There’s no more need for employing multiple devices to handle one task at a time. With multifunction printers, an office can seamlessly perform many paper-based tasks on one device.
To keep up with a fast-paced work environment, businesses need a multifunction printer that includes essential management features. An HP multifunction printer, for example, does more than just printing, and companies should be knowledgeable of the features all-in-one printers have to offer.
Furthermore, purchasing a new printer is a more involved task than it seems. Businesses should be clear on what they want out of a printer and if an additional feature is right for them. Continue reading for what companies should keep in mind when buying a multifunction printer.
5 THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN BUYING AN ALL IN ONE PRINTER
Printers have various features and capabilities, rendering most single-task devices useless. That said, you must take more than just a printer’s capabilities into account. Finding the right printer for your business means considering other, non-tangible factors.
1. PRINTING
An office needs to look at a printer that will perform well in the long run, as well as something that prints well. An efficient printer should perform just as well years later as it did when it was first purchased.
Additionally, a business should consider its specific wants and needs. For example, does the office need a multifunction printer with color printing capabilities? What about automatic double-sided printing to cut back on an office’s carbon footprint? Ricoh multifunction printers even have features such as choice of printing speed and finishing options for bundles of pages. Creating a list of even the most minor features that an office desires can help narrow a search for the perfect printer.
2. COPYING, SCANNING, AND FAXING
The ideal printer won’t just print – it also performs other functions that will help decrease the size of an office’s printing fleet. Copying, scanning, and faxing are all tasks that can now be performed by one device.
On average, a single employee will go through about 10,000 sheets of paper per year. With how much paperwork goes through an office, every business needs a multifunction printer with scanning capabilities. Multifunction printers typically have lower-resolution scanners best suited for documents, so if a business needs to scan high-resolution photos, it should consider a standalone scanner to support its volume of paperwork.
Making copies is essential to any business fueled by paperwork. Copies visit different hands in the same office and are filed in multiple locations, so companies should have a printer that can copy documents as well as print them.
Faxing may not be as crucial to some businesses as others – some may even consider it outdated. Nevertheless, faxing can be helpful when sending and receiving documents with signatures, but a printer with scanning capabilities can also serve that purpose.
3. COST
When looking for the ideal printer, an office must keep its spending limit in mind. Finding all the right features means nothing if it will throw off the budget. On average, a small business will spend around $1000 a year per employee on office supplies, including printer ink.
A business must find a printer that is best suited to its printing needs, one that will justify the total cost of ownership and prove that it is a good investment. When purchasing a new all-in-one printer, the office must be mindful of the cost of all the features it needs, as well as potential maintenance expenses.
4. CONNECTIVITY
With more information becoming accessible by phones, more tech-savvy businesses will opt for a printer with Wi-Fi connectivity. Having Wi-Fi capabilities on a printer allows a computer to print remotely and enables a phone to print off documents, too. Sharp multifunction printers utilize voice interaction with Amazon Alexa, offering another hands-free connectivity option.
5. SECURITY
Printers expose a weak point of a business’s network security. Around 50% of breaches related to printing are attributed to digitally-intercepted print jobs. For a company with sensitive information, it’s essential to look at the cybersecurity measures such as encryption and passwords, that come along with an all-in-one printer. An HP multifunction printer, for example, monitors all outbound connection requests so that the administrator knows if something is amiss.
AIM TO MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY WITH MULTIFUNCTION PRINTERS
Printers are the cornerstone of any business. Multifunction printers can integrate many processes into one device almost seamlessly. Multifunction printers are the place to start to maximize an office’s efficiency, as well as allow it to consume less energy.
As long as a business keeps the total cost of ownership in mind, it can find a multifunction printer that is best suited to its specific needs.
To find out which of our multifunction printers works best for you, contact Doing Better Business today.
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