Recent evidence suggests that there are more small businesses starting up now than ever before. Because we are coming out of the recession and productivity is on the up, many cottage industries are starting to appear as we become more connected and are able to reach beyond local boundaries to an international audience.

Small and medium sized businesses still have to keep a firm grasp on the finances though, and that includes the procurement of office equipment such as a multi-function printer.

Choosing the right copier for your business

If you work from home, the chances are you are not going to be printing large amounts of material. You might like to look at one of the many small, multi-function printers that has Wi-Fi connectivity but also a USB connection that means you can print straight from a flash stick.

If you have an office and employ around 1 to 10 members of staff then you will obviously need something a little more robust. It will be needed more often than a home printer and you might want added extras like a duplex feeder or stapling.

For businesses with over 30 employees then you have to start thinking about smart MFPs that can be hooked up to mobile phones and possess the storage capacity for those popular documents you need to print. Speed and higher performance are important as well as a robust service agreement to keep that copier working properly all need to be factored in.

All Singing, All Dancing MFPs

For businesses that want versatility, multi-function printers allow you to do a lot of office tasks from storing files, faxing, direct printing and photocopying, scanning and remote document management. Keeping all those activities in one place is a good idea for several reasons:

• Staff learn how to use one machine rather than several.
• Service and maintenance costs are kept to a minimum.
• It saves on space and time.

Do you need colour?

Colour photocopiers used to be very expensive and of dubious quality. The new range of multi-function printers have a better colour range, resolution and speed. Although still more expensive than black and white, if your business needs to print nice looking brochures then it is something to consider.

Saving money on your MFP

You’ll have to weigh the costs against the benefits when buying your multi-function printer. First of all a higher end MFP will allow you to do duplex printing that will save you money on paper. You can also get machines that have smart sleep modes and actually ‘learn’ when they need to be more active.

The Benefits of a Small Supplier

You could of course go to one of the major dealers and hope to get a good service but you are more likely to get that from a smaller business. They’ll be in tune with what you want and be able to give you what you really need – a more personal service. There’s also less bureaucracy in a smaller organisation and they tend to keep the same staff for a longer period of time. That means you can build a relationship with them that is based on more than just a contract.