How to Lease a Copier

Copier print in pages per minute (ppm) -- if this is the first copier that your office will be leasing, you might not need to buy a copier model that copies faster than 30 ppm. If you're a busy corporate office, or your daily copy jobs are bulky (for example, an attorney's office), you might want to think about leasing a copier that's 40 ppm and above.

30ppm = 1 page every 2 seconds... Can you wait 2 minutes for a 60 page booklet?

Before you even make a MOVE to talk to a copier company, decide which features you really need for your small business. This will allow you to keep the power and prevent a salesman from talking you into leasing a hunk of machinery that you really don't use. Here are a couple of the following most common types of copiers and features.

Basic Features You'll Probably Need:

Multifunction (also known as MFP, All in One)
The "standard" in commercial copiers; a multifunction/MFP/All-in-One combines copying, scanning, printer, and faxing into one machine. Multifunctions are offered by all of the top copier companies, including Sharp, Xerox, Canon, Ricoh, and many more.

Laser
More efficient and more common to the workplace than inkjet printers, because they're faster. Inkjet printers may cost less outright, but each page can cost up to 20 cents due to the high cost of inkjet ink, compared to a laser copy's 6 cent cost per page.

Digital
Better for details than analog printers, which some people think will eventually be phased out because they're loud, break down often because of their moving parts, and can enlarge and reduce copies.

Black and white vs. color, Stapling, and Duplex (double-sided copy ability) are other features that are often requested by small businesses.

You probably don't need these bells and whistles -- so don't get sucked in!

3 hole punch
Energy efficient*
Speed above 35ppm
Large Format Printer/Scanner**
USB connection
Wireless
High resolution
Ton of space for document storage

*Most copiers that are "Energy Efficient" merely power down when they're not in use -- a policy you can enforce within your office, if you care that much about energy bills.
**That is, unless you're frequently printing giant building plans...

The copier companies want you to think that their copiers are worlds apart from the next brand's copiers... But really, the top brands are pretty comparable. When you begin to compare copier prices, get prices from different brands so you're not getting ripped off. One brand's black and white laser printer might cost twice as much as another's -- just because of the brand name. Popular copier brands are below.

Canon - Canon is best known for color copiers, and is probably one of the most popular and well-known brands of business copier out there. If you're comparing Canon and Ricoh color photocopiers, they're both comparable in quality, performance and output, and Ricoh is often the cheaper option.
Sharp
HP - Mainly known for HP printers but HP also produces some nice office copiers.
Lanier
Samsung
Xerox - Xerox is another popular copier company, but prices and lease rates can be higher than other copier brands. You're paying for the name.
Ricoh - Ricoh is known for its color copiers.
Toshiba
Savin
Brother
Konica Minolta
Kyocera
Panasonic

There are easy ways for even the busiest company to shop around for the best deal, without making dozens of phone calls. You can
compare copier leases from brands like Sharp and Konica Minolta using BuyerZone's price-getting service. Another similar website is Copiers Leasing Central, which will help you compare leasing rates from top copier companies like Canon and Ricoh.

Note: If you're looking for a specific brand of copier to lease, most brands only sell their own copiers; they will not lease copiers. You need to find a local service that leases copiers, or use a quote request service like the two mentioned above.