Owning a small business means juggling numerous responsibilities and concerns simultaneously on a daily basis. From marketing and customer relations to budgeting and office management, a small-business owner often has some role in every aspect of running their company. When it comes to purchases like office printers, a small-business owner must balance performance and affordability to find a printer that not only meets your business’s specific needs, but that also stays within budget. Keep reading to find out more about selecting small business printers in Anchorage, AK, that can fit into your company’s budget and meet the needs of your growing business.
Why Choosing the Right Printer Matters
Small businesses often have printing needs that differ from those of larger businesses. A poorly chosen printer can lead to lost efficiency, wasted time, and insufficient output. Or, a printer that exceeds your needs can be a waste of the upfront investment, spending far more on a machine that you actually needed to.
Choosing the right printer can improve workflow efficiency in your business while keeping your upfront and long-term expenses lower. Choosing the right printer ensures your business runs smoothly without unnecessary headaches.
Factors to Consider When Buying a Printer
So, how do you choose the right printer for your business? There are several important factors that you’ll need to consider and weigh against one another to find the right printer for your needs. Here are just a few things that you need to keep in mind:
Cost of Ownership: The initial price of your printer is only a part of the story. Consumables like ink or toner, paper, and maintenance costs can add up quickly. Look for a printer with affordable consumables and a reputation for durability to keep your cost of ownership lower.
Performance and Speed: Small businesses tend to have lower print demand than larger companies. So, you need to carefully consider how many pages you’re printing in an average month and find a printer that exceeds that amount in its recommended duty cycle—but not by too much. Choose a printer with an extremely high duty cycle, and you’ll be paying for more output than you need; choose one with a low duty cycle, and your printer may wear out more quickly. In terms of speed, if you have a high demand on your printer, look for printers with a higher PPM (page per minute) output to keep the queue at your printer lower; if you don’t usually have to deal with lines, a slightly lower speed may not matter.
Connectivity Options: Modern printers offer wireless connectivity, making it easier to print form multiple devices—not just computers, but smartphones and tablets as well. This is especially important if your business operates in a flexible workspace, where printing from smart devices is more common.
Multifunctionality: Space and budget restrictions are very common for small businesses, so it’s important that your office printer perform as many functions as possible. Multifunction printers combine printing, copying, scanning, and even faxing capabilities into a single unit, which can save money and space while also being highly convenient for your employees.
Eco-Friendliness: If sustainability and minimizing your carbon footprint are important to your business, look for a printer model that prioritizes eco-friendly features. Energy-efficiency printers or those with duplex printing abilities can cut down on waste and allow you to minimize your environmental impact while also saving your business money on energy and paper.
As you look at different printer models, be sure to keep all of these different factors in mind to find one that meets your needs and priorities for your company.
Top Printers for Small Businesses
Now that we’ve gone over some of the factors you’ll need to think about as a business owner, you may still be wondering what models you should even be looking at while shopping for a printer for your small business. While we can’t guarantee that the following printers will meet your exact needs, they are among the most popular choices for small-business owners. So, here are a few models you can look at to get the ball rolling on your printer shopping:
Brother HL-L2350DW for Budget-Friendly Printing: If staying in budget and reducing costs are your priorities, this model of Brother printer is ideal for you. It’s a monochrome laser printer, which means it only prints in black—but that may be exactly what a text-focused business needs. Key features include cost-effective printing per page and a compact design that’s great for small offices. Its wireless connectivity allows your employees to print easily from laptops, smartphones, and tablets alike.
Epson EcoTank ET-2760 for Ink Efficiency: If you need color printing but want to keep your per-page costs low, this printer offers a high-capacity, refillable tank that significantly reduces long-term cost of operation. The print quality is excellent, making it suitable for client-facing materials, and its multifunctionality provides printing, copying, and scanning capabilities in one device.
HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e for Versatility: This all-in-one printer is designed for small businesses with a broad range of printing needs. It handles high-volume jobs efficiently and offers integration with popular document sharing apps like Google Drive and Dropbox. With its advanced features, this printer provides the performance of a big-business printer on a small-business budget.
Canon PIXMA G6020 for High-Quality Color Prints: Does your business do a lot of color printing? This printer produces vibrant color prints on an ink tank system that costs less than traditional cartridges. The high-resolution output is ideal for flyer, brochures, and other image-heavy marketing materials. While slightly slower than some competitors in its page-per-minute output, it’s a reliable and cost-effective option for those who want to prioritize quality color prints.
Speak to One of Our Experts
Still not sure what printer option might be best for you? We encourage you to call or stop by Arctic Office Products today to speak to one of our printer experts. We’ll discuss your business’s unique needs and help guide you to a small office printer in Anchorage, AK, that fits those needs precisely. Contact us today or visit our showroom to learn more.
Comments