Keeping office equipment working and up-to-date can be a hassle, and this can be especially so with multifunction printers (MFPs). As old printing equipment begins to jam up and have other problems, it may be time to replace your old printer with a new, top-of-the-line MFP.
But should you buy outright or lease your office equipment? With multifunction printers, leasing is often better. Here’s how.
Sometimes, for example, if you are a small home business and just need one low-cost multifunction printer, buying outright might be the better option. But for larger businesses that have a lot of printers that need to be maintained and managed, leasing is often preferred. There are three main ways to do printer leasing:
An operating lease, also called a fair market value lease, is the most common business office equipment lease. This is basically like “renting” the multifunction printer with an option to buy at the end of the lease. The monthly payments are lower, but the buyout cost may be higher. The benefit of this type of lease is that you can easily upgrade to newer printer models without committing to buy anything.
A capital lease, sometimes called a $1 buyout lease, is more like a “rent-to-own” deal. In effect, you are “buying” the printer but with long-term financing. The monthly cost will probably by higher, and the buyout cost less, than an operating lease. At the end of the lease and buyout, you will own the multifunction printer.
With managed print services, you basically lease your office equipment (as in an operating lease) but get the added benefit of technical support as well as other services such as printer usage monitoring that can actually save a lot of money in the long run. Managed print services can be set up with “automated meter collection,” which means you set an agreed-upon amount of service and/or pages-per month so you know exactly what your costs will be each month.
The benefits of printer leasing are many, especially when done in the context of managed print services. Here are just a few:
If all you need is a low-end multifunction printer that costs around $100, then you probably don’t need to lease. But for a busy organization that requires a high-end MFP, leasing the printer instead of buying it outright almost always reduces upfront costs.
Printer technology is always evolving. For example, one of the latest trends in printers is the LED printer, which works kind of like a laser printer only without moving parts. LED printers are fast and eco-friendly. When you lease printers, you can upgrade to the latest printing technology without wasting a lot of money purchasing printers outright.
Managed print services truly make printer leasing worthwhile. Your managed print vendor handles all your printer management and maintenance for you. With remote monitoring, your printer(s) will be watched in real-time to make sure everything is running smoothly. Printer supplies such as toner or ink cartridges are monitored and automatically replenished so you are never out of ink.
Going green is easier with green printing practices enabled through managed print services. This happens in a number of ways. First, through printer usage monitoring, we can see how printer resources are being used and by whom. If a worker is abusing printer privileges, such as printing personal flyers on a machine, that can be tracked and stopped. Toner and ink cartridge recycling also helps to reduce landfill waste.
Edwards Business Services is a full-service provider of managed print solutions and printer leasing. We offer nationwide service and tech support around the clock to keep your business up and running. We offer a full print analysis and assessment where we survey and review your existing printing environment and resource usage to determine an ideal printer strategy for your organizational needs.
Are you interested in leasing the latest and best multifunction printers to boost your operations? At Edwards Business Systems, we offer high-quality office equipment for your business or organization. Contact us today for a free print assessment.