How to choose the right Multifunction Printer
Technology changes constantly, and printers and multifunction office machines are no exception. These modern devices have so many bells and whistles that it’s challenging to decide what you need and what you can do without. The basics are often the most important factors when making a decision.
The differences between the best option and the wrong option are in the details.
How to choose the right multifunction printer depends on what your business needs.
Knowing your workflow and environment is as important as what you’ll be printing. We wanted to examine all the options and see which factors we’ve learned are the most important when helping you make the right choice. Below are the top five factors to consider when choosing the right multifunction printer for your business.
1. Is Security Your Top Priority?
Since HP is the go-to multifunction printer for business environments, they’ve raised the bar on printer security and earned the title of the world’s most secure printers. With built-in features like HP Sure Start, Whitelisting, Run-time intrusion detection, and HP Connection Inspector, these printers have end-to-end protection for your sensitive data.
2. Color or Black and White?
This choice is based on what you’re printing. If your business doesn’t need color, then why pay for it? Accounting firms and banks rarely need color printing except for specific areas where a logo may need to be printed in color. However, tax forms and bank statements are great examples of skipping the cost of color. You can also purchase or lease a color machine with the added feature of color control. This function allows you to print color only when you need it. We almost always recommend color for many reasons, but you know your business better than we do. If you don’t need it, don’t pay for it.
3. Print Volume
Your print volume matters when choosing a printer. The amount that businesses are printing has indeed declined, but printing is not going away anytime soon. There are still industries and companies that rely heavily on printing. Your print volume will dictate your machine choice based on the engine size and speed. If you’re printing 1,000 sheets daily, five days a week, you’ll need to know the recommended print volume for your new machine. Otherwise, the wear and tear of running the machine and pumping paper through it will cause it to break down faster and put wear and tear on parts that aren’t built to handle such a heavy workload.
4. Paper Size
Too often, we see companies that lease unnecessary machines. Unfortunately, there are some copier companies out there who oversell their customers to make a buck. Laser Line is NOT one of those dealers. We will never oversell you on a machine that prints on 11 X 17-inch paper when you don’t print anything over legal size. We have a SHARP and an HP line of exceptional A4 (letter and legal) size multifunction printers available. Downsizing from an A3 (Tabloid size) machine can save you thousands of dollars! If you do not need to print A3, why are you paying for it?
5. Functionality
The added functions on your multifunction printer will be unique to your needs. You can choose from envelope printing, stapling, stacking and sorting, and even booklet-making. Will you need a high-capacity paper tray or the ability to have several different trays for different print jobs? Will the machine require a stand, a cabinet, or both? Your Laser Line sales team will ask these questions while helping you decide what you need, but being prepared for those questions is a great start to the process.
Making the right decision about your multifunction machines is crucial to your budget, workflow, and print environment.
We always strive to make you as well-informed as possible to get it right the first time. We aim to ensure your business stays up and running and has the right machines in the right place with the right features to do the job.
