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A printer lease agreement may seem quite straightforward at first sight – there is the amount per month, the printer itself, and possibly a bundle of services. However, when this printer starts becoming an integral element of daily business routine, the true price may look completely different.

As it turns out, there are many factors other than the sum mentioned in the quotation that may affect the price paid by a business for printer leasing. These include print volume, toner usage, maintenance and so forth.

This is why it is easy to make a wrong decision based solely on monthly fees. The right question to ask is not, “How much does this printer cost?” but rather “, How expensive will it be to use this printer for our business?”

The Quote Says AED 500 — But Is That Your Real Cost?

However, the initial rental price does not tell the whole story.

A particular vendor may offer a smaller rental price per month but have extra costs for servicing, extra prints or some other materials. The second one may give you a larger rental fee but cover the cost of servicing.

This explains why two similar rental packages can vary greatly in costs.

Organisations need to see beyond the monthly figure to ensure:

• What the rental includes
• Monthly print limits
• Additional-page charges
• Toner responsibilities
• Maintenance coverage
• Repair support
• Installation and collection terms

The final cost will be much clearer when all these factors are taken into consideration.

Start With the Documents Your Office Prints

Not every long features list means a good rental printer. Not always the best rental machine will be the one which will be the most functional.

Sometimes a small company just needs an office printer to make invoices, letters and some office paperwork. Other times a big company can make dozens of reports, forms and clients’ documents per month.

Some departments need the printer for making colour copies, but other departments do not care about colours.

This is very important when choosing equipment.

When it comes to occasional printing of documents, a basic printer can work fine. However, for heavy use, business firms may consider going for solutions such as laser printer rental for fast and reliable printing in the office environment.

For firms that require copying, scanning, and printing in a single device, photocopy machine rental can also be more practical than individual rentals.

Your Printer Becomes Expensive When It Sits Idle

The cost involved in paying for printing facilities that you do not need will quietly add to the operational cost.

Having high printing capability will definitely sound interesting due to the speed and other capabilities, but the problem arises when the usage of such a printer is low.

It can happen in the reverse case, whereby having a small machine that is leased in an office where there is high print usage becomes overstressed.

The aim should be getting it right.

The Toner Drawer Can Tell You More Than the Rental Invoice

The rental fee charged for the use of a printer is not all that counts in terms of operational costs.

Consumables such as toner make up an important portion of the total cost, particularly where high print volumes are involved.

For instance, one printer which charges relatively lower rental fees may need toner changes more often than another with slightly higher rental fees.

This means that businesses should consider page yield and toner change frequency.

Printer Maintenance, Toner and cartridges must also be compared at the same time when looking for a rental. A cheap printer to rent but costly to maintain would not give the best value for money.

A Cheap Rental Can Become Costly During a Breakdown

The real worth of a printer is realised only when it is in operation.

In case the rental printer malfunctions on any workday, the staff might be compelled to shift their documents to some other printer or postpone their work.

This is where service support plays a vital role in the whole rental process.

The firm needs to evaluate who will perform any repair services, how fast the repair staff can respond and whether the service covers either labour costs or spare parts.

For equipment that is used extensively, a good service deal might prove more valuable than any savings on the rental rate.

Read the Contract Like a Business Owner

Rental terms should be clearly understood prior to the machine being delivered to the office.

First, consider the print allowance. Some packages will include a specific monthly allowance, while others will incur extra costs for exceeding the volume.

Finally, consider the toner policy. Determine whether there is any coverage in regard to toner costs or not.

Also check:

• Contract duration
• Early termination conditions
• Installation charges
• Delivery and collection fees
• Equipment replacement terms
• Additional usage charges

The beginning price does not guarantee that the total cost will be low.

The 30-Day Test: Calculate What Your Office Really Prints

Instead of a printing estimate, organisations may consider the actual usage of printing.

Review printing activity throughout the average month and segregate black and white prints from colour prints.

See who is printing more and find out whether printing is done on specific days, projects or business activities.

After that, think about whether the trend is temporary or will keep happening.

The basic analysis could be useful to answer crucial questions before leasing a device.

In fact, the analysis could indicate that the office needs a different machine than initially thought.

Renting Makes Sense When Your Printing Needs Keep Moving

Printer renting is especially convenient in situations where there are dynamic changes in business needs.

The opening of a new branch requires certain pieces of equipment without any substantial investment. The establishment of an office on a temporary basis might require print services for just a short while.

Rental can also be helpful when the company does not yet know what equipment it will need in the future.

In these cases, renting will give the company the chance to get the equipment in line with the current needs instead of buying the equipment upfront that might be obsolete later.

Buying May Win When the Printer Is Part of the Business for Years

Rental does not always work out as the more favourable choice.

For businesses that have exact figures about their printing needs and plan on using the same equipment type for several years, owning may make sense.

More than just the cost of acquisition must be considered in the analysis.

Also, businesses need to take into consideration maintenance, replacement parts, toner, service life of the equipment.

Businesses that have technical support within the organisation or regular printing needs might find it more viable for their business to buy equipment.

In case the businesses are comparing equipment and ownership, then Printer Sales might be another option to consider.

The Better Rental Is Not Always the Cheapest One

The temptation is always to pick the least costly rental rate. However, price does not necessarily equate to worth.

Slightly higher-priced equipment can result in faster output, higher capacity, built-in maintenance, and reduced costs for consumables.

For instance, when selecting the best photocopy machine rental, it would be best to consider speed, user needs, scanning capability, and copy capacity apart from the rental rate.

Likewise, companies planning to copiers rental should consider the total service package, rather than the cost of the machine only.

The brand may be another consideration in renting. According to the needed features and available machines, a company may consider comparing Epson printer rental or Canon printer rental among others.

Price the Whole Printing Experience

This number is just one component of the overall equation.

An honest analysis of the printer rental cost should encompass the printer, expected printing capacity, toner costs, maintenance and servicing, terms of agreement, as well as any extra fees that could be incurred.

It’s also important for businesses to think about how long they will need the equipment and whether their printing needs will change.

The printer needs to be designed in such a manner that it fits into the business process, and not the other way round.

Businesses who want to strike a balance between equipment cost and support cost will find the services of BLS useful in determining their printer requirements and solutions.

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