Printer Leasing vs. Ownership

In this technology-driven era, businesses often struggle with the printer leasing vs. owning dilemma. While both options have unique benefits, owning a printer provides advantages in terms of financial savings, control, flexibility, and sustainability. This article explores the benefits of printer ownership and why it’s the superior choice for your business.

Understanding Printer Leasing and Ownership

Regarding office equipment, one of the crucial decisions to make is whether to buy or lease. There are many factors to consider, including upfront costs, flexibility, maintenance, and many others.

What Does Owning a Printer Entail?

Owning a printer gives you complete control over the device. Whether it’s a general office copier for everyday prints or specialized equipment like white toner or thermal printers, once you invest in it, it becomes a permanent part of your office technology.

What Is Printer Leasing?

Printer leasing works differently. Under a typical leasing program from reputable leasing companies or a financing program from an office equipment dealer, you pay a fixed monthly payment for the printer for a specific period before the equipment lease term ends.

Financial Benefits of Owning an Office Printer

Upfront Costs Vs. Recurring Fees

You’ll be paying upfront for owned printers, with the possibility of additional costs for device drivers and some custom workflow integrations. However, it’s worth noting that the total price of a printer rental can add up over time, potentially costing more than just buying the printer outright.

Depreciation and Resale Value

Resale value is another thing to consider when buying a printer. Even though print technology like large format printers and production printers do depreciate over time, these devices can still hold a good portion of their original value to be sold or traded in the future.

Long-Term Savings and Profitability

Overall, while the initial cost of owning a printer can be high, it often proves more cost-effective in the long term. The initial price is made affordable through financing solutions offered by office technology providers, saving money in the long run.

The financial benefits of owning a printer outright are undeniable. Discover ways to save money on printer costs and increase your organization’s bottom line.

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Quality Control and Maintenance with Owned Printers

Full Control Over Service and Maintenance

Ownership also offers control over technical support and lets you choose how and when to service your equipment. Unlike leasing, where mandatory managed print services from the leasing company can often feel intrusive, owning a printer gives you complete control over your machine’s maintenance and care.

Customizing and Enhancing Your Printer

With your own printer, you can add custom enhancements such as an LCD touchscreen or interactive displays to improve your user experience. You simply don’t have access to this level of customization with printer leasing. These integrated solutions provide an engaging work environment and boost productivity.

Speed and Efficiency in Decision-Making

Decision-making becomes simple when you own a printer. In contrast with printer leasing—where equipment upgrades may require approval from the leasing company—owning your office equipment provides flexibility, speed, and efficiency in making decisions like upgrading your equipment or adopting new technology.

Flexibility of Owning an Office Printer

Owning office equipment like laser printers, large format printers, or solvent large format printers gives users significant flexibility. Businesses can use and configure the printers as required instead of being limited by the terms of printer leasing or rental programs.

For example, you might need to install custom workflow integrations or specific device drivers to make the printer work with your systems. Leasing companies might restrict this modification, but you have complete control if you own the printer outright.

Liberty to Make Changes and Upgrades

Owning office copiers or printers also means you’re free to make any hardware or software upgrades whenever you want. You might want to swap out the standard toner for a white toner or upgrade the paper folder attachments, for example. You can easily do these things with owned printers—without having to negotiate with a leasing company or compromise on an “inclusive” program.

Ease of Scaling Up or Down

One of the key benefits of owning office equipment is scalability. If your business expands, you can invest more or move to large format printers. If you’re scaling down, you can sell off excess printers—something you can’t typically do when you’re locked into a lease.

Avoid Contracts and Lease Terms

Printer leasing often includes long-term contracts, strict terms and conditions, and hidden fees. With absolute printer ownership, businesses escape these constraints. Companies can also save money in the long run, as they aren’t consistently paying leasing fees.

Ownership and Sustainability

When businesses own their office equipment, such as printers or copiers, they’re likely to use it more sustainably. The impact of sustainable office equipment is as follows:

Encourages Better Practices and Extends Printer Lifespan

Owning a printer encourages businesses to take better care of their equipment. Regular maintenance and responsible use can extend the printer’s life significantly. With managed print services, businesses can monitor printer usage and enforce policies to limit waste.

Prevents Waste

Printer leasing companies often push for frequent upgrades, even when the equipment is perfectly capable of meeting the business’s needs. This creates a considerable amount of e-waste. On the other hand, owning printers allows businesses to use them for their entire lifespan, reducing e-waste.

Close-up photo of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black ink cartridges

Owning vs. Leasing

Every business has unique operating conditions and needs. These factors should dictate the decision to own or lease office equipment.

Factors to Consider

Businesses should think carefully about costs, flexibility, scalability, and sustainability when choosing between printer leasing and ownership. Medical offices, for instance, might benefit from leasing because they often need the latest technology for their thermal printers, which leasing companies can provide. But a small to medium-sized business with a tighter budget might choose to buy a machine outright and use it for several years.

Making the Switch From Printer Leasing to Owning

If you’re considering making the switch from leasing to owning, start by analyzing your current and future printing needs and budget. Research various models and their costs, including financing solutions. Consult with office technology providers or office equipment dealers to get a solid comparison of costs and benefits. Many businesses find that their savings from owning a printer far outweigh the initial upfront cost.

Final Thoughts

Printer ownership offers numerous advantages. However, businesses must weigh these benefits against their needs and resources. With the correct approach, printer ownership can result in significant long-term savings and improved efficiency.

If you’re looking for a reliable office equipment provider to help you find a long-term printer, consider Connected Office Technologies.

Get the Printer Equipment You Need With Connected Office Technologies

As a business technology expert, Connected Office Technologies offers high-quality printers and copiers clients can add to their fleet. Our wide selection of laser printers provides long-term cost savings, flexibility, and ease.

Are you ready to upgrade your printer technology? Contact us today to get started.