The Ultimate Buyer's Guide to Photocopier Machines

Purchasing a new photocopier machine can be an expensive task especially when after making all the considerations you end up with a machine that is not suitable for your needs. Given the speed at which technology rapidly changes, it can often be overwhelming just trying to keep up, especially when it's been several years since you've had to consider what the market has to offer.

To help out and to ensure you are making the right decision we have put together six key points for you to consider when buying a new copier.

It can be hard to determine, but first finding out how much you are likely to print each month plays a big part in which device best suits your needs. It's obvious that if more people are using them, the better options for printers are ones which can put out a high volume. However, even small offices can do substantial volumes and it really depends on your line of work.

Each device has its ideal range and maximum print volume. Putting tens of thousands of prints through a small home-based machine will ultimately do more damage to the machine than if the same volume was being done through a copier more suited to industrial scale printing. Copiers and printers are designed with a set volume in mind so finding your sweet spot should be first on your list.

When it comes to copying, speed literally means how fast the photocopier spits out the prints. In the printing industry this is called pages per minute or ppm for short. Your machine's ppm can range anywhere from 20 pages per minute right up to 90 pages per minute.

After determining your monthly premium you will then need to ask yourself or your staff how quickly you need to produce your print jobs. A machine's volume plays a hand in determining how fast of an output you require but you don't want to be waiting any longer than you need for a large print job.

Deciding whether you need a photocopier that can print in color or whether just black and white will suffice is another big consideration to make. There is market research to show that printing color invoices can increase payment response time by up to 30%. That's not to say that everyone needs a color copier however.

With modern technology you can default all printing to black and white and enable color printing when you desire. So now you're probably asking why purchase a black and white machine? It's a well-known fact that color tones and inks cost more than black and if the end-user's printing cannot be controlled, a black and white device may be suitable. However, there are many ways to control end-users printing with additional software so don't be afraid to splash a bit of color.

Modern copiers can staple, punch holes and even fold. Many people are amazed to learn that if they invest in the right copier, they will no longer have to manually undertake these tasks. The ultimate question is whether all these mod cons are necessary for your needs.

The aim is to understand the main functions of your business. Do you need to print on envelopes or labels? Do you require fax capabilities? How much time is spent stapling? The more features you require, the greater the cost, so understanding the necessities for your workflow will determine a great deal.

Often when purchasing a new copier, a supplier will typically offer a service agreement or contract where you pay a set amount for each print. This cost per copy or cost per print typically covers replacement toners, parts, labor and travel, to keep the machine operating at an optimum level. It's important to know that the cost per copy will vary based on the type of copier, the age of the device, the size and who the supplier is.

As a rule of thumb, the larger the device, the lower the typical running costs due to scale. However, the machine needs to be outputting the ideal volume for this to be the case. Make sure to ask the supplier all the appropriate questions about the terms and conditions. Although cost per copy should form part of your decision-making process, it is also advisable to give significance to company service and backup support.

If you are looking to buy a new photocopier machine, do all the appropriate research, read the fine print and identify what your needs are. Suppliers will often use their machines' running cost as a selling point however it won't be cost-effective to pay for service when the backup support is not meeting your needs so make sure you do your homework on everything before making a purchase.