Something everyone should have a look at. Some things you may or may not know when looking to buy, lease or rent a copier/MFP unit. Comments welcome!

2. What are your must have features?

3. What do the “speeds & feeds” really mean for you?

4. Is color necessary for what you do?

5. What will your true costs be to own and operate the unit?

6. Should you purchase or lease?

8. What type of documents do you create? (Text based, Graphic based, Presentation materials, Office Docs?)

9. How many documents do you create daily, weekly, monthly?

10. What kind of time constraints are you or your people under when creating or distributing these documents?

12. Would double sided copying and printing help lessen the amount of paper you use?

13. Is stapling, hole punching or booklet making important to how your documents are designed?

14. What media types do you use now or plan to use when creating your documents?

16. Getting the math right between speed and output is very important to help decide on what you need.

17. Speeds can also mean greater cost vs faster productivity.

18. How often are your staff members waiting in lineups at the copier or fax or printer units?

19. Do copy speeds and print speeds correlate? Are they the same? What makes them slower than what a machine is rated for?

20. What does the “duty cycle” really mean for each machine?

22. Documents created with color are up to 65% more likely to be read fully and people are more likely to retain information contained within them.

23. Bills are up to 42% more likely to be paid sooner when color is used in creating the document.

24. Graphs and charts are more vibrant and easier to separate pertinent information during presentations.

25. Do you require color on different types of media stock? (Ex; Glossy, Thick, Transparent, Letterhead, etc.)

27. Service rates (annual increases, parts coverage, response time, replacement units, etc.)

28. Cost per copy (Supplies included? Service included? What coverage rate? Monthly minimums? Annual CPC increases and how much?)

29. Time is money, so choosing the right equipment to ensure less down-time and more productivity is the key to lowering your overall costs.

31. When leasing, remember… Interest on borrowed money, fees at end of term, buyout applies if you want to keep unit at end of term, costs of returning unit at lease end, contract regulations, dollar value write-offs through your accountant.

32. When purchasing, remember… Large capitol outlay upfront, devaluation of equipment over a period of years, hard to sell an old piece of equipment, removal and disposal of old unit, dollar value write-offs through your accountant.

33. Is it worth purchasing over leasing? Do you expect your company to grow or stay the same? Will your needs change in 3 to 5 years?

35. Are you looking to keep costs down and still maintain some sort of quality without all the bells and whistles?

36. Are you concerned with longevity of your unit?

37. New machines can offer better value because of all the features and efficiencies included, but Refurbished machines can offer cost savings and still offer some of the features of a new machine.

38. Manufacturers typically maintain parts for 5 to 7 years of a products life. New machines generally don’t have issues getting parts but a refurbished unit may cause some increase in down time to source parts if discontinued.

39. CPC are generally higher on refurbished units due to aging parts which in turn can take more service causing a slight productivity loss.

41. Best price is not necessarily the best option.