Many offices over the past year have moved to work from home models or hybrid models, meaning there are less people on the premises using the office equipment. Plus, digital communication is becoming more and more popular each year which means less printing for communications. With reduced demand on printers, does the standard office printer still have a place in a modern business? Or, should businesses move on from office printers as we know them?
The reality is that an office printer is still an essential part of the office even with reduced demand for printing and fewer people working from the office. Having a printer is still an important part of any business and there are several important reasons why.
Paper Holds Up Where Technology Fails
It’s undeniable that a large amount of communication and workflow processes are moving to be entirely digital. However, what happens when the technology fails? Even a short disruption in service for an order input software, CRM platform, or an unresponsive piece of hardware can bring a business to a grinding halt. Having the ability to print paper copies of input forms to continue business while tech issues are resolved is an important part of a business continuity plan.
Not Everyone is Paperless
The way businesses communicate has been changing over the last decade. For many, email has replaced mail as the number one way to receive bills, letters, and flyers. However, not everyone has made the switch. In fact, 40% of people still get excited to check the mail and this statistic holds up across all generations, older and younger.
In fact, now that much of the spam mail has been diverted to email inboxes rather than mailboxes, people feel that something coming in the mail may be more legitimate or noteworthy than an email marketing effort.
Having a printer allows businesses to stay in touch with those who have not yet gone paperless or would prefer to receive a printed form of communication in the mail. It’s important to meet customers where they are at rather than forcing them to adapt to something they don’t want.
Make a Presentation Memorable
There are a number of different ways to deliver a presentation and all of them have their own merits. Digital presentations are convenient, easy to edit, and simple to present with the range of communication hardware available in almost any office today. However, it’s important to understand if that digital presentation is having an effect after everyone has left the room.
A printed copy of meeting highlights or a sales presentation is a physical keepsake that meeting attendees can carry with them. It doesn’t have to be a word-for-word recreation of the digital presentation but it can be a quick summary or breakdown. Emailing a presentation afterward may be helpful but there’s no way to know if recipients open the email, if it gets filtered to spam, or they simply just delete it right away. With a paper copy, they have something in their hand as they walk out the door.
The HP PageWide line of printers offer the ability to print stunning meeting and marketing materials that are vibrantly colorful and cost a fraction per page compared to the competition. A colorful takeaway can help take any presentation to the next level.
More than Just Printed Paper
Many people look at a printer as a device that puts toner to paper. However, printers are powerful pieces of technology that can play a number of different roles in any office environment. A modern multifunction printer like those in the HP PageWide line of printers includes scanning capabilities, network connectivity, document management, and more. In many ways, multifunction printers are a hub for efficiency. Users can easily scan, store, and share documents in addition to traditional print jobs.
With many working remotely, having a network connected multifunction printer can act as a centralized point to manage many tasks. Especially as the popularity of remote work continues to grow, there is something to be said for easy and efficient document management. It’s time to stop thinking of printers as single task machines and more like the capable pieces of technology that they are.
Making the Most of Printers
Clearly, printers are still an important piece of office hardware. Having a physical piece of paper in meaningful to some who prefer paper over electronic documents. For others, the ease of simple scanning, copying, and printing all packed into a single sleek package like the HP PageWide Pro or HP PageWide Enterprise multifunction printers is an unmatched convenience.
To learn more about the importance of printers in today’s office environment and discover the right model for your business, contact the printing experts at Doing Better Business.