Office printers have been the workhorse for small businesses for a long time. Even in this digital age when many of the tasks can be handled online printers are still needed for almost all the business functions. Office printers have also come a long way from the old days when they were used just to print a document from the connected PC. New generation of office printers have functionality and features that are tailored for the needs of today’s small businesses. That is why selecting the right printer is critical for business owners. You need to balance the cost of printer and supplies with the features required to manage your everyday business. Use this guide explaining the key features you should look for when selecting the printer for your needs.
- Ease of Use – This should be one of the key features to look for in an office printer. A printer with all the new features as well as bells and whistles is useless if you cannot figure out how to use those features. The printer should have an intuitive use interface that can be operated with a touch screen. The menu system should be easy to navigate with important, most needed features accessible without having to go through multiple steps.
- Energy Efficient – Office printers consume significant electricity and ink. You should look for printers that can learn from your usage and adjust the settings automatically. One of the biggest expenses associated with printer is that of toner or ink. The printer you select should do more with less. It should use the ink economically so that you maintenance cost is reduced.
- Connectivity – Gone are the days when you had a printer sitting next to your computer with direct connectivity between the two. Today’s printer should be able to connect to Internet with Ethernet port as well as with wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. The workforce of today needs to print from the mobile devices such as phones and tablets. They also need the ability to print remotely without having to connect with the printer directly. Many of today’s printers provide this capability to meet the needs of mobile workforce.
- Speed – Today’s workforce is always on the go and do not have time or patience to wait for minutes for the printer to warm up and print multiple pages. While you need the printer to go to sleep mode when nobody is using it the users should not have to wait for 2-3 minutes for printer to wake up from the sleep mode and start printing. The printer should exit the sleep mode within seconds. It should also be able to print multiple pages on both sides at high speed.
- Multifunction – You should not have to spend money on separate devices to print, scan and copy. Every small business has need for these functions. You should look for devices that integrate all these functions into a single unit. Having a multifunction device that can do it all with a touch of the button is what today’s business owners need.
Having the right office printer with the above features should help you run your business efficiently and economically. There are number of printers available in the market, for example Konica’s range of office printers that meet the needs of today’s business owners.
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