How to Compare Small Business Printers
No matter what the nature of your business, the computer equipment you choose can have a big impact on your bottom line and on the efficiency of your business. Choosing the right small business printers can save your company money and make it more productive, while choosing the wrong printers can be a costly mistake. Assessing your needs ahead of time and knowing what to look for in a business printer is the best way to avoid costly errors.
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Instructions
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Review the layout of your office to determine if you would be better off with one or two large networked printers or a larger number of personal desktop printers. If the office is an open design with a large concentration of workers in a small area, one network printer will probably be sufficient. If your employees need to print large numbers of confidential documents, personal printers would probably be the best choice.
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Compare the prices of color printers versus black and white. If you choose personal inkjet printers for everyone, color printing capability is a given. But if you opt for laser printers, you need to weigh the benefits of color printing against the extra cost of a color laser printer.
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Review the page-per-minute rating of each printer you are considering. This rating is expressed as PPM, and it is very important if you plan to print large volumes of documents. A printer with a larger PPM rating might be worth the extra cost, especially if your business generates a lot of documents.
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Compare the cost of the replacement ink and toner cartridges for each printer under consideration. The initial purchase price of the printer is just one part of the equation. You need to consider the total cost of ownership, including the cost of replacement ink. A cheap laser printer is no bargain if its replacement toner cartridges cost $50 more than comparable models.
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Check the estimated page yield on each replacement ink or toner cartridge. Use that page yield to calculate the cost per page, and use that cost per page in analyzing your total printing costs.
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Compare warranty coverage, especially on expensive, large-format laser printers. While desktop printers are generally considered disposable, in that it costs more to repair them than to buy a new one, laser printers are different. Look for a lengthy warranty on both parts and labor when shopping for a laser printer. Accept a year's warranty as the minimum. A three-year warranty on parts and labor is even better.
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