More productivity than 'Office Space'! Six things to look for in an office copier

Let’s face it, when most of us think of an office copier, we think of that scene from Office Space in which three office employees demolish their printer with a baseball bat. If you’ve ever been frustrated by a copier that doesn’t perform as needed – you can relate. Which is why, like a car purchase, you should really think about what you need a copier to do before you go all in. Thinking about the bells and whistles desired on your new car is easy because you’re more familiar with cars, and let’s face it – they are much racier than copiers. Herein lies the ultimate question - What should I look for in an office copier to avoid being casted in Office Space 2: Revenge of the Copier?

Drumroll…… it depends. What kind of office do you have and what are your printing habits? In general, here are the things that you should think about when selecting a copier for your office.

1. Features

Every business prioritizes different functions of their office equipment. If you work in a law office that needs a fast printer to manage time spent on clients, you will value a different feature set then, say, an educator who needs to print a file from the cloud or a healthcare facility that requires EHR compatibility.

You should consider:

Print speeds (copiers print at varying speeds, measured in pages per minute or ppm)

The friendliness of the user display, and whether you need a pull-out keyboard

If you need a media or USB port to print on the go

Access to cloud files and integration with software that is important to your business

Scan capabilities – do you often scan two sided items?

Finishing options (booklet-making, stapling, etc.)

2. Security

I don’t mean protection from potential bat smashers. When a copier is connected to your network, it becomes a possible entry point for hackers to obtain sensitive data. If you think about it, your office copier is connected to your Wi-Fi and your emails, which are basically the keys to the kingdom.

It’s important to make sure the copier:

Has built-in, multi-layered security with encryption

Provides control over user activity

Has security measures enabled to ensure information is irretrievable by unauthorized users

Offers features to erase data at the end of use

3. Mobile Print, Copy and Scan

Work is no longer tied to the desktop, and printing shouldn’t be either. If you’ve ever walked across the building to get lunch and meant to grab your document on the way, but you realize you forgot to press print when you were at your desk, you’re in luck. Most copiers today offer the capability to print, copy and scan from your phone.

4. Warm-Up/Wake Speeds

This one is a top contender among the reasons you’d give your copier a beat down. When compared to a microwave minute and a treadmill minute, I would most definitely say a copier warm up minute is the longest. Particularly when you are already late for your meeting. Printers and copiers vary anywhere from 5 to 45 seconds in their warmup speeds. Some have a built-in walk-up motion sensor that make them ready for action when you are. If time is money to your organization, you want to pay attention to warm-up speeds.

5. Supplies and Service

It’s easy to overlook the logistics of your copier supplies, but they will be an ongoing purchase that affects your bottom line. One size does not fit all in the ink and toner department, and some are much more expensive than others for a level of output that you may not need. Also, if you’re the type of person that waits for the illumination of the gas or check engine light in your car, you need to look for a copier provider that offers automatic replenishment and/or service monitoring. Doing so will ensure that you never run out of supplies, your machine is always up and running and you know your costs upfront. Leave the baseball bat at home.

6. Color Consistency

Copiers are offered as monochrome (black and white) and color. Think about the documents that you normally print to decide if limiting to black and white is a realistic possibility. For those that know they need color, it may be important to make sure that the copier you choose offers Pantone matching or a color consistency system to deliver high quality color output.
 

If you are faced with the daunting task of purchasing a new office copier, thinking about these components can help guide you in the right direction. For the DIY types, you can jump right in and view the Sharp copier and printer finder to sort through models and features or you can check out the video on LinkedIn promoting our new Advanced and Essentials line. If you decide that you may need more information or guidance, a Sharp representative can help.