ESTIMATED READING TIME: 3 MINUTES
Multifunction printers are becoming a staple in the office environment. The fact that they combine printing, scanning, faxing and emailing into one machine saves your office time and money.
With so many MFP options on the market it can be difficult to find a printer that matches your office needs with your budget. Finding a MFP that fits your needs is more important than a cheap price, there is nothing more frustrating than a printer that doesn’t do its job.
The features outlined below, need to be considered when selecting the best MFP for your office needs.
Choose a printer with enough memory
You will want to ensure that your printers capabilities fir the size and volume of our office. You will need to monitor your offices printer usage in order to match your needs to your new printer. Your MFP’s memory is important, especially if you are in a larger office. Memory capabilities do affect the price of the printer but you need to ensure that you have enough to meet your office needs. Once you have a good idea of your offices print usage, talk to your office equipment dealer and they will help you to understand how much memory you need.
Choose a printer that fits your speed needs
Printer spec sheet will all have pagers per minute (PPM) ranges. If a printers spec sheet reads an output rate of less than 20 ppm, that printer will be slow. For offices with moderate printing 20-40 ppm will work, but if your office prints for example a stack of paper a day, you will need something above 40 ppm. Monitor your print volume before you start your search so that you can discuss your needs with your equipment dealer.
Choose a printer that you can test beforehand
You are going to be using this printer for the foreseeable future – you’ll want to test it out before your purchase it. Ask your office equipment dealer to let you test the printer, so that you can observe its speed, sound and interface.
Choose a printer with quality output
What do the printed pages look like? Is the printer able to meet your graphic printing needs? If you print documents to bring to clients or customers you will want to ensure that the printer allows for professional level quality. In order to find a printer with quality output you need to look for a printer with a high DPI (dots per inch).
You should also consider how much paper you would like your tray to be able to handle, a typical printer handles 200 sheets, larger offices may require up to 500.
Tip: remember to consider that the chepest printer that you can find might not necessarily be the cheapest in the long run. Generally, the lower the cost of your printer, the higher the cost of ink and toner.
If you would like more guidance in choosing a new multifunction printer, connect with Brock Office Automation today.
