A new Office Printer for your business
If the task of choosing the right office printer for your business has been given to you, then you have probably searched the internet and found a long list of manufacturers and followed links for Office Printers For Sale and other places where they can be purchased online. The real task however is to not only find the right printer for your office, but actually find the right company to deliver, setup and install it at your office and onto your network.
At My Group Printing, our friendly team has helped countless customers to not only select the correct printer/photocopier for their offices, but has been there to help select the options needed and then have one of our engineers connect it and have provided training. Our knowledge (over 25 years of experience) and our partnership with business printing’s market leaders means we can be trusted to help you.
This short buyers guide article is one of many, that is aimed at business owners or office, IT and facilities managers that need to buy a new office printer for their business and want some help choosing the right model.
When choosing a new office printer, you will likely come across terms including Multifunction Device (MFD) or Multifunctional Printer (MFP) when actually you just want a photocopier or a printer with a feeder on top so you can scan more quickly. This article is made to simplify the process, and despite all these names they are all talking about the same thing… an office printer for a business that prints, photocopies, scans and if needed can fax too.
Why do you need a new office printer?
Old and outdated printers are not only energy inefficient but can also be a drain on your resources due to frequent breakdowns, slow printing, and limited or difficult to use functions. Your office or business printer (rather than a printer for home) has to be robust and offer connectivity to your existing IT network, including wireless printing and AirPrint.
The cost of running an older printer is often much higher due to the increasing costs of toners and parts if your old printer stops working. If parts for your older printer need replacing, then you may also find yourself waiting longer while the part is sourced.
This short buyers guide article is aimed at small business owners, or the managers of their small but busy offices, to help them buy a new printer.
Comparing costs when buying a office printer for business
Choosing the right printer for your office, either large or small, is not just the purchase price. It is important to consider not just the upfront price of a printer, but also the long-term cost implications and what support this offers.
While the allure of a shiny new office printer may be tempting, it’s vital to understand the actual cost of owning and operating such a machine. This includes:
Print Costs: Calculating the number of prints made annually can reveal whether you’re overpaying on a cost per page print basis.
Toner and Consumable Spend: Some toners are expensive to replace, and not all give you value for money in terms of longevity and print quality.
Equipment Costs: The initial outlay for the machine is one aspect, but consider maintenance, potential repairs, and software updates.
Printer Lease: Many office printers are leased, with businesses choosing this option to lower the upfront costs and spread the cost over fixed monthly or quarterly rentals. The term of an office printer lease can range from 12 months to 6 years, with flexibly to adjust the term to suit your business plans.
It is wise to conduct a print audit to evaluate all these factors. This audit does not have to be onerous, and should be possible which the information printed on your latest service invoice. A service contract that covers your business printers should include: the number of pages printed (colour and mono), date of current and previous readings, the equipment serial number (helpful if you have multiple business printers) and show any other charges.
This information will allow you to see the true costs associated with your printer and where savings are achievable.
Office Printers for Business – What do you want and need?
When choosing the right device from a potentially long list of office printers, you should consider what you need and what else you want. Our My Group Printing team has put together an essential list of options to help you find the perfect printer for your business.
Multifunctionality
Do you need an office printer for your business that combines printing, scanning, and copying or do you just need to print?
A3 or A4 Printing
Why choose A3 when you only print A4? A3 vs. A4 doesn’t sound technical, but in addition to the larger paper sizes they can handle; generally an A3 large office printer is designed to handle higher print volumes, will be faster, more durable and better value for businesses. They do also have a larger footprint than a small office A4 model, but the newer A3 printers usually have a compact design and will fit most office environments.
Energy Efficiency
Newer models are often more energy-efficient, which means reduced electricity bills.
Connectivity
You will need to ensure that the printer is compatible with cloud services and can connect wirelessly to various devices such as laptops, phones and tablets for ease of use.
Security
Advanced models offer security features such as encrypted printing or user authentication to stop unauthorised use.
Printer Speeds and the first page out
Speed is of the essence in business, and when it comes to printers, it’s measured in pages per minute (PPM). On average, standard printers for businesses can print between 20 to 50 PPM for black and white prints. Colour printers tend to be slightly slower.
First Page Out
This refers to the time it takes for the printer to print the first page after somebody presses print. Modern office printers have impressively reduced this first output time, with many high-speed printers delivering the first page in under 10 seconds.
