WHEN IS IT CHEAPER TO TRADE UP TO A LARGER MULTIFUNCTION PRINTER

Many of our sales or leases of late model used copiers happen when a business feels like they are outgrowing the small MFP they bought at a store a couple of years ago. It’s usually the ‘sticker shock’ of mounting cartridge expenses that prompts the thought of upgrading. However, most people only have a hazy idea of their actual copy/print volume so here are a few ways to determine this.

The savings will be more dramatic if you are using a color MFP which most people are if they bought it at a store. I think we all have figured out why those things are just about free at the store. They get it back on the supplies. $30 here, $30 there doesn’t seem like much money until a couple of years later when we add it up which leads me to my next point. Add up those bills and divide it into a monthly expense because most copier sales reps are going to quote you a monthly lease rate with service and toner included. That way you can compare ‘apples with apples’. Also include any service bills you incurred with the store bought MFP such as drum cartridges, etc.

If that’s too much trouble another way to do it is add up the paper purchases for that time period. There are 5000 sheets per box or 500 sheets per ream. Then give the sales rep your current model number and ask them to figure your expenses. They can do this easily since toner pricing and yields are published. Just let them know if you’re buying refurbished ones and how much you pay.

Another reason to upgrade which is becoming more important is copiers usually have better Scanners on top. If you get something in the mail that’s folded in thirds and run it through the small store bought MFP it’s likely to double feed some of the originals. Copier document feeds are use to folded originals and can scan them just fine.

In summary, the higher the copy/print volume the easier it is to cost justify the upgrade. The numbers work better if you’re considering refurbished instead of new. Plus most of the units have stapling/hole punching finishers which eliminates doing that by hand which is time consuming. Oh, and ask to have a fax modem included. That way you can say good-bye to the expensive fax cartridges as well.