Office Copiers
By Randy Mechels

Most people who are in charge of buying a copy machine are not copier experts, so here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions during the buying process to help you choose the right copy machine to match your particular requirements.

Q: Is it best to lease a digital copier or own it?
A: My 18 years of experience selling new and used copiers tells me that you are better off owning your copier machine. The reasoning for this answer is simple—you’ll save money! The obvious savings is that you won’t be paying a monthly interest fee to the financial institution, but the bigger savings is on the capital cost. When you lease a digital copier, the copier dealer will normally set up a 36-month or 48-month term. At the end of this term, they will give you an option to buy your copier machine outright for a residual value. You will also be given the opportunity to upgrade to a newer copier. Both of these options end up spending you valuable profits.

If you buy your digital copier at the end of the lease for fair market value, you will have paid for the price of the copier machine (during the lease) as well as an additional 25-35% buyout premium. Not to mention the fact that if you don’t keep the photocopier, you might be responsible for packaging and shipping costs that can exceed $1,000. Yes, you have to ship the copier back to the leasing company, which, in most cases, is not the copier dealer you bought the photocopier from.

In the second scenario, if you upgrade to a new digital copier at the end of your copier lease, you will continue your lease payment schedules for eternity. Technology on a photocopier does not obsolete itself in three years. Unless you used the copier machine to the full extent of its life cycle (which hardly ever happens), you could have owned the photocopier for years four and five without any payments on the copier machine. Add up 24 months of payments and that’s the true cost of leasing you digital copier.

Q: What are the service cost differences between a color copier and a black and white copier?
A: A color copier cost you more for service, there is no doubt about that. On average, a color copier will cost about eight times greater for a service contract. The average black and white copier will cost around 1 penny per page for a complete parts and labor copier service contract. For a color copy machine, the average service contract runs about 8 cents per page.

That said, you should understand the two basic types of color copiers. A hybrid color copy machine is the right choice if you mainly print and copy black and white, but occasionally want some color output. If calibrating and exact color matches are not important, a hybrid color copier will save you money. Hybrid color copiers are getting more and more common, especially when you want multi-functionality (Copier Printer-Copier Fax-Copier Scanner).

If you are looking for a graphic-quality color copy machine, then you want to concern yourself less with multi-functionality and focus more on the amount of toner the color copier lies down and how well it can fuse to heavier card stock. Most of the time, these color copy machines have quite expensive print controllers that allow the user to precisely calibrate the colors they are looking for.

Last, color copiers will mandate more expensive supplies and are thus more expensive under a service contract. A color copier requires four sets of toner instead of just black, as well as four sets of developer and fuser oil. Since the cost per page of a color copy machine is about eight times more expensive then black and white copier, it makes sense to focus on what type of color output your business requires and who in your office should be entitled to use the color copier.

Q: What are the benefits of having an all-in-one copier printer versus a single copier and printer?
The quality of output on a copier printer is the same as a stand-alone laser printer and your cost of toner is much lower on a copier printer.

Using your copier as a network printer allows your staff to print, collate, and staple right from their PC. Printing to a copier is faster then most laser printers, and the cost savings can be dramatic.

Another nice benefit of a copier printer is that you will only need one set of toner instead of two. By eliminating the stand-alone printer, you will have one less item to dust and take up space in your office. Not to mention one less piece of office equipment to pay service calls on.
 
Q: Do you recommend getting a service contract on my copier?
A: A copy machine, unlike most other office equipment, is made up of many consumable parts such as toner, drums, cleaning blades, drums, fusers, rollers, etc. From experience, I can tell you that 80% of all copy machines are put under some sort of service contract for this very reason. When you purchase a copier, look at the service interval (maintenance interval). The wider or longer the interval, the lower your service rate will be. Copier speed and service intervals go hand in hand. The faster the speed on a copier, the wider the service intervals normally are.

There are two types of copier service agreements. Both are based on a cost-per-copy (CPC) and usually include some form of parts and labor. I recommend getting a copier service contract that includes all parts and labor, including consumables like toner, drums, fusers, etc. This way, all you have to pay for is paper, and there are no unexpected costs. You can also negotiate your service rates. Many dealers will vary on the rate they give you, and, with a little diligence, you will get a better deal. A typical cost for a copier service agreement is around 1 cent per page and includes everything except for paper and staples.

Many copier dealers will try to lease you a copier and combine the lease payments with the service agreement. Try to stay away from this type of copier lease as it might be simple to track, but some dealers will try and hide profit in this type of transaction. Ask the dealer to break the pricing out so you can better compare prices from various copier dealers. By separating the service rate and your monthly or quarterly copier service payments from the copier purchase, you will save money.
 
Randy Mechels is owner of CopiersRefurbished.com, a division of Impact Technology.