It’s hard to imagine what your office would do without copiers and printers. After all, your office equipment is the linchpin that holds your daily workflows together. So, the last thing your office needs is for the equipment to fail.

Whether it’s something as minor as frequent paper jams or a major breakdown that disrupts your workflow, you can’t afford to have unreliable office equipment. 

Office Equipment is Essential to Maintain Business Workflows

It’s easy to dismiss copiers, printers, and other office equipment as relics of a bygone era, especially when digital document management continues to evolve. Nevertheless, today’s office equipment still has an important place at the center of the average business’s workflows.

  • No office has managed to become genuinely “paperless,” even with the latest advances in digital document technology. Nearly all office workers still handle and review paper documents in some fashion or form.
  • Paper remains an easy medium to read and mark up when needed. Even when armed with a stylus and a high-resolution tablet, people still find working with paper a more pleasing experience.
  • Paper doesn’t have the same potential for causing eyestrain as a digital screen. This means one can read a 100-page report on paper and not feel as fatigued as if reading from a tablet or monitor.
  • Paper offers better security than digital, in many respects. Paper copies can be stored and even disposed of in ways that avoid the potential for information theft and other security issues.
  • Paper continues to stand the test of time, and it can exist without a digital system present.
  • Paper is also more affordable. Consider the costs of investing in digital equipment and storage solutions, including new tablets and cloud storage. Sticking with paper offers a significant cost advantage when compared to digital.

When you consider the above, you can see how modern office equipment and the paper documents managed through them remain relevant even with today’s digital tech advances. In short, businesses shouldn’t dismiss acquiring and upgrading their office equipment. After all, paper and digital can exist side-by-side, thereby creating more efficient workflow processes.

What Office Equipment Downtime is Really Costing You

Have you ever wondered just how much that jammed printer is costing you? When unexpected hiccups stop your office workflow in its tracks, the obvious and hidden costs can quickly add up. That might not seem like such a big deal when equipment downtime is blessedly rare, but chronically unreliable office equipment can send those costs spiraling out of control in short order.

Take copiers, for instance. Maintenance is the key to keeping them running as smoothly and reliably as possible. However, even the best maintenance can’t always overcome cumulative wear and tear from years of constant use. As the years wear on, you may find your copier less reliable and more prone to breakdowns.

When your copier or any other office equipment you heavily rely on goes down, so does overall productivity. Your employees must wait or seek alternatives to complete their workflows, which drags down efficiency as well as morale. Delays can cost you in various ways, from penalties due to missed deadlines to lost clients and missed opportunities for new contracts.

Needless to say, unplanned office equipment downtime can hurt your business in more ways than one. This, of course, highlights the importance of ensuring your devices are as reliable as possible, even if that means upgrading to new equipment.

When It’s Time to Consider Upgrading Your Devices

Few things last forever, especially when it comes to your office equipment. The longer you hold onto it, the more obsolete and potentially unreliable it becomes. Upgrading makes sense – 

  • When your equipment is old enough to elicit concerns about reliability. Many printers and copiers have a five-year lifespan before new and improved features make them functionally obsolete.
  • When maintaining your current fleet costs more than upgrading to new equipment. Why pour money into an old copier fleet when you could spend less money on newer equipment with better features? Unfortunately, many businesses fall into the “sunk cost fallacy” trap, not realizing that investing in newer equipment can help cut those costs.
  • When your current office equipment actively hinders your business goals. You never want your office equipment to get in the way of your business’s growth. Printers that work too slowly, constantly jam, or fail too often can hinder your firm´s business goals. Your office equipment should be capable of scaling up with your business’s growth as well as supporting its current needs.

The last thing you need is your office equipment to fight against you. Fortunately, upgrading your current fleet ensures that your business keeps moving forward without being bogged down by unreliable devices.

If you’re considering an office equipment upgrade for your Philadelphia, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or Delaware business, give one of our technology experts a call today. Contact KDI Office Technology and let us help you explore your options.