When you're leasing a copier, you need to consider digital copier printing speed as part of your decision. It's essential to make sure your leased copier can deliver the volume of copies your business requires each month.
The range is fairly wide: Some units will give you 25 pages per minute, while others can go as high as 100 pages per minute. Before you can decide which one is right for your business, examine your printing needs in detail. Another important consideration is whether you foresee your copier volume changing significantly in the next six months to a year. Ideally, you'll want to get a machine that can accommodate your needs — both now and in the future.
Understanding the Technology
To get an idea of a digital copier's abilities, you first need to know how it works. Basically, a digital copier both scans and stores documents. This capability allows the machine to hold the image of the document in memory and then produce multiple copies of it. A laser is used to imprint the information from the document onto the machine's drum. Toner is applied and then the document can be printed.
Some digital copier models can even transmit an electronic copy of a document by email or fax to a recipient at a separate location. This type of copier may be more efficient for your business needs, because it can lower the cost of processing and mailing hard copies of certain types of documents.
Printing Needs and Speed Options
As you look at your options, you need to ask a few questions about your business and which digital copier printing speed suits you best.
Think about the needs of your business. Are you printing off copies of emails and forms that you and your employees are using within the company? Do you occasionally need to print off short contracts? If your printing needs are relatively light (emails, documents, and short contracts), a printer that produces up to 30 pages per minute may be suitable.
Or, maybe you prepare mass mailings or paper presentations for clients on a regular basis. If so, how many copies do you need? Law firms and other, heavier users will need a printer with a bigger capacity, and may want to look at a model with a digital copier printing speed of 45 pages per minute or more.
You may also want to think about color printing versus black-and-white. Depending on how often you need to run color jobs, you may need to buy or lease a printer with this capability. If you only need to run color jobs on an occasional basis, you may want to look at outsourcing them rather than investing in a printer that you will only need for this purpose once or twice a year.
Before making a decision about which digital copier speed is right for your business, take the time to compare several models, and you'll figure out which one works best for your company.