Your company has probably had its printers for several years. They've served you well, but they're getting older by the day.
Newer printers could solve many problems for you. Today's modern printers are faster and more energy-efficient than yesterday's models. Most include useful functionality that wasn't available when you purchased your old printers.
Is it time to upgrade your printer fleet? Read on to find out.
Holding on to your existing printers might feel like a prudent decision, especially when times are tight. Sometimes, however, spending a little money now will save you a lot of money in the long term – and fix a variety of problems you might not have been aware of.
With that in mind, here are nine signs that you need to upgrade your printer fleet. If you recognize more than a handful, it's time to upgrade.
A good rule of thumb is that if a printer is more than five years old, it's time to replace it. An older printer won't function as well as it did when it was new – and today's modern printers are faster and more efficient, to begin with. If you got five years out of that old printer, consider yourself fortunate. It's time to retire that old model and replace it with a newer one.
Whatever a printer's age, if the print quality starts to deteriorate, it's probably time to start looking for a replacement. Blurry pages, pages with streaks or smudges, pages with blank spots – all these are signs that a printer is wearing out. Once you've ruled out simple maintenance, if the print quality is unacceptable, it's time to buy a new model.
Printers tend to get noisier as they age. If a printer starts making loud and unusual noises – rattling and whirring and clunking – it may have issues. A noisy printer is one that's wearing out.
Nobody likes printer jamming. Fixing a paper jam is time-consuming and often leaves your hands dirty. If employees spend most of their time opening and closing printer doors to retrieve stuck documents, it's a sign that the printer has seen better days. You can suffer along with more and more paper jams or replace the printer with a new one.
Sometimes a printer jam is the least of your problems. If you're making more and more calls for printer service, the old printer may be nearing the end of its days. According to IDC, 50% of all help desk calls are due to printer problems. Instead of pouring more money into printer repairs, consider using those funds to purchase a replacement printer.
Even if you don't experience serious service issues, older printers can still cost you money. The older a printer gets, the more you have to spend on routine maintenance just to keep running. A newer printer needs less maintenance – and will cost you less to run.
If you have a really old printer, you might find it difficult to find toner and ink and replacement parts. Yes, printers go obsolete. Even if you can find consumables, you may find their cost increasing as the demand decreases. It will probably cost you less to feed a newer model.
Network printers are a significant security risk – and older printers are more difficult to secure than newer ones. Printer manufacturers today include a variety of new and improved security features, including managed access, user authentication, and data encryption. If your old printer doesn't include these features – and it probably doesn't – then it's time to upgrade.
Your company has changed over the years, and so has your printing needs. A growing company needs more page output and printers that can hold a greater paper capacity. A small business can get away with basic inkjet printers, but a larger one needs heavy-duty multifunction laser printers that can also copy, scan, and fax. You need printers that fit in with your company's evolving workflow – and that means upgrading your printer fleet regularly.
Doing Better Business offers a variety of copiers, printers, and MFPs from HP, Lexmark, Ricoh, and other major manufacturers. We also provide document management and managed print services that help your business manage your printer fleet and save money. Our expert staff can help you choose the right printers and services – and upgrade your printer fleet when it's time.
Contact Doing Better Business today to learn more about upgrading your company's printers.