Top 7 Tips For Choosing a Photocopier

Photocopiers are one of the most commonly used pieces of office equipment, and now that these can incorporate printing, scanning and faxing, careful consideration needs to be made when deciding which copier to go for. There are a number of things to consider which will allow a check list to be made when searching through the vast number of photocopiers that are available today

1. One of the most important things to consider is an obvious one: how much the photocopier will be used.
   
   Work out how many copies are made per day or month and what the photocopier will be mostly used for. This will help determine whether you will need a colour or black and white photocopier, how large the photocopier will be and the size of it's capacity tray.
   
   
2. You should make sure that the photocopier has a duplex option.
   
   This allows for double sided printing and the photocopier should have the option to set double sided printing as default. This saves a lot of paper, there will be an option for single sided printing, but make sure it's only used when completely necessary.
   
   
3. Make sure that the photocopier chosen uses little standby energy and switches automatically to stand-by mode when not in use.
   
   Many of the new photocopiers enter into stand-by mode as soon as they are not being used and have very quick start up times. Some new photocopiers use just 3w of standby energy consumption, compared to 690w for some older devices.
   
   
4. Another thing to consider is whether a multifunctional photocopier will be a sensible option.
   
   These can incorporate copying, printing, scanning and even faxing all in one photocopier and can save much space if you need a photocopier for a small office, as well as saving money compared with running each of these devices separately.
   
   
5. Resolution of the photocopier determines the clarity of each copy, for example quality and sharpness of an image.
   
   Resolution is measured in dots per inch. Some photocopiers can have very high resolutions, but unless you need a number of prints with extremely clear images, this can increase the running cost of the photocopier, therefore extremely high resolution photocopiers are often only really worthwhile for designers.
   
   
6. The Speed.
   
   A photocopier's speed is measured in pages per minute, so consider how much the machine is used per day, whether people often have to wait in order to use the photocopier and if a lot of large documents or brochures need to be printed. Generally, the more copying needed per day and the higher the amount of very large documents printed, the faster the photocopier will need to be.
   
   
7. Make sure you research any software that is available for the photocopier, and which capabilities it has in case you need them in the future.
   
   Some software is extremely useful, especially in large offices, as it allows you to track what is being printed and to set up departmental print quotas. Software such as this will allow you to target wasteful prints and stop people making so many unnecessary copies, reducing the number of 'unclaimed' prints left hanging around photocopiers.

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