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Scanners are also used for making photocopies and this could well save you money if you need to make copies but cannot afford to or will not use it enough to justify paying many hundreds of pounds to get a photocopier. It is also possible to send faxes using a scanner and your PC. Scanners can have multiple uses, and are very good value for money. One of the most useful business features of scanners is OCR (optical character recognition), which basically allows your pc to read a scanned document. If you print a vital letter, but lose the original file and need to edit it; you scan the letter, and the OCR software on your computer recognises the letters and turns the scan into an editable document. OCR software comes included with most new scanners, and can save you hours in typing documents. Buying second hand can further save costs, but you must be careful that the glass (where you place the paper to be scanned) is not scratched or damaged; otherwise the scans will not come out correctly. See Combined Units for more information on money saving and efficiency. Photocopiers These machines can be extremely expensive and so think carefully at how important their need is in your business. Small personal photocopiers can be found at under £200 and stretch to £2000 for the bigger, more advanced machines that you may find in libraries and post offices. Photocopiers can also be hired but be careful that you check out the terms and conditions before going ahead as they may require a 'minimum number of copies'. This will end up giving you an expense that could have been cheaper to buy one in the long term if you hire one frequently. If you don't feel the need for a photocopier is essential, then a solution may be to go to your local library/print office/post office/etc when you need something copied. These are normally charged between 2p - 10p per copy depending on paper size. You could also use a scanner and printer to make photocopies without having to purchase any further equipment. If you decide that it is worthwhile purchasing a photocopier, there are two main things you should look for when buying: The resolution of a photocopier is measured in DPI (dots per inch), and shows how detailed the copying is. 600dpi is standard, and is more than suitable for the majority of copying needs, be careful of resolutions below this however. The speed of the copier can be very important in a busy office, particularly if you need to make a number of copies of a single document. The speed is measured in ‘ppm’ (pages per minute), although this will vary in actual usage. 12-14ppm is standard on most photocopiers, although more expensive models can go up to speeds of 16ppm or higher. Be careful of cheaper models with very slow printing speeds. 4-6ppm is a standard speed on most portable copiers. If you need to make basic colour copies, you are probably better off buying a combined scanner and printer. If you need to make detailed colour copies (e.g.: Images / photos), a scanner and colour laser printer will probably work out a lot cheaper than a colour photocopier. See Combined Units for more information on money saving and efficiency. Fax Machines
Fax machines are available with a number of different printing options; thermal, inkjet, and laser. Thermal/Cassette faxes use a ribbon to print, this produces very low cost, but fairly low quality faxes. Inkjet faxes print in the same way as inkjet printers, with a fairly low cost per sheet, but with much better quality than thermal printing. Laser faxes print in the same way as laser printers, providing a low cost per sheet, and high quality printing. For low use, a thermal fax is probably the cheapest option; for medium use, (or if you want a better quality print) an inkjet fax will be the best choice; for high usage, a laser fax will save you money in the long run. Fax machines work with two different paper types; plain paper and roll. A plain paper machine prints incoming faxes onto standard paper, whereas a roll machine prints onto special fax paper rolls. Plain paper normally gives a better quality print, and is now the most common type of fax available. The only real advantage of fax rolls is that long or numerous faxes (e.g.: Reports, customer / order lists, etc) are not split up onto several sheets of paper. The speed in which a fax sends and receives depends on the speed of its modem. The standard speed is 14.4kb per second, and will send an average fax in under 10 seconds (depending on the speed of the receiving fax), although some top of the range faxes have speeds of up to 36.6kb. Be careful of cheaper faxes with 9.6kb or lower modems, especially if you send and receive large numbers of faxes. Fax machines can also be used as your telephone and can be picked up from as little as £80 depending on quality. You can also use a PC and scanner as a fax machine, sending the fax over the internet which arrives in the normal way through the receivers fax machine. See Combined Units (below) for more information on money saving and efficiency. Combined Units When buying equipment, there are several different ways in which you can save costs by buying combined units, which function as more than one piece of equipment. Here are the most relevant types of combined unit. (i) Printer / Scanner / Copier If you are looking to buy a printer and a scanner, you could do a lot worse than look at a ‘three in one’ unit. These combine a printer with a scanner; allowing you to print, scan, and make photocopies by automatically printing the scan as it is made. These units mainly use colour inkjet printing, with a small number using black laser printing. A combined unit generally offers good value for money if you require both a scanner and printer, as well as reducing the space and number of connections you need to take up. As the units are combined, you must be careful that you are still getting a decent quality product (particularly the printer part). Some of the cheaper combined units have poor quality printing or single cartridge set-ups, which will cost you money in the long run. If however, the unit is of a good quality, then a combined unit is a convenient way to solve three problems in one go. A reasonable combined printer, scanner, and copier will cost from around £70 upwards. (ii) Printer / Scanner / Copier / Fax There are also a number of combined models that also feature a fax machine capability. These are essentially a scanner, a printer, and a fax machine combined, allowing you to print, scan, and fax, as well as make copies. The quality of the scanner varies considerably in these units, some provide a high quality colour scanner, while others provide very basic greyscale (shades of black) scanning only. They are available as colour inkjet or laser printer; although there are presently no colour laser combined units (the cost would be too high to make them viable).
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Just
like e-mail, fax machines will provide you with a fast way of sending/receiving
information. You may feel that sending faxes isn't something that will
be done frequently by your business, but you have to think about businesses
that may want to send a fax to you.