Before we find out the costs to hire or rent a printer, it is important to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of renting vs buying. There are some big differences between the two and we will briefly go over the main points.
Advantages Of Renting A Printer
When you rent a printer you spread out the cost over a specified contract term. The biggest advantage of leasing is that you do not have to pay a large upfront fee for the copier, it is smaller payments spread out over time making it more manageable.
When renting a printer, your contract with generally include maintenance costs and toner refills, this helps to keep the cost of leasing cheaper than buying as when you own the machine you are responsible for all extra costs. It is also easy to choose a new lease or copier upgrade at the end of the contract without having to worry about selling or getting rid of the old copier.
Disadvantages of Renting A Printer
The photocopier does not usually belong to you at the end of the leasing contract, for this reason you may find it more cost effective to buy a photocopier because at least then it is an investment you have ownership over.
If you purchase the printer you have full control of it and can decide when it needs to be serviced or replaced, this means you can organise repairs etc directly and you do not have to go through the leasing company in order to get things done.
Also, most of these lease rental contracts have a minimum term for the lease meaning you cannot just back out and not pay if you have not leased for the agreed term.
Difference Between Printer Rental and Leasing
When you lease a printer it is generally a long term agreement (usually several years) that involves you paying set amounts each month for the use of the office printer.
When you rent a printer it is usually a short term agreement where you pay a fee for the use of a machine for a set amount of time. If you are unsure about whether you should rent or lease a printers think carefully about the period of time you need the printer for.
Things To Consider When Requesting A Quote For A Printer
- Black and white vs colour – This has a big impact on the cost of the printer as colour makes a big difference to the end product, the upkeep costs are also impacted due to needing more ink cartridges for the colour printers.
- Print Speed – This can be very important for some businesses who need to produce high volumes very quickly. Whereas some, often smaller businesses, will be happy with the standard print speed. The faster machines will cost more.
- Functionality – Do you require a lot of functions? Does your printer need to be able to copy, scan, print, email and fax? Do you need finishing options such as stapling? Do you need to copy and print from or onto larger paper sizes?
- Fax/Scanner – Do you need just a printer or do you need to be able to fax and scan from it too? Not all machines are fax and scan compatible so make sure to specify this when requesting a quote.
- Wireless Connectivity – Do you require wireless connectivity from your printer? Many fixed connections can be restricting for bigger businesses where many use one photocopier with a printer.
- Duplex Printing – Duplex printing is a feature that allows the printing to happen on both sides, helping to save paper and reduce costs.
- Network Printing – Network printing allows people to print documents even when they are not near to the printer this helps to increase productivity and is useful when you have multiple employees using one printer.
- Automatic Document Feeder – This is useful if you are printing higher volumes as it increases the speed and consistency of the workflow.
Leasing Low Volume Printers
Before you decide to lease a low volume printers do some calculations to work out if it will be cost effective for you. Generally low volume printers do not cost a lot of money so it may be worth just buying one rather than leasing.
Think about how long you need the printer for and the volume of pages you copy each day in order to work out if leasing is really the most viable option for your business. A low volume printer can print about 20 prints per minute.
Leasing Medium Volume Printers
Medium volume printers tend to process about 40 prints per minute, they are perfect for offices with moderate printing needs. It can be difficult to decide whether a medium volume or high volume machine is best for your business, a high volume printer can copy 50 – 150 pages per minute so if your business is growing and your document flow is increasing you may want to go for a high volume printer.
Consider if you need a copier over a long period of time or if it is just for short term document management as you do not want to be paying for a copier for years when you won’t be using it to it’s full potential for most of that time.
Leasing High Volume Printers
A high volume printer is designed to handle consistently high demands in busy office, they are usually fast producing between 50 and 150 prints per minutes, the average month would see several hundred thousand copies being produced by a high volume printers. Take a look at your average document output volume and decide if a high volume printer is suited to your needs.
Also consider if the large volumes is a short term situation or if you expect to be copying large amount consistently, generally longer leases are offered at the best rates and you should take into account your needs before jumping to the cheapest option.
Prices For Rentals & Leases
Still wondering which solution will work best for your business? Contact ITAF for a more in-depth look at your unique business needs. Renting a printer largely depends on the volume of copies required rather than the length of time the copier is needed. By calculating how many copies you need to make each month, you can determine the volume of printer required and the approximate rental cost of this.
The printer you choose will depend on the needs of your business, as mentioned earlier you can choose from low, medium or high volume models depending on how many copies you need to make. The price of the individual printer will depend on its functionality and abilities – the higher volume models tend to be able to handle over 40,000 copies per month and often come with advanced or optional features such as automatic stapling, stacking and binding.
ITAF Managed print Services
Still wondering which solution works best for your business? View our products offer or contact ITAF for a more in-depth look at your unique business needs.
