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What Makes A Good Office Printer

September 15th, 2021 by admin

With so much of our business happening online these days, you might think that printing costs are insignificant. But, after payroll and rent, printing is the third-largest expense for many businesses and it can account for anywhere between 3-5% of total revenue.

Despite the large expense, most employees will be able to remember a recent instance of hair-pulling frustration when the office printer malfunctioned, ran out of ink, or jammed while they were on a deadline.Office printing does not have to be such a costly and frustrating component of doing business. With the right equipment, setup, and management, you can save time and frustration with an office printing solution that works every time.

With this guide, we will help to identify the most important features that your office printer needs, helping your business to succeed.

Must-Have Features for Your Office Printer

It can be overwhelming to evaluate all of the features available for printers and multifunction devices for the office. We have narrowed it down to the 10 features that your office printing solution must have.

  1. All-in-One & Full-Service

    A full-service printer that includes faxing, copying, and scanning capabilities can save on costs and space. Rather than having three separate machines for faxing, copying, and scanning, choose an all-in-one printer that can perform all of these tasks.

  2. High Workloads

    Every office will have a large print job every once in a while. If you are printing many pages at once, you will want a printer that is capable of managing this high workload. With enough RAM and a fast processor, one printer can do the job without fail.

    A printer that can manage high workloads is particularly useful if it is a shared printer that multiple devices in your office connect to. Rather than purchasing printers for each individual or having multiple printers scattered throughout the office, choose high workload printers that can serve multiple if not all of your employees at once.

  3. High Print Speed

    Business owners should select a printer with a high print speed. There is nothing worse than standing at the printer for ages while new emails flooding into your inbox with every passing minute. Particularly for large print jobs, a high print speed is essential.

  4. Two-Sided Printing

    An office worker will print 10,000 pages per year. Two-sided printing, or duplexing, is one of the easiest ways to cut your printing costs. Duplexing can cut spending on printer paper by 30-50%.

    p But, not all printers are capable of automatic duplexing. Look for a printer that is capable of two-sided printing and set the default settings to print on both sides of the page. When necessary, users can temporarily change the setting for their print job if one-sided printing is needed.
  5. Wifi Direct Options

    Wi-Fi direct is the technology that allows devices to connect to a printer with a wireless connection. Some Wi-Fi direct options are AirPrint and Cloud Print.

    These options mean that you can print from multiple devices without needing a traditional connection to the network. This is an essential feature for offices connecting multiple computers or other devices to one printer.

    Near Field Communications (NFC) will allow your MFP to provide its own wireless hub so anyone can print to the device without having to be on you network. Perfect for guests who need to print in a pinch.

  6. Secure Print

    Employing Secure Print allows you to release print jobs with confidential information when you are standing at the front of the printer so no one else accidentally grabs your print job. Enabling this feature is especially important if you must follow HIPPA or other compliance rules to protect personal data.

  7. MFP Printer Security

    Businesses should keep cybersecurity top-of-mind, and your printing devices are an often overlooked aspect of cybersecurity. A system that has not been properly secured means that documents can be intercepted before printing.

    Printers on the network can be gateways for hackers to gain entry to your systems. They can also contain personal information on the hard drive that must stay secure.

    Data security policies should include password protection, hard drive encryption and hard drive overwrite at end of service. Our new MFP security options also include anti-virus and malware protection.

  8. Cost of Operation

    Printer ink is notoriously more expensive than even the finest champagne, costing over $12,000 per gallon. Businesses typically spend far more on ink than on the printer itself. Selecting a printer with greater ink efficiency and lower operating costs can save a great deal of money down the line.

  9. A Modular Design

    Businesses should look for printers with a modular design where you can add further paper trays and a wheeled base unit. The modular design allows for great flexibility to move the printer around and use it for different projects. It also means that individual components can be replaced without needing to replace the entire printer.

  10. High Paper Capacity

    Everyone knows running out of printer paper is an annoyance. When your office printer is printing out hundreds of pages each day, it's important that it has a high paper capacity to save your office manager from having to refill the paper tray multiple times throughout the day.

  11. Touchstone Control

    The best small business office printer should feature touchscreen control. Touchscreen control results in a modern user interface that can do far more than possible with just a few buttons. However, a user interface that is too complex only wastes more time for employees trying to figure out how to print their documents.

The Best Small Business Printers of 2021

With the 10 must-have features included above, it's time to get started to find the best printer for your business.

Starting with a widely recognized brand is a great starting point. Some of the most popular brands of small business printers are HP, Konica Minolta, and Kyocera.

But the printer that works best for your office will depend on your specific needs. Rather than scrolling through the hundreds of options on the market, instead, consider managed print services.

Managed print services help you to identify the best printer for your business and assumes the burden of maintenance and needs assessment.

The goal of Managed Print Services is to optimize your print fleet to control and reduce costs without sacrificing office productivity.

Save Costs With Award-Winning Managed Print Services

If you're interested in saving money and time picking out the perfect office printer, Lang Company's managed print services can help.

Our experts will help you identify the best printer for your needs and optimize your print environment. We provide the best all in one printers on the market and offer award-winning support services.

Whether you're looking to optimize the costs of printing services or are starting from scratch, Lang Company has the expertise and award-winning technology to set you up for success. Contact us today to learn how we can help you to “Do Business Better”.

Posted in: managed print service, business process optimization, office copier and printer