Purchasing a new photocopier

Questions you should ask yourself when considering a photocopier include...

Core questions

• What paper sizes do I require?
• How much copying am I likely to be doing?
• Do I need double sided copying?
• Do I need colour, or will black and white suffice?
• Will I be copying reams of paper?  i.e. do I need an automated document feeder?

Then there are the extra features that can turn a good product into a great product

Do I want it to be able to...

• staple?
• collate?
• network with my computer system?
• scan?
• print?

Once the focus of these questions is kept upon the needs of the organisation, a detailed requirements specification can be then drawn up.  This will prove invaluable when requesting quotations from suppliers, but more importantly, when assessing quoted options.

There is an excellent treatsie on exactly this topic by Kopikat (a wholly Irish owned independent business machine supplier based in Dublin since 1989), which discusses in some depth what the jargon means, financing your purchase and what the options are.

Whatever the answers to the above questions, be sure to purchase a quality machine from a reputable manufacturer, e.g. Canon or Xerox , and make absolutely sure to include for a maintenence arrangement.  Whether that agreement is in the form of a call-out charge, an annual retainer fee or a per copy charge, maintence is a vital part of the total cost of ownership of a copier, which can often be a very central, business critical item.  Copiers nowadays are digital and complex, and a very expensive folly if broken and not repaired.

Members of The Wheel can receive discounts on Canon products.  Contact The Wheel for details.