5 Strategies to Buy Office Equipment

If your office isn’t performing up to its full potential, maybe your equipment is to blame. Don’t let your processes be negatively affected by obsolete or underperforming copiers and printers — not only will the latest models help improve efficiency significantly, but they will also save you money on maintenance, supplies, and even energy. Moreover, they are multitaskers that handle numerous processes, enhancing productivity. Visual Edge IT offers state-of-the-art Xerox copiers and printers for sale or lease, helping small and mid-sized businesses manage their processes effectively.

Purchasing office equipment can be tricky, particularly if you manage a relatively small office. While you might initially think your printing and copying needs don’t merit a significant equipment investment, purchasing ineffectual copiers and printers will only cost you more money in the long term, even if your initial investment is low. Here are a few tips that will help you select the best tools for your operations when you buy office equipment.

Know your average volume of printed materials.

This is the number of copies and printouts your team members make on a monthly basis. If you manage the volume of printed documents effectively, you can discover the best tools for your business more easily. If you don’t know how many copies/printouts you generate, you’ll have a tougher time.

Moreover, you have to learn how many wasted printouts you generate, too. If you’re like most businesses, roughly 30 percent of your business’s printouts are either lost or discarded. Once you have an idea of how many printouts are used for their intended purpose and how many are simply mistakes, you’ll be better equipped to manage your print volume effectively. The right office equipment can actually minimize wasted printouts — newer models come equipped with failsafe technologies that inhibit misprints and unintended duplicates.

Know the number of team members who need access to the copier.

If you have more than 50 employees who will legitimately need to make copies, you might need multiple copiers. A single printer or copier might not be constructed to print continually, so having two units may save you money on maintenance. Also, having easily accessible printers will help minimize lost printouts because employees won’t execute printing tasks from a distance, forget, lose the copy, and print again.

Know what kinds of printouts you will need to produce.

Will you regularly make color copies or black and white documents? If you basically never need color copies, a monochrome printer might be more cost-effective.

Know the proper paper size.

If you only need printouts on A4-sized sheets of paper (generally 8.5 x 11 inches), don’t waste money on a multi-sized copier.

Know your employees’ printing tasks.

Having equipment that can handle faxing and scanning features is always a good idea. While faxing might become obsolete one day, you will likely work with a client who still uses the technology, and it’s better to have the resources that can accommodate them quickly. Your organization will likely adopt practices that use less paper but require robust scanning features.

For more than four decades, Visual Edge IT has given Southern California businesses the resources necessary to maximize productivity and save significant costs. Whether you choose paperless processes or rely upon printed documents, Visual Edge IT can connect you with the technologies necessary to not only organize your information in an effective a budget-friendly way but also the IT strategies and services that help you manage your electronic data storage and retrieval. To learn more about our next-generation office equipment, please visit our product page for details about our Xerox copiers and printers. For more information about our managed IT services, please visit our IT solutions page.