You probably didn’t wake up this morning super excited to contact vendors about acquiring a new copier for your office. But knowing what’s critical and what isn’t makes the process less tedious. Here’s a list of 5 things to consider when shopping for a new office copier:
Total Output
Choose a device that closely matches your volume needs. Trying to save on the hardware cost by going with a device designed for lower volume means that the device’s lifetime will be shorter. So your business ends up making that same investment again within just a couple of years.
On the other end of the spectrum is buying too big of a machine because you can get a “great deal” on it. All devices you compare will have a so-called sweet spot where they perform best. A trained sales rep can help you figure out your volume and what device would be the right fit for your environment.
Scan Volume
Almost all makes and models of Multi-Function Printers (MFPs) have different scanner options. If your business scans a lot, upgrade from the traditional Reversing Automatic Document Feeder (RADF) to the Dual Scan Document Processor (DSDP). This upgrade accommodates more originals in the feeder tray, quicker scanning of duplexed documents, and often has the blank page delete feature. Since scanning seems to be the backbone of many businesses now, the DSDP is something we always recommend. Your users will thank you for it!
Software Integration
You probably know that copiers have scanning, printing and fax capabilities in addition to basic photocopying features. But did you know that most devices now have optional software integrations to make your office more efficient from beginning to end? Middleware bridges the gaps between devices and software. With it you can scan to the cloud, manage print policies, intelligently route faxes, convert scans to Word or Excel docs, integrate with your document management system or almost anything else under the sun.
Security
How would a data breach affect your business? If you don’t know, you need to have some hard conversations with your potential vendors.
Do they sanitize the hard drive from the copier at the end of the contract? Is there an additional cost associated with that? Can they provide proof they wiped the hard drive?
Can the device they’re proposing sit on both your office and guest networks at the same time so that guests don’t have access to your internal network?
Does the device have a Data Overwrite System that will overwrite the hard drive on an incremental basis?
These are all questions you should be asking of any potential vendor.
Service
In our industry, we like to joke that copiers do two things: make copies and break down. It’s what happens AFTER it breaks down that’s important.
Some things to look for regarding service are: how many different ways can you place a service call? What is the company’s average response time between placing the call and arriving on-site? What does the company do to ensure your device is down for as little time as possible? Giving satisfactory answers to these questions usually come at a price [read: you get what you pay for]. The above questions will help you determine if you’re going to get what you feel like you’re paying for.