Document Feeder (a must-have if you do lots of scanning)
If your office staff are frequently scanning, a document feeder is a game-changer. Instead of manually placing each page onto the scanner, you can stack multiple pages, and the feeder will scan them in succession. It’s a feature that can significantly boost productivity, especially for businesses with high scanning volumes.
Printing from Phones and Laptops
With the rise of remote working and on-the-go tasks, the ability to print directly from mobile devices is paramount. Modern office printers come equipped with:
Wireless Connectivity – This allows devices within a network to connect without cables.
Mobile Printing – Most printers for businesses and offices now offer dedicated apps that facilitate easy printing from smartphones and tablets.
Cloud Printing – Print documents stored in the cloud without needing to download them to a device first.
Our friendly team at My Group Printing is here to help you.
Choosing the best office printers for business is more than just selecting a machine; it’s about understanding the features you want and how they align with your office needs.
Our friendly team at My Group Printing is here to help you. We can help decipher your existing contract, show you savings and help you choose between A3 and A4 capabilities, understand printer speeds and how you can embrace the latest business printing technology.
Frequently asked questions
An office printer is designed to be fast, robust and easy to use. This should make the normal business functions of printing, photocopying and scanning quick and easy. For larger offices or when additional features such as booklet printing are required a larger office printer can handle all this and much more.
Dependant on your requirements, the best printer for office use would be a colour, laser multifunctional device. Choosing a model that can print double sided and in full colour along with black and white, along with the functionality to print and scan will give you all the features you need. Using a laser printer rather than inkjet will also offer the best value colour printing for your office.
An Inkjet printer can be fine for personal use, and the low purchase price can make them seem like an attractive option for a small office, but they do have disadvantages if you print regularly. The best office printer for a business, even for a small office would be a laser printer. A laser printer will cost slightly more to buy but will be much faster and will cost far less to run. The option to rent or lease an office printer will give businesses the opportunity to spread the purchase price of a new office printer whilst paying lots less to print each page.
For a small business where there is no room for a large office printer, an A4 colour laser printer is ideal. These desktop office printers, despite their smaller footprint are excellent additions to a busy office. Other options are available, but Toshiba’s very popular e-studio 338cs model prints 33 pages per minute, colour and mono, duplex (double sided), and can scan and photocopy with an automatic feeder. This printer can also connect to Wi-Fi and supports printing from any device, so your office staff can print from laptops, tablets and their phones.
With more people WFH, the need to print at home has become a requirement. Previously home printers were cheap inkjet models designed for personal use and children’s homework, but the increased cost and frequency of replacing ink cartridges and slow printing becomes a serious disadvantage if your printing and scanning volumes increase. An affordable, compact, desktop laser printer with Wi-Fi and built in scanner is likely to be the best printer for a home office.
Choosing the right printer for your office is not just the purchase price. If you have a large number of staff, high volumes or perhaps you have limited space then your choice of office printer should be based on: speed, size, functions, security, efficiency, cost per page, connectivity and what ongoing support you need. Our team at My Group Printing is here to help you find the best office printer for your business and we are very happy for you to visit our Greenhithe office where we can demonstrate it for you.
Laser office printers can be colour or mono only. Many businesses choose a colour printer as you have the ability to print colour if required, but can default to mono for everyday printing. One of our most popular models is the Toshiba E-Studio 2525AC due to the reliability, excellent print quality and because it offers low-cost colour printing.
For offices and businesses with lots of staff, and that print regularly then the best laser printer for office use would be a floor standing, A3, laser printer. Choosing this type of device offers: reliable technology, high quality prints, flexibility to print on most paper types, consistent and fast print speed plus the lowest cost per page.
For businesses that print high volumes, busy offices and schools, fast printing is a necessity. No one wants to wait while the office printer finishes the previous job, or perhaps you are printing documents for a customer and need them instantly. Whatever your requirements, finding that fast, high quality, printer or photocopier for your business is easy with My Group Printing; Toshiba’s office printer range offers small office printers which can print 33 pages per minute, whereas their large office printers can print at an exceptionally high rate of up to 90 pages per minute.
25+ years of printing experience
At My Group Printing, our 25+ years of experience and partnership with industry leaders allow us to guide you in this critical choice. Our dedicated team can help you navigate the equipment options and show potential savings to help you take advantage of the latest business printing technology. With our assistance, you can ensure your business gets the perfect printer tailored to your needs and the best support from our friendly team and local engineers.