Office Equipment – Scanners & Photocopiers
Scanners (compatible with PC’s)
If the need for scanning images (perhaps onto your website, documents, etc) is a frequent activity, then this will be essential to you. Scanners can be found at all prices, depending on quality. Most new scanners can read very high detail, and even the most basic scanner is likely to be suitable for the majority of businesses needs. A basic scanner will generally cost from £30 upwards.
The resolution of a scanner (i.e.: The detail it can read) is measured in DPI (dots per inch). The standard resolution is about 600x600dpi which is suitable for the majority of purposes.
More expensive scanners go up to over 3200dpi, but this is only really of use to professional graphic or image workers. You can set the resolution on each scan, and most of the time you will probably not need any more than 3-600dpi.
The colour depth of a scanner is measured in bits (e.g. 24 / 32 / 48 bit), this means how many colours it can pick up whilst scanning. 48 bit is standard on most new scanners, but 24bit still means millions of colours and will be more than capable of fulfilling most office scanning needs.
Scanners are also used for making pho tocopies 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 st andard, 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 num ber 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.
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