Printers, Copiers, Duplicators or a Mix?
While small businesses may only need one MFP, most companies use a variety of machines for their output, often placing different devices based on the needs of a particular department or workgroup.
- An art department may need a color copier-based MFP that can match Pantone colors, handle ledger-size paper and create finished booklets.
- Accounting may be able to handle all its requirements with a monochrome copier/printer.
- The sales department may need color scanning capability.
- The CEO may require a small printer in his office to print draft correspondence and e-mails.
Some OEMs also offer specialized machines to fulfill specific requirements, such as a digital duplicator that can create hundreds or thousands of copies for very low cost per page (very useful in schools, hospitals, churches and government agencies), or wide-format devices used in engineering and architectural settings.
Free Print Assessments
Many dealers now offer a free service called a print assessment, in which they monitor/audit usage and then make a recommendation based on those specific needs. This can save money over the long run by uncovering waste, as well as give the dealer the ability to recommend specific solutions based on your actual machine output and location (for example, it might prove cost effective to replace several desktop printers with a single networked device).
If you are responsible for replacing the products your company uses today, make sure those products were not acquired by happenstance—you’ll just reproduce the same sub-optimal solution you have today. Step back and look at your unique workflow to determine the right allocation and location of products and features to meet your company’s unique requirements.
The decision you make—copier vs. printer based MFPs—and whether you select a few large devices in a central location, many products distributed throughout the office, or some combination of the two, will impact more than your acquisition cost and output costs.
It will also impact:
- Office productivity/people costs,
- Has an environmental impact, and
- Influences your internal technical support costs
In some businesses, these soft costs/issues should—and do—dominate the purchase strategy.