How to Choose the Right Printer for Your Business

There are a lot of considerations that go into buying a new printer for your business. This is because printers come with all sorts of bells and whistles that you may or may not need. Also, the cost of ownership and purchase varies widely across brands and models. Nonetheless, the process of choosing the best printer for business need not be painful. Here are a few tips to help you through the process.

1. Consumables

If you will be printing a lot of documents, then you might not need a color printer. In this case, you can opt for an inexpensive black and white printer. Go for one that uses toner. This is because toner does not dry out meaning you will not be wasting ink if you’re not printing regularly. If you intend to print color images then an inkjet printer would be ideal especially if you only need a few good quality prints.

2. Features

The nature and size of your business will determine whether you go for a multifunctional combined printer or a single task printer. A multifunctional printer will enable you to fax, scan, print and copy minimizing on the need for owning multiple devices. This would be ideal for a large business. A single task printer would be perfect for a small business where you have no need for the additional features.

3. Cost

The running costs of your printer can at times exceed the initial purchase price. For this reason, it is important to assess each printer for usage and running costs to determine the total cost of ownership. Seemingly cheap business printers could end up costing you a lot more in ownership.

If you are going to use the printer for high-density black text or colorful images, then you are bound to incur high usage costs as the number of printable pages per cartridge will be low. To determine what your cost per page will be, divide the price of toner or ink cartridge by the number of pages it can print. You can get this information from the manufacturer’s guide. While this might not be accurate, it does provide a reliable guide on how much you will be spending on consumables.

4. Available Space

How much space do you have in the office for a printer? Space comes at a premium, especially for a small business. For this reason, you should consider the amount of space you have in the office before purchasing a printer for business.  A smaller printer will be easier to manage and move around and would be best for a small business. For a larger business, with tons of space to spare, then the size of the printer may not be much of an issue.

5. Connectivity

Printers come with a variety of connectivity options inducing Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and wired connections. Some printers allow you to print remotely over the internet and are an excellent option if you are always on the move.  You could also get one that allows you to print documents directly from your phone through Bluetooth.