Determining Your Copier Volume

Content courtesy of Copy Machine Blog

If you’re looking to buy, rent, or lease a copy machine, it’s important to figure out your expected copy volume. This will help you determine which kind of copier (or copiers) will best suit your office.

In this way, choosing a copier is much like choosing a car. If you’re planning to make frequent trips across the country, you’ll want a car able to stand up to a lot of mileage, and — if you’re leasing — it would be wise to secure a generous service agreement as well. Alternatively, if you’re only going to be driving to the supermarket once or twice a week, a top-of-the-line vehicle might be a waste of money.

How can you calculate your volume? If you already have a copier, this is as easy as examining the counter, which you can typically find beneath the glass. To obtain an estimate without a copier, we recommend looking at the receipts from your copy shop, in addition to checking out your month-to-month paper consumption.

After you’ve come up with a predicted volume, most experts advise inflating this number by 15 percent or more. This will factor in your business’s potential expansion, as well as manufacturers’ tendencies to overestimate their product capabilities. If your machine will be working as an office printer or fax, consider inflating your figure even more.

Note: If your expected monthly volume is under 700 copies, you probably don’t need an expensive industrial copier. Save some money by investing in a smaller office copier instead.