Copier or printer: what your office actually needs

Most offices asking “copier or printer?” are really asking something narrower: do we need the big machine, or will a smaller one do the job?

The answer comes down to five things: paper size, finishing, speed, scanning and service. This page explains the difference in plain terms and how to choose.

What is the difference between a copier and a printer?

A printer prints what your computers send it. A copier started as a machine that copied paper originals.

That line has mostly disappeared. What an office calls a copier today is a multifunction printer: one machine that prints, copies and scans, and often faxes. Every machine we place does copy, print and scan.

So the real difference is not the name. It is the class of machine. A desktop printer is built for one person or a small team, prints letter and legal, and is serviced by whoever is closest to it. An office multifunction printer is built for the whole office, runs larger paper, can staple and sort, and comes with a service plan.

Is a copier the same as a printer?

In most offices, yes. The machine people call “the copier” is also the office printer and the office scanner. The words are used interchangeably.

Where they still differ is in what the machine is built to handle. That is what the rest of this page covers.

How do you choose? Start with paper size

Paper size is the first fork.

A compact office machine runs letter and legal. It is about 20 inches wide, 22 inches deep and 23 inches tall, and weighs about 110 pounds, so it sits on a sturdy table or a cabinet.

A full size machine adds 11×17 and paper up to 12×18, with four paper drawers so you can keep letter, legal and 11×17 loaded at once. It stands on the floor, about 23 inches wide, 27 inches deep and 38 inches tall before the finisher, and weighs about 224 pounds. The finisher hangs on the left side and adds width.

If anyone in your office prints spreadsheets, plans, drawings or booklets on 11×17, you need the full size machine. If every page you print is letter or legal, the compact machine may be all you need.

Do you need finishing?

Finishing is what happens after the page prints. On a full size machine, a finisher sorts and staples as the job comes out.

If your office assembles packets, closing documents, patient forms or reports every day, a finisher saves real time. Someone is not standing at a table with a stapler.

If you staple now and then, a compact machine can take an internal stapler. That covers light stapling without moving up to the full size machine.

How fast does it need to be?

Speed is measured in pages per minute. The office machines we place start around 40 pages a minute and go up from there.

Match speed to volume. We describe machines by the volume they are built for:

• Low volume. The compact machine. Letter and legal, a small office, steady but light printing.
• Low to medium volume. The full size machine most offices choose. 11×17, four drawers and a finisher.
• Medium to high volume. The same full size body, faster. For offices where the machine runs most of the day.

A machine too slow for your volume makes people wait at it. A machine faster than you need costs more every month and gives nothing back. Tell us your pages per month and the quote names the machine.

Color or black and white?

If anything you print goes to clients in color, choose color. That includes proposals, marketing pieces, and anything with your logo on it.

If nothing you print leaves the building in color, black and white is simpler. The machines we stock are color. Black and white machines are quoted new.

What about scanning?

This is where the office machine pulls ahead of a desktop printer.

An office multifunction printer has a document feeder that scans both sides of a page in one pass, so a stack of paper becomes a file in seconds. Scans go to email, to a shared folder, or to the cloud. On our Total Coverage Plan, scanning is never metered.

Scan to email and scan to folder are set up on install day, along with network and print drivers for the computers that will print to it.

Does service change the answer?

Yes. It is the part people forget.

A desktop printer has no service plan. When it jams, someone in the office fixes it. When it runs out of toner, someone orders a cartridge. When it breaks, you buy another one.

An office machine comes with service. On our Coverage Plan that means toner, parts, labor, maintenance, training, and phone and onsite support, billed per page with no minimum and no overage. When the machine needs hands on it, a technician is onsite within 4 hours.

One shared office machine can replace several desktop printers, and the cartridge orders that come with them. Our managed print services page covers what that looks like across an office.

What if you only print?

If your office never copies or scans, a print-only machine is an option. We quote print-only machines new, on a lease or a purchase. For most offices, though, scanning alone is reason enough to choose a multifunction machine.

New or off-lease?

The office machines we stock are off-lease: late-model units returned at the end of a lease, then checked and serviced before they are installed. Some machines we quote are new. The quote says which, and names the machine.

How to get one in your office

Once you know the size, finishing, speed and color you need, the next choice is how to pay.

• An office printer lease runs 12 to 60 months, with no auto-renewal.
• Month to month puts a full machine in your office with no term.
• A purchase is one payment, and the machine is yours.

In Dallas Fort Worth and Houston, the machine is installed 3 to 5 business days after approval, and we haul away your old machine at install.

FAQ

Can a copier be used as a printer?

Yes. An office multifunction printer prints from every computer on your network, and copies and scans as well.

Do I need 11×17?

Only if someone in your office prints spreadsheets, plans, drawings or booklets that size. If not, a letter and legal machine may do the job.

Will a full size machine fit in my office?

Plan for a floor space about 23 inches wide and 27 inches deep, plus room on the left for the finisher and room in front to open the drawers.

Is one office machine better than several desktop printers?

Often, yes. One shared machine with a service plan can replace several desktop printers and the cartridges that go with them. The quote shows what fits your office.

Request a quote for your office. Tell us your pages per month, your paper sizes, and whether you staple. The quote names the machine.