The Datamax Thinking Blog

The burden of administrators handling an entire fleet can be significantly lifted by usability improvements and features that simply make doing their job more efficient.

Visiting a car dealership (even if today, most buyers’ research is done online beforehand), there’s multiple variables to consider. Beyond budget and leasing options, one must consider speed (that sleek, streamlined sports car), functionality (the gas-friendly cross-over with room for the dog), safety/security, as well as that inevitable drop in value with that vehicle moving forward.   

The same used to be said about copiers.

The top 10 questions a sales rep should ask you before they EVER give you a price – or recommendation.

There is nothing more unsatisfying than a salesperson who cannot give you a price when you ask them how much something is going to cost. Their reluctance may even cause you to doubt them. Believe me when I say it, they are actually doing you a favor.

Sure, any salesperson can throw out a number just to make you happy, but in the long run, the true cost of office equipment depends on many things. Sure, you can:

The ability to offer the tools and control needed to help reduce waste and boost productivity can be the difference in whether your organization finds itself "on cloud nine" or "under a cloud" when it comes to managing print.

For many organizations, printing continues to be a frustrating cost issue that remains pretty much untracked and uncontrolled. That’s amazing since managing print output and associated costs has been such a hot topic for so long. 

More companies understand this now, but not enough want to really pour in the effort to do anything about it.  Apparently, they're less interested in the gathering clouds of documents and print and are more convinced of better cost savings they can be chasing down in their businesses — so they think. 

You have a lot of options on the market when you make a technology purchase. The best solution for your business isn't determined solely by the price, the feature set, or how fast the vendor gets it to your doorstep.

Every year, I learn more about copiers, document management, workflow, and, increasingly, managed IT topics.

I do my best to pass on what I learn to you.

Here are the 11 most popular posts in 2017. They cover a range of topics:

• Why you should update old equipment (while I didn’t get into it, this goes for most office technology – not just your copiers!)
• HIPAA compliance issues
• The value of PDF and automated Bates Stamping for law firms
• And some thoughts on costs

Read on for insights into those topics – and more – to get yourself ready for 2018! 

While it’s annoying to hear “it depends” when you ask us how much a copier is, it’s also the truth. Here’s why.

One of the most common questions (if not THE most common question) every copier dealership is asked is some variation of “How much is a copy machine going to cost me?”

Our sales team is asked that all the time.

The answer is (really!): it depends.

I’ll explain why.

The IRS Section 179 Deduction represents an incentive created by the U.S. government to encourage businesses to buy equipment and invest in themselves.

So, it's the end of another business year and once again you find yourself looking for opportunities in every nook and cranny to improve profitability or searching to boost productivity with some much-needed business technology investment. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather wear myself out looking at endless college football games than wearing myself out trying to improve profits under a late year pressure crunch. Now that's a beat down.  Either way, for most business managers or owners a "best-case" year-end bonus is probably on the line, or "worse-case" — the stress of ensuring basic business survival.

Your 15 year old copier still works. Great. Is that costing your office productivity benefits that newer equipment could deliver?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In many cases, that's not a bad rule to follow.

On the other hand, the copiers, printers, and other office equipment you use now might not be broken (they still work), but could do with some fixing anyway.

Discounts are great – in the right circumstances. Discount copiers can mean discount services – and that could hurt your business.

Wholesale clubs are awesome — you always spend more than you planned when you walked in the door with your list, but you get such great deals! Who doesn’t want toilet paper in bulk, or a giant bag of coffee for the price of the regular sized one you buy at your grocery store?

Not to mention the euphoria you feel from paying less for something you would otherwise buy full price. It feels good.

Take the time to get the right office equipment or your communications – internally and with customers – could suffer.

When companies buy printers or digital copiers from us, they're not all that interested in the actual equipment. What you actually get from the purchase is communication.

Copiers and printers can remain effective for years. However, they don't last forever.

How much has technology changed in the past few years? Every other day it seems like something new is in the pipeline – and it's only been a decade since the iPhone was first introduced. This pace is great for innovation, but it makes your IT outdated. Digital copiers, printers, computers, and the rest of your office equipment get left behind. Yet many businesses are surprised that keeping their 20-year-old digital copier around is a bad idea, even if it does still function.