A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Lease a Printer

The office printer is the silent workhorse of an office. When you have a good printer, things get done on time with little stress. When you have a bad printer, business suffers and tempers flare.

What do you do, though, if you cannot afford to buy a great office printer? Do you suffer through with a sub-par printer until the higher-ups say you can afford a new one?

If you need a high-end printer but don’t have high-end finances, you can still get what you need. Consider renting vs buying a printer.

When you lease a printer, you pay a monthly fee for a high-end printer. Best of all, if something goes wrong with the printer, your company isn’t responsible for fixing it. That’s on the printer owner.

By the time you’ve finished reading this article, you will understand how to lease a printer and why you should lease a printer.

Know Your Needs

Whether you’re looking for a high-volume printer or a large format printer, the method for leasing a printer is fairly simple. You begin by considering which printer works best for you. So you start with your office.

What type of printing does your office do? What volume do they tackle? Do an audit of your office printing needs so you know what you need when you start looking for a printer.

Start Shopping

Visit a printer leasing company to see what they have to offer. Go into your shopping trip with three characteristics in mind.

Price

As you consider cost, look at both the lease price and the operating costs of the printer. For example, how much will you pay per page?

Most companies figure the price of your lease based on the cost per page or CPP. Regardless of the type of printer you choose, the cartridge will only yield a given amount of pages. Divide the cartridge cost by your page yield to determine your cost per page.

For example, if a cartridge that will print 100 pages costs 20 pounds, you are paying 0.2 pounds per page.

Figuring out your cost per page can be more complicated if you use a colour printer because they require multiple cartridges. However, if you understand the general cost per page, you can make sure your printer lease fits in your budget.

Reliability

Ask about the most reliable printer. You need a printer that can do the job right now. Ask the printer lease company if they have any reliability tests.

You want a printer that has easily replaceable parts and no misfeeds.

You also want a printer that has a high drum life expectancy. This is the most important part of the printer. Because the drum is such an integral part of the printer, if it goes down, the printer goes down for days and possibly weeks.

Speed

A good office printer will print approximately 20 to 40 pages per minute. Whatever printer you pick, do not select a printer that is slower than your current one. Look for a printer that will keep employees moving.

Examine Your Lease Carefully

Read all parts of your contract, especially the fine print.

Many leases have an automatic renewal clause. If you let your lease go, the contract will renew automatically. You will be stuck with your lease for another year.

Set an alert to remind you of the end of your lease. This way you won’t get stuck with an entire year’s lease or have to pay a penalty to get out of the lease.

Also, make sure you understand your costs from the start. Talk to your leasing company about not having built-in free prints. This way you don’t end up paying extra beyond your monthly lease cost.

 

Pay Attention to Service

Often leases will come with a contract for service and repair. Vet the service of the company as you look at your printer lease.

Make sure the company responds quickly. This means they will get to your printer within two to four hours when you send out a service call.

Responsiveness matters as much as their communication skills. Your service provider should communicate an estimated time of arrival as well as an estimated time for service. They will also let you know ahead of time if they have to order parts and if there will be any delays.

A good provider will even be willing and able to talk you through the simple fixes over the phone. This will save you a service call and reduce your downtime.

Parts in Stock

You also want a company that has parts in stock. When a printer goes down, you want it back up and running quickly. A responsive and quality service will have the parts in their warehouse already.

Remote Monitoring

Good printer leasing companies will also monitor your printer remotely. This will allow them to catch malfunctions and problems before your office mates find them. It also helps them see when your toner is getting low and you need replenishment.

With quality remote monitoring, your printer should never run out of supplies.

Lease a Printer With Confidence

When you lease a printer, you’re working with an experienced company that understands printers. They should have excellent service as well as a good stock of printers, parts, and supplies. When you use a printer lease company, you partner with someone who can truly help your company grow.

Are you looking for a printer? If so, contact us. We have a variety of printers available for lease and would love to serve your office.