan, copy, and fax. However, different models and brands offer different features and capabilities. Features such as collating, stapling, automatic duplexing, high-speed scanning, photo printing modes, web apps, and mobile printing can be very useful and time-efficient for your employees. Will you need any of these features?

• Emailing and storage of documents

• High-resolution color

• Double-sided documents (auto duplex)

• Hole punching, stapling (what positions?)

• Booklet making (saddle stitching?)

#8 – Service for your MFP

Serviceability of your equipment is a major consideration in the equation of your cost, time, efficiency, and peace of mind. How easy it for your staff members to detect and fix paper jams on the model you are considering? What is the recommended maximum monthly volume and preventative maintenance (PM) cycle? What is the protocol you must follow when your MFP is not operating properly? Is there after-hours phone support available? Will your service provider attempt to first fix the issue by phone before sending out a technician? What is the average response time for a technician to arrive after a service call is placed? What is the manufacturer’s warranty on parts for the model you are choosing? Some brands have better customer reputations than others. Check reviews and customer testimonials for your multifunction printer and service provider before you make a final decision. Ask your sales representative if you can call any current customers and ask about their experience with the model you are considering.

Conclusion

A new multifunction printer for your office is an important purchase. If you consider these factors before making a purchase, you’ll greatly increase your chances of having a reliable, productive printer for years to come. If you’d like a quote on any of our multifunction printers or other business services, contact us at Arizona Business Systems today.