To each according to his needs

There’s an increased focus on cost savings, efficiency and availability of printing. Here we look at the options available, and examine how to go about buying a printer or a multifunctional device

Rapid advances in technology, reduced costs, colour printing— an ever-expanding function -set that seems to get bigger with every passing day. This is resulting in organisations adopting newer methods of printing.

In the not too distant past, a ‘printing solution’ meant buying a couple of standalone printers and parcelling them out to departments. Large organisations took advantage of network printers.

The SMB print environment

It is interesting to note that network printers have not entirely replaced standalone ones. Organisations continue to deploy both.

Multifunctional devices (MFDs), which can also take care of scanning and faxing, have made their presence felt. However, network printers remain the hot favourites. On the other hand, it is interesting to see that MFDs have started supplanting standalone printers in the SMB segment.

For the network

Standalone printers or MFDs and network printers have their own strengths; one cannot always replace the other. It is best to use a combination of both.

Standalones or MFDs are best suited for small print jobs. They provide document security as they are usually placed near the user. Take the example of a CEO’s office. The CEO wouldn’t want others to see his printouts, as they are likely to be confidential. In addition, he certainly would not want to go all the way to a shared printer to get printouts. Members of the organisation who demand privacy, convenience and whose print volumes are on the lighter side prefer standalones or MFDs.

Network printers are preferred when large volumes are involved. These are usually high-speed, heavy-duty printers with network connectivity (LAN/WAN). Let’s understand why network printers are better than standalones for large-scale printing.

Heavy-duty champs

Network printers offer several advantages over standalones in a networked environment. Some of the benefits of using a network printer are superior print quality, lower cost per page, ability to handle heavier print volumes, and ease of maintenance and management. As they are networked, more users can use the same device. The acquisition cost of printers comes down, as only one high-end network printer needs to be purchased, instead of several standalones.

Network printers are built to tolerate heavy workloads—a fact that translates into higher uptime and lower TCO. This makes good economic sense for an enterprise in terms of operations and maintenance costs.

In terms of management, today’s network printers have come a long way. Most network printers are interoperable with network management tools facilitating their remote management. Most network printers also have diagnostic features that can detect and alert support personnel about malfunctions and maintenance requirements.

Almost all network printers can work with different operating systems, a useful feature in today’s heterogeneous networks. Hardware from a diverse set of vendors across the network can use a single printer because of this support for multiple OSs.

Network printer features such as duplex printing (using both sides of the paper) help reduce costs. Many of these printers also offer stapling, hole punching, binding and other collation features.

MFD mantras

Another trend when it comes to printing is the inclusion of greater functionality in an MFD that offers features such as scanning, copying, faxing and e-mailing documents. These capabilities aren’t new, but the difference lies in how the new MFDs function.

MFDs have evolved from being just faxing and printing devices to multifunctional communication hubs. Add to this the advanced capabilities such as faster communication speeds and large spooling capabilities. MFDs have redefined printing. They leverage the concept of ‘documents’ rather than ‘printouts.’ Earlier, documents were equated with printouts or paper documents. In today’s enterprise, documents mean both paper and electronic (digital) versions. MFDs merge electronic and paper documents adding communication capabilities to the mix.

Costs and MFDs

The prices of MFDs have slashed while their feature sets have become richer making these devices a cost-effective proposition for the SMB. Before the introduction of MFDs, companies that needed to print, scan and fax had to buy three separate pieces of hardware. Now all this can be accomplished using a single device. The biggest advantage of an MFD for the long run is cost savings.

Colouring up with lasers

Colour printing is taking off among SMBs because of the added business value that it provides. The price difference between a colour printer and a monochrome one has narrowed. With all this, SMBs have more reasons to adopt colour lasers.

Making the right choice

Firstly, decide on your organisation’s printing requirements. Calculate how much printing will be required each day, which will let you decide what your printer’s capacity should be. Buy a printer that is of a higher capacity than your calculated figure. This will help in case of a sudden surplus requirement, and also accommodate organisational expansion.

The second step is to calculate the operational cost (throw in maintenance or outsourcing costs) for all the options that fit your requirements. Compare all the products to find which one best fits your present and future budgets.

Now is the time to look at the technology used. Ensure that you go in for a printer that uses the latest technology. Irrespective of whether you are buying a standalone, an MFD, or a network printer, all have some technology factors in common. Key points to check are the printing technology used, processor speeds, spool memory, network interface speeds, print resolution, MFD capabilities and duty cycle. In laser printers, toner cartridges should be scrutinised. If you are going in for a dot-matrix printer, the print head is the crucial part to be checked.

Last but not the least, clarify the terms of the warranty. Find out if it is onsite or return to bench. Onsite maintenance is always better, as the vendor’s technician will repair the device at your premises. One- and three-year warranties are available. Read the fine print carefully before exercising your option.