You need to make a few quick copies of insurance information. Sally in finance needs to print a run of invoices. Jack needs to scan a stack of new patient records. So you all meet at the local copier and wait 10 minutes while the invoices print, then tap your fingers impatiently as Jack scans in multiple paper files. Fifteen minutes after you got up from your desk, you’ve finally managed to make those copies.
While it was good to make plans for the weekend, you could have spent your 15 minutes more productively. And how many times is some variation of this scene reenacted over the course of the year? That’s a fair amount of lost productive time standing in line in your office.
You might not have the right mix of document technologies in your office. You may not have enough capability. Worse, you may have too much – and are paying the price for it in a flatter bottom line.
There are a lot of options for printing, scanning, faxing, and copying office documents today. You could have:
- a printer (laser or inkjet; color or black and white)
- a copier (analog or digital)
- a fax machine (and the ability to fax directly from your computer)
- a scanner (desktop or small office, flatbed or with an automatic document feeder)
- a small multifunction peripheral (MFP) that does all of the above functions
- a large “copier” that prints, scans, copies, and faxes
So what do you really need? How many documents do you print each day? Each week? Each month? Each year? How much does it cost per page? Are you able to scan and digitize documents to free up valuable office space (and to be able to find those documents easily again)? Could you be scanning documents? Do you need one printer? What about color? Resolution? Will your needs be met by one device like a central MFP (you know, that thing you still just call “The Copier”)?
We find that too many organizations just assume that printing is printing. It’s not. Documents are the lifeblood of your business – they are how your customers experience your business when not in your office and how you transact and record your business operations. It’s essential that you treat them as such – whether printed or digital.
As you grow, your document needs will grow as well. You may outgrow your desktop multifunction peripheral.
How do you know what step to take next?
