Printer, Copier, Scanner: Which Is Better To Lease Or To Buy?
All thriving offices need a good printer, copier, scanner to maintain a productive environment, but because of the prohibitive cost management are turned between buying or leasing equipment.
During the 80’s or the 90’s when digital technology was starting to emerge, the office printer, copier and scanner were too expensive that having one is almost impossible. However, there were options available even then for businesses to either own or lease office equipment. In fact the idea caught fire early on that at least 50% of businesses opted to only lease, while the other 50% remained committed to owning one.
As digital technology matured and manufacturer’s had perfected the process, office equipment cost was on the downtrend. So affordable in fact that office equipment can be had at less than 100 dollars and ink and toner store has become convenient to even find online. Although, the high-end types continue to be restrictive. Having to buy these devices including a fax machine continues to haunt organizations, particularly the startup and small to medium sized businesses.
The real breakthrough came with the development of multifunction printers (MFP) that revolutionized the office equipment industry. All the functions, print, copy, scan and send or receive fax messages are all rolled into a single machine. This development not only made the cost affordable, but also reduced the device’ office footprint considerably. However, the elation was short-lived, because the cost to maintain, service and upgrade of the machine emerged as the next pain in the neck of offices and organizations.
Out of the difficulty of maintaining a functioning machine, drives most businesses to prefer leasing than owning one. At present, around 80% of organizations, business corporations have opted to lease their office equipment. This is for good measure, imagine owning one will cost from $ 8,000 to $ 10,000, a large chunk of investment that can be outdated and obsolate in 2 to 3 years. This is possible because technology is moving at a fast pace.
Buying or owning a printer, copier, scanner office equipment offers benefits like zero charges and interest associated with leasing. And the fact that small business would regularly prefer to operate with little to no debt, owning or buying the machine is the brighter option.
On the other hand if businesses and organizations preference is any indication, leasing office equipment becomes a better option.
At the end of the day, the decision to either buy or lease a printer, copier, scanner should be based of how the machine can help ease office operation, as well as the business objectives.
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