Pricing & Leasing

Are you in the market for a new printer for your business or organization? If so, you’ve probably put together a budget, whether it’s a rough idea of your upfront spending or (if you choose to lease) a clear monthly leasing amount you can manage.

However, if you’re not familiar with the copier and printer industry, you might find yourself confused by the pricing and the various factors that influence it.

Unless you're planning to grab a basic printer from Walmart—which, let’s be honest, isn’t the best choice—you’ll likely be engaging in a service agreement with a print vendor. This means committing to a specific number of color and black-and-white prints each month.

You're about to make a big decision for your business by investing in a printer from a printing vendor. With so many options available, it can feel overwhelming. You want to make the right choice that fits your budget, operational needs, and future growth plans. But knowing where to start is hard.  

If you're new to the printing world, it can be even more challenging.

One way to determine if a printing vendor is right for you is by asking them the right questions. But what are the most important questions to ask?

At Strategic Technology Partners of Texas (STPT), we've got your back. For over 35 years, we've been helping our customers navigate the complex world of printing technology. Today, we're sharing the top 10 questions you should ask your printing vendor to make an informed and confident decision.

Arguably, no metric is more important to know before purchasing a printer than how much it can print or copy in a month.

When researching a machine's specifications, you'll likely see two categories involving the volume of prints a printer can make: the monthly duty cycle and the recommended monthly print volume. 

There is a major difference between both metrics of printer performance, and not knowing it could have costly consequences. 

As a local print vendor for over 35 years, we've seen how negligent printing and copying can damage printers and lead to costly repairs that hurt the bank.

To help you avoid the scenario above, we'll discuss the differences between a printer's duty cycle and its recommended monthly print volume. We'll explain which metric you should follow, the consequences if you don't, and how to determine your monthly volume.

Let's start with the basics: What is a printer's duty cycle? 

Have you received phone calls from people trying to sell you toner over the phone? If yes, be cautious, as these calls may be from toner phoners who are trying to scam you. Every day, Americans receive an average of 3.7 scam calls, so it's essential to stay alert. For businesses that receive calls more frequently, the risk of falling prey to toner scams is even higher. Unfortunately, business owners who have fallen into this trap have lost money without any means of recovering their losses.  

Special pricing is a benefit that many organizations qualify for but sometimes don’t even know it.  

While the phrase itself can mean different things, there are several things to know that can help you determine if your organization qualifies for special pricing on products. 

If you’re interested in receiving discounts on products for your business, then special pricing is something you will want to look into.  

As a printer/copier company in the Texas area, we deal with special pricing on a regular basis and have become intimately familiar with its benefits and qualifications.  

Because we deal with office printing equipment specifically, we will be using examples from our industry throughout the text. However, special pricing can stretch to multiple industries and products.