Need a Printer?

Want to save money?

Printers are often overlooked as a way to save money for a business.  The initial price of the printer can be so low that it may seem like a no-brainer for everyone to have their own printer.  This type of thinking leads to a mish-mash of printers each with different capabilities and different ink requirements that it becomes an administrative and logistical headache keeping them all straight.  Having a few highly capable and high performance printers can lead to increased productivity, lower costs, and happier employees.

Number of printers

There is no set number of printers that an office should have since it all depends on the needs of the business.  However, there really is no reason for each person to have their own printer.  This leads to increased electrical costs and then having to maintain multiple printers.  With today’s network-able printers, a business can easily buy a printer to handle the printing needs of multiple people.  People may complain about how it isn’t as convenient but ask them to consider the exercise and the excuse to get up and meet peers at the printer.

Total cost of ownership

When looking for a printer today, businesses need to consider the total cost of ownership of a printer.  Some printers look to be very expensive initially but prove themselves to be less expensive in the long run.

Ink Jet Printers

Ink jet printers are the most expensive kind of printer you can have.  The printer itself is sometimes free or very inexpensive.  However, it is the ink refills that are expensive and lead to the highest cost per page of any type of printer.  The ink can go bad while it is sitting in the printer so even if you don’t ever print the ink is drying out.

Laser printers

Laser printers can be the typical black and white or color.  The printer itself can be moderately expensive and toner cartridges adding to the cost.  Replacing the toner cartridge can be a pain and the proper disposal of the toner cartridge is not just throwing it in the trash.  These toner cartridges can also release fine particles into the air which can be hazardous to breathe.  These types of printers may seem to be more expensive then an ink jet printer but actually have a lower per page.

Parting words

Metro IT recommends laser printers.  We would only recommend an ink jet to the high end photographer and never as a general use printer because of their high costs.  If you still need help, please give us a call or contact Metro IT so we can tailor a solution for you.