Essential Copier Buyer Tips

Whether you are looking for low-cost but reliable photocopier for a small office or a networked copier for an office workgroup, or even a heavy duty full colour photocopier for a print hungry corporate group environment – the choice is huge for both colour and black only systems.

The most obvious and important advances have been due to the introduction of digital technology. Digital copiers work by scanning the original document to be copied and creating a digital image. This digital image is then used to create all the resulting copies.

Essentially, this "scan once, print many" technology means that digital copiers do a great job of photocopying graphics and photos as well as creating far less wear and tear on parts and equipment. Old hands will know that that the technology has been around for several years, but if you are a newcomer, you should not feel that this is a an unproven new-fangled technology - far from it!

Which photocopier is right for you?

These days, because digital technology means even an entry-level copier is capable of operating as a printer and a scanner when hooked up to a PC or network, it pays to consider ease of use and convenience for your particular office environment.

One huge advantage of a digital copier is that it can be linked to a standalone PC, or more usually, added to your office computer network. Your photocopier then becomes a high-speed printer, which can be upgraded to produce sorted and/or stapled sets of prints without having to get up from your desk. Not only that, but with the right additional components, your photocopiers can also act as a fax and high-speed scanner, too.

Other benefits of combining print and copy functions

It is well proven that printers are comparatively more expensive and variable in their cost to run for the same given volume of print than the photocopier. Print volumes have been increasing exponentially for a few years now, but copier volumes have remained flat if not slightly diminishing.

And often, of course, the acquisition of several printers from several companies over time can mean piecemeal maintenance and service support. The digital photocopier on the other hand can be at least four to ten times cheaper to run with a fixed, fully inclusive cost per page.

In terms of total ownership costs, the overall acquisition and running costs of a higher-specification machine means that the cost per-copy cost is reduced, and so the economies of scale attached to higher volume copiers can pay off handsomely in the long run.

Copycare's Top 7 buying Tips

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1. One of the most important things to consider is an obvious one: how much the photocopier will be used. Work out how many copies are made per day or month and what the photocopier will be mostly used for. This will help determine whether you will need a colour or black and white photocopier, how large the photocopier will be and the size of it's capacity tray.
2. The second thing you should do is make sure that the photocopier has a duplex option. This allows for double sided printing and the photocopier should have the option to set double sided printing as default. This saves a lot of paper, there will be an option for single sided printing, but make sure it's only used when completely necessary.
3. Make sure that the photocopier chosen uses little standby energy and switches automatically to stand-by mode when not in use. Many of the new photocopiers enter into stand-by mode as soon as they are not being used and have very quick start up times. Some new photocopiers use just 3w of standby energy consumption, compared to 690w for some older devices.
4. Another thing to consider is whether a multifunctional photocopier will be a sensible option. These can incorporate copying, printing, scanning and even faxing all in one photocopier and can save much space if you need a photocopier for a small office, as well as saving money compared with running each of these devices separately.
5. Resolution of the photocopier determines the clarity of each copy, for example quality and sharpness of an image. Resolution is measured in dots per inch. Some photocopiers can have very high resolutions, but unless you need a number of prints with extremely clear images, this can increase the running cost of the photocopier, therefore extremely high resolution photocopiers are often only really worthwhile for designers.
6. A photocopier's speed is measured in pages per minute, so consider how much the machine is used per day, whether people often have to wait in order to use the photocopier and if a lot of large documents or brochures need to be printed. Generally, the more copying needed per day and the higher the amount of very large documents printed, the faster the photocopier will need to be.
7. Make sure you research any software that is available for the photocopier, and which capabilities it has in case you need them in the future. Some software is extremely useful, especially in large offices, as it allows you to track what is being printed and to set up departmental print quotas. Software such as this will allow you to target wasteful prints and stop people making so many unnecessary copies, reducing the number of 'unclaimed' prints left hanging around photocopiers.

A photocopier is a fairly large investment for a company to make, so having a check list of things you might need will help when purchasing a photocopier. The last tip is to keep in mind that most established companies will offer good advice as to what photocopier to go for and, for additional peace of mind, choose an authorised supplier of the photocopier brand you want to buy or lease.

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