The Datamax Thinking Blog

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 This pace is great for innovation, but it makes your IT outdated.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. 

It's a fact of life, copiers are machines and they sometimes break. Here are six steps to take to keep from losing your cool.

Printers and copiers have a unique ability: the more these technologically advanced devices break down, the more primal you become in turn. This transition starts with an open palm hit, and then a kick, and then more profanity than you might otherwise use at work. Toward the end you are re-enacting the dawn of man obelisk scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Printers and copiers will break down; however, you can minimize their ability to transform you by following these six simple steps.

The study found that seventy-four percent (74%) of employees felt they were asked to do things on the job for which they were not properly trained.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so you say you've got advanced service training certification(s)—so what. If those certifications were worth their salt, everyone would be pursuing achievement, touting the distinction, and donning the emblems."—Naysayers International

As it stands, many service providers don’t seem interested (or perhaps capable) unless such certifications are required or mandatory by the suppliers and manufacturers they represent. Mandatory certifications may ensure compliance but not necessarily commitment to learning—which is the point.

The point in time when you acquire a new print device is the perfect time to improve your workflow, provided your vendor has the expertise.

A business' copier fleet is very much a Goldilocks situation; too much or too little printing and copying capacity can create significant costs. If you print more than your fleet can handle, you are going to have to replace devices more often. If you have more capacity than you need, you are paying too much to the detriment of other areas of your business.

Multifunction copiers are a must-have device to improve process automation in your office and to support working anywhere.

Compare today's business environment to the typical office in 2000. Back then, everyone was locked to a particular workstation, and remote working was a rarity. Today, you can work from a computer to a tablet to your smartphone halfway across the world without any problems.

While technology advancements set the stage for many of these changes, the foundation is built on top of tech that's been around for decades. The multifunction copier, for instance, is an important part of moving to a "less paper" office.

You'll have a tough time delivering a quality customer experience if they have to wait around while you're on a grand adventure for hard copies.

Hard copy documents are talented at hiding away when you need them the most. You have to go on an office safari every time to track them, which cuts into the time you could spend on your work duties. Even a few minutes per day adds up. It's time to throw paper in the trash and get digital with your documents.

The multifunction copier is covered in the Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and the HIPAA Security Rule. It's considered a machine that stores, transmits, receives, or creates protected health information.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is 20 years old, so you have a lot of experience with following its requirements. Your healthcare office has several security measures in place to stay HIPAA compliant, but you may be overlooking a key area: your digital copiers. Here are a few ways you could be compromising your patients' health information due to this oversight.

If you focus on the number on the price tag more than what the photocopier can actually do for you, you'll end up paying more in the long run.

You have to operate with a budget professionally and personally. The same questions come up no matter what you're buying. How much should it cost, where can you find the best deals, and is there a more affordable way to get it?

Many people jump right to the cheapest copier they can find. They think it might match their needs, but their decision is purely price driven. Sometimes they luck out and get the right model with good build quality. Years from now, they're calling the copier "old reliable" and patting themselves on the back for their money-saving move.

However, this is not the case for most people.