If your business is in the market for a new printer, you may be wondering if it would be better for you to lease a printer or buy a new one outright. There are benefits and drawbacks to each option, so it’s best to consider your office’s needs when it comes to printer leasing versus buying new equipment altogether.
CEI – The Digital Office has compiled this guide with everything you need to know to decide if a contract with a local printer leasing company is a good option for your business, or if buying a new office printer makes more sense. Depending on your office’s budget and overall office printing needs, we are here to help you decide between printer leasing and buying options.
What’s the Difference Between Leasing and Buying a Printer?
A lot of businesses do not know that printer leasing companies exist, so a small business will usually just buy a new printer outright without considering the most cost-effective option. It’s important that your office has the right equipment, from copy machines to printers, and that you consider options for how to obtain that equipment at a fair price.
Buying a Printer
When choosing the right printer for your office space, there are several things to consider. For instance, if you have all of the money for the cost upfront, or are interested in financing options, you can buy the printer.
Buying the office printer and copier means the equipment becomes the property of your office. However, if you opt to purchase commercial printers for your business, you will have additional costs like delivery fees and installation costs. Alternatively, buying office devices might result in added tax benefits.
Leasing a Printer
The other option is to sign a monthly lease agreement. With a lease agreement, you do not need to have all of the cost for your printer or copier upfront, making managing the payment easier for many companies. While the cost on a determined monthly basis is the perfect solution for some companies, it may, in the long run, cost more than purchasing the equipment.
However, those hidden fees attached to a new printer purchase are often covered in your leasing contract. This means that delivery and installation as well as the continued cost of ink, toners, and repair services is typically a more budget-friendly approach in the long term.
Pros and Cons of Buying Printers for the Office Space
To help you decide which is right for your business, we have outlined the pros and cons of buying versus leasing a printer for your office.
Pros of Buying a New Office Printer
- Less expensive costs upfront.
- No interest accrued like with monthly agreements.
- A printer for your business is a tax-deductible purchase.
- Your company owns the printer and can resell it to recoup costs in the future.
Cons of Buying a New Office Printer
- Large upfront payments.
- Like all technology, printers depreciate rapidly and become obsolete within a few years, making reselling potentially difficult.
- When you own the printer and you do not have a service agreement, you are responsible for all repairs and maintenance.
For some people, the pros of buying a new office copier and printer may cancel out the cons. If your business has the cash flow for an expense like a new print and copy machine, it can be a great investment. Be sure to consider how the additional costs of toner and ink and the unexpectedly managed print services of repairs might impact your company budget.
Pros and Cons of Signing a Contract with a Printer Leasing Company
Not every office can afford large production printers, color printing services, desktop printers, or other printing equipment outright. Copier leasing is an often used service by many businesses that want to stretch their payment plan out as outlined by the lease terms agreement.
Pros of Printer Leasing
- Monthly payments are more manageable than outright, full-price costs.
- Leasing allows you to afford technology of superior equipment that you would otherwise not be able to.
- When you lease a printer, maintenance services are covered in your lease agreement, so you never have to worry about paying extra for repairs or wasting time to find a technician.
- Since you don’t own the printer, you don’t have to worry about being stuck with a potentially obsolete piece of equipment.
- At the end of the lease, you have more flexibility to decide if you want to purchase the printer, return it, or upgrade it to a newer model.
Cons of Printer Leasing
- Choosing the right term for your lease can be difficult.
- You will not receive the tax benefits associated with owning the device.
- Your company does not gain equity by owning the equipment.
While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to leasing versus purchasing an office printer, leasing is definitely more accessible for most businesses.
Types of Leasing Options at CEI
Our customers find that when they pay month-to-month for a printer lease versus the upfront expense of buying a new office printer, the process is typically easier, more flexible, and allows them to keep up-to-date with access to better technology.
CEI gives you several options with our 24-month short-term rental and our 36, 48, and 63-month long-term leases. If you have very short-term needs for a printer or copier, we offer rentals at a great deal as well.
Lease or Purchase Your Next Office Printer from CEI in Raleigh
CEI – The Digital Office, has supplied Raleigh businesses with office equipment and printer leasing for over the last 60 years. We have worked to improve the printing jobs of a variety of business types that had a diverse range of printing needs. We hope to do the same for your North Carolina business.
CEI proudly serves businesses in Raleigh, Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Durham, Garner, Greensboro, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Sanford, Smithfield, and Wake Forest.
To learn more about our leasing and purchasing options or to schedule a consultation, call us at 919-781-8885 or fill out our contact form below.