| It depends. You have a few options, but, first you have | | | | 5.Once you find a model you are interested in at the |
| to figure a few things out. | | | | office supply store, ask what the price is for the toner |
| The last time you visited one of the office supply | | | | cartridge. Ask what the toner yield is and what the fill |
| superstores like Staples, Office Max, or Office Depot, | | | | ratio is for that toner yield. Ask if the drum cartridge is |
| I'm sure you saw row after row of desktop units that | | | | a separate unit and if so, what is the drum yield on that |
| copy, print, scan and/or fax. When I was an Account | | | | part. Use this information to figure out what is your |
| Executive and Sales Manager at a leading copier | | | | cost per copy/print for this model. The equation is: |
| manufacturer, I spent a lot of my time fielding questions | | | | toner cost/toner yield + drum cost/drum yield= total |
| from small business owners asking if they really | | | | consumable costs. The fill ratio is an important detail to |
| needed to go to a big copier company to purchase a | | | | ask about. |
| new copier. As I told them, here are a few things you | | | | Usually, these figures are quoted on an industry wide |
| should consider: | | | | standard of a 6% fill ratio. This means you take a |
| 1. What is your total monthly copy and/or print volume? | | | | blank piece of paper and transfer toner ink to only 6% |
| If you don't know the answer to this question, go and | | | | of the page. Effectively, this is the equivalent of a two |
| pull your invoices for your last paper purchase. | | | | sentence letter. How often do you copy or print a |
| Estimate what percentage of paper was used for | | | | page with much more ink on the page? I would |
| which function. For instance: 60% used for print jobs, | | | | imagine the answer is....a lot. You must account for this |
| 30% for copy jobs and 10% for faxing. You bought 10 | | | | disparity by assuming the toner yield will truly only be |
| reams of paper at 500 sheets of paper per ream. | | | | about 25% of what was quoted to you. Compare this |
| You used it all up within a two-month time frame. | | | | figure to the quote you receive from the copy |
| Therefore, you copy and print approximately 2,000 | | | | manufacturer. Usually, you will pay much more for an |
| images per month (90% of 5,000 sheets=4,000 | | | | equivalent copier purchased from a copy |
| 2months, scans don't use up paper). If your volume is | | | | manufacturer, but, the cost to operate is often much |
| well below 1,000 per month, your needs are probably | | | | less because the toner costs are much cheaper. It is |
| best served by the office supply superstore. But, read | | | | well worth your time to make these comparisons to |
| on... | | | | make sure you are getting the most bang for your |
| 2. Do you make any color prints or color copies? If so, | | | | buck. |
| how important is image quality to you? Generally | | | | 6. Do you want to be able to call a service technician |
| speaking, the image quality on the desktop units is fairly | | | | and have him come straight to your office to repair |
| basic and not conducive to the creation of impressive | | | | the system? Usually an office supply superstore |
| marketing materials or photo quality printing. The "big | | | | requires you to bring the system into the store for |
| boys" do a better job at this. | | | | repairs or even ship it back to the manufacturer |
| 3. Are you outsourcing any copy or print volume (black | | | | yourself, if there are any problems. Make no mistake |
| white and color)? If so, have you considered bringing | | | | about it, the system will need repairs. |
| those jobs in-house? Oftentimes, it is cheaper to do | | | | 7. Do you want the option of leasing the equipment |
| these kinds of jobs on your own system, but, this | | | | through a capital lease? There are many tax |
| increased volume should be computed into the final | | | | advantages as well as cash flow considerations in |
| monthly volume for your new copy system. | | | | favor of leasing. A manufacturer of multifunctional |
| 4. Is your volume fairly even throughout the year or do | | | | devices can provide you with many leasing options |
| you have wide ranging spikes in volume during certain | | | | that an office supply superstore cannot. |
| times of the year? For example, an accountant might | | | | You have a lot to consider before you acquire the |
| see volume quadruple during tax time and would want | | | | multifunctional device that keeps your business running |
| to select a system that is able to withstand this level | | | | like clockwork. |
| of seasonal wear and tear. | | | | |