In one of our recent blogs we talked about five things to keep in mind when buying a printer. Total cost of ownership or TCO was one of the five aspects, but it is such an important aspect that we decided to dedicate an entire blog to the topic.
Most small businesses only think about the upfront cost when it comes to picking their next printer. While the initial cost of a printer may be less, the TCO and office printer maintenance costs, can be a lot higher. It is imperative that people consider the big picture by considering total cost of ownership when choosing your next printer.
Understanding your total cost of ownership is a little easier than you might think. Breaking down the total cost of ownership on a number of different printers can give you better insight as to what printer will really suit your needs. You might just find that spending a little more up front can save you a lot down the road or you might even find that you can get by with less office printer maintenance than you thought.
Kyocera is one of our preferred office printer brands and I am going to use the Kyocera model as an example of total cost of ownership. I am comparing the Ecosys FS-4200DN to the HP Laserjet Enterprise M602DN. As you can see in the chart below, the HP office printer costs $300 less than the Kyocera office printer, but has a higher total cost of ownership. In the long run owners of the Kyocera save over $3,500 in office printer maintenance costs.
|  | |
| HP Enterprise M602DN | Kyocera ECOSYS FS-4200DN | |
| Cost to Purchase | $640.00 | $995.00 |
| *Consumables | $4,674 | $801.00 |
| Maintenance Kit | Needed at 225,000 pages | Needed at 500,000 pages |
| Totals: | $5,314.00 | $1,796.00 |
*based on 5,000 pages per month at a 5% coverage rate
Take a close look at your printing behaviors so you can factor your TCO for your next office printer. Hopefully the above information can help you understand the importance of total cost of ownership. Contact me today to learn more about our products and and services.
