#copiernew

Today I am addressing the pros and cons of purchasing a copier vs. leasing a copier for your workplace.  I was recently asked this question for the 5,000,000th time and I decided to answer the question publicly.

There are advantages and disadvantages to either acquisition process.  The answer to several variables will help steer you in the right direction to see whether purchasing or leasing a printer is right for your office. Whichever option you decide on, you can still have your machine on a recommended maintenance and toner contract. Most current day machines come standard with all of the functions you need; copying, printing, and scanning. The fax is an additional option.

Leasing an All-In-One Copier/Printer/Scanner:

Pros

No acquisition cost

Cheap monthly cost

Rotated new equipment

Cons

No ownership

Extended obligation

Purchasing an All-In-One Copier/Printer/Scanner:

Pros

Instant ownership

No extended obligation

Cons

High initial investment costs

Potential for out-dated non functioning equipment

Technology quickly becomes obsolete

Ask yourself these three questions:

1.) How long has our company been in business?

The credit approval process can be very sensitive to new businesses.  Without 3 or more years in business the lease application will probably require a personal guaranty from the owner of the company.  With that being said, it may make more sense to purchase a refurbished printer at a low cost, then lease a more robust, new printer down the road once the company has more established credit and higher printing volume.

2.) How much do we print?

Printers these days are designed to last!  If you don't have a high volume of printing you'll probably get more bang for your buck purchasing an MFP outright.  Most lease terms are 3 or 4 years.  If you aren't pounding your printer all day every day, then you should get a lot more than 3 or 4 years out of it.  On the other hand, if you hammer your office equipment, it makes more sense to lease a machine so you'll get a new one at the end of the lease term and not have to worry about what to do with a broken down machine 8 years down the road.  A headache is the last thing you need with office equipment, you have a lot of other things to worry about.

3.) How much are we willing to spend out of pocket for a printer?

Large MFPs can are expensive.  Leasing them is a great option for an office without a large budget.  Most workplaces would function seamlessly with an MFP for around $200 a month, which would cost you nearly $7,000 cash.  You could lease a machine that's out of your budget that will handle a larger workload than a system that was purchased outright.