By Oo Gin Lee

HIGHER-END printers may cost a bundle upfront, but given the high-tech smarts built into them, they have a lower running cost and also last longer. Printers which cost less initially may be more expensive to maintain.

The question for businesses is: how to find the machine that hits the sweet spot?

Think of it as choosing your personal mobile phone plan. Estimate how many hours of outgoing calls you will make in a month and get a plan that is as close to that number as possible to enjoy the cheaper bundled talk time instead of paying for minutes you will not use.

In the same way, estimate the monthly print volume that your business requires. Some brands have a minimum monthly print volume for each printer model. Ask the sales guy about this when you are out shopping.

Also try to minimise paper replenishment as this takes up manhours. Go for a printer whose paper tray can hold as much as the office's print job demand for, say, a week rather than a day.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.

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