6 Things to Look For When Choosing an Office Machine

The six things to look for are monthly volume, speed, functions, paper handling, connectivity and running cost. Getting these right means the machine fits your office from the first day and keeps fitting as you grow.

Whether you are buying a copier, a printer or a multifunction machine, the same checklist applies:

1. Monthly volume: how many pages you print and copy each month.
2. Speed: how quickly pages come out when the office is busiest.
3. Functions: print, copy, scan, fax, and color or black-and-white.
4. Paper handling: tray capacity, paper sizes, two-sided printing and finishing.
5. Connectivity: network, Wi-Fi, mobile printing and scan destinations.
6. Running cost: toner, drums, service and energy over the machine's life.

The sections below explain how to judge each one. If spec sheets feel confusing, our guide to printer specs in plain English is a helpful companion.

Work out your monthly volume by counting the pages you actually print and copy now, then choose a machine whose recommended monthly volume comfortably covers that number. Buying against the recommended range, not the maximum, is the single most important rule.

A duty cycle is the maximum number of pages a machine is designed to produce in a month without failing; see Wikipedia's duty cycle article for the general idea. The recommended monthly volume is the range the machine handles comfortably every month, and it is far lower. A machine run near its duty cycle wears out faster and needs more service.

To find your number, check the page counter on your current machine, or the usage report many copiers can print. Note the reading, check it again in a month, and subtract. If you cannot do that, estimate by multiplying daily pages per person by the number of people and working days.

Our guide to maximum duty cycle versus recommended monthly print volume explains the difference in detail. As a rule of thumb, leave headroom for growth so you are not replacing the machine in a year.

An office machine needs to be fast enough that people are not waiting in line at your busiest time of day. For a small office, moderate speeds are usually fine; shared machines in busy departments benefit from higher speeds.

Pages per minute (ppm) is the number of standard pages a machine can produce in one minute once it is running. It is the headline speed figure, but it is not the whole story.

• First page out time is how long the first page takes to appear. For offices that print lots of short jobs, this can matter more than ppm.
• Warm-up time from sleep mode affects how fast the machine feels in the morning or after a quiet spell.
• Scan speed matters if you scan stacks of documents through a feeder.

Think about peak moments, such as month-end invoicing or a morning rush of reports. If several people print large jobs at the same time, a faster machine saves real staff time. If printing is light and spread through the day, paying extra for speed adds little.

You need the functions and paper options your office uses every week, and nothing you will rarely touch. Every extra feature adds cost, so list real tasks before comparing machines.

A multifunction printer (MFP) is a single machine that prints, copies, scans and often faxes. For most small offices it replaces several separate devices. Our guide to the MFP printer versus the MFP copier explains when a printer-based MFP is enough and when a copier-based one makes more sense.

Questions to ask about functions

• Do you print in color regularly, or would a black-and-white machine cost less to run?
• Do you scan to email, to a shared folder or to cloud storage?
• Do you still fax, and does fax need to be built in?

Questions to ask about paper handling

• Do you need tabloid or legal sizes as well as letter?
• How often do staff refill paper, and would a larger tray save time?
• Do you need automatic two-sided (duplex) printing and scanning?
• Would stapling, hole punching or booklet making save manual work?

Finishing options can transform how a busy office handles reports and handouts. See our overview of popular copier finishing options.

The connectivity features that matter most are reliable network connection, Wi-Fi if your layout needs it, mobile printing, and scanning straight to the places your team saves files. The machine should fit how people already work.

Most business machines connect to the office network by cable, which is generally the most stable option. Wi-Fi is useful when running a cable is awkward. Many machines also support printing from phones and tablets; for example, Apple devices use AirPrint, which Apple explains in its AirPrint support article.

Also consider security features. Business copiers and MFPs can store data and sit on your network like any computer, so look for administrator passwords, user codes, secure print release and firmware updates. Check that the machine supports the operating systems your office uses before you buy.

Scan destinations to confirm

• Scan to email: sends a scanned document as an attachment, handy for quick sharing.
• Scan to folder: saves files to a shared network folder, useful for filing and records.
• Scan to USB: saves to a memory stick at the machine, with no network setup needed.
• Scan to cloud: some machines connect to cloud storage services, often through optional apps.

Searchable PDF output, created with optical character recognition, makes scanned files much easier to find later. Ask whether it is built in or an optional extra.

Compare running costs by looking at cost per page, supply yields, service needs and energy use over the years you expect to keep the machine. The cheapest machine to buy is often not the cheapest to own.

Cost per page is the supply cost of printing one page, found by dividing the price of a toner cartridge or drum by the number of pages it is rated to produce. Higher-capacity cartridges usually lower this figure.

For energy, the ENERGY STAR imaging equipment page explains how efficient printers and copiers are identified.

Buy new if you want the latest features and the longest possible life; consider reconditioned if you want a capable business machine for a smaller budget. Both can be the right answer depending on your needs.

A reconditioned machine is a used machine that has been inspected, cleaned and restored to working order before resale. Reconditioned office machines can put a higher-capacity model within reach of a smaller office. They are often a sensible choice when your volume justifies a business-class copier but your budget is tight. New machines, on the other hand, give you the latest software, security updates and features from day one. Whichever you choose, read each listing's condition notes, included items and coverage carefully, and compare machines side by side on our compare page.

Follow these steps in order and you will have a clear shortlist before you speak to anyone about price.

1. Measure your volume. Record a month of page counts, split between black-and-white and color if possible.
2. Note your peak times. Identify when the most people print at once.
3. List functions. Write down print, copy, scan and fax needs, and where scans should go.
4. List paper needs. Note paper sizes, weights, duplex and any finishing you want.
5. Check your space and network. Measure where the machine will sit and confirm a network connection.
6. Set a total budget. Include supplies and service, not just the machine.
7. Shortlist and compare. Narrow it to two or three machines and compare them feature by feature.
8. Ask questions. Confirm anything unclear, such as included trays or optional add-ons, before ordering.

CopyFaxes has helped businesses choose office equipment since 2002. Start with the machine finder to filter copiers and printers by your needs, or request a quote with your monthly volume and requirements, and our team will help you compare suitable options.