Commercial Copier Costs

Last Updated on September 14, 2022
Written by CPA Alec Pow | Content Reviewed by CFA Alexander Popinker

Choosing the right printer is not easy at all. But we always try to find the best device that our budget allows. However, the printer market is changing at lightning speed – and the devices that were the best in various price categories for the home or office have often surrendered their places to other newer devices.

How much does a commercial copy machine cost?

The cost of a commercial copy machine will be affected by several factors such as its quality, printing speed, whether it has faxing options, and other advanced characteristics like scanning and stapling. The price of such equipment will start at around $1,650 for an average copier and will go up to $16,000 or even $41,500 for a high-grade model. Expect to spend anywhere between $3,650 and $14,500 for a standard commercial copy machine, depending on your business needs.

On the other hand, for a good-quality copy machine you can use at home you will have to pay around $200 or even more.

There are many companies that choose to lease or rent their copy machines for a period of three to five years in general. Lease and rental rates are determined based on the copy needs you expect. So, before signing a deal make sure you know what is your actual workload.

Costs associated with a commercial copy machine

Below you will find some cost examples related to commercial copy machines, so you can get an idea about how much you should budget when it comes to purchasing or renting a new copier for your office.

• the average cost of a new copier that prints up to 55 ppm: $14,000;
• the lease cost of an average copy machine: anywhere between $200 and $1,000 per month;
• the lease cost of a low-volume copy machine: $90 per month;
• the cost of a heavy volume copy machine that can withstand large work-loads: $36,000;
• the cost of a used office copy machine: $6,000.

There are two methods used by a copy machine to create copies of an original document: analog photography or digital scanning.

You might also like our articles on the cost of printing at Staples, UPS fax services, or postage meter rental.

The main difference between a business copy machine and a home copy machine is the printing capacity, which is measured in the maximum number of pages that can be printed in a month. The low-end commercial copy machines have the capacity to print around 8,000 pages per month, while the high-end machines can print more than 40,000 pages in a month.

How do we choose the best commercial printer?

There are many types of printers, able to meet the most diverse needs. Don’t worry, because now we will show you the main factors to consider when purchasing.

How many pages will be printed on average per month?

For the office, it can be thousands of pages and for home, you may need a few tens of pages.

Do I print only black and white or color pages as well?

Most of the prints will be black and white pages, but what if you need color pages from time to time? This is not the case for offices, but at home, there are always cases of this kind.

Do I also need a scanner or fax machine? What about wireless printing?

The scanner is mandatory in any office, but you may also need it at home. Printing via WiFi is very popular now. You can easily print any image or document you want from your phone.

What is my budget? Can I supplement it?

Whatever demands you have from a printer, they will have to fit into your budget. Do not take into account the price of the product alone, but also the subsequent price of the consumables (cartridges, toner, etc.). Don’t be fooled by a low price for a printer until you check the cost of the consumables per page.

Other important factors to consider

Price

Laser and ink-jet printers dominate the low-cost category, with costs of under $175. The simplest inkjet printers can be bought for around $60, and photo printers, which are mainly aimed at home users are already available in this price range. Popular manufacturers in the entry-level category include HP, Canon, Xerox, and, for example, Brother.

In the $170 to $290 range, in addition to laser printers and ink-jet printers, dot matrix printers and thermal printers are also available, for example. Along with HP and Canon, Epson offers the most products in this price range.

The price category above $290 already includes printers designed specifically for offices, for professional or industrial use, be it card printers, thermal printers, or receipts, but there is also a wide range of laser printers, with ink-jet among the most popular. The main manufacturers in the top category include HP, Canon, Epson, Lexmark, OKI, and Kyocera.

Inkjet or laser printer?

The first question any printer buyer should ask themselves is how often and how much they want to print in the future. One of the most common types, ink from an inkjet printer cartridge, is applied to paper as ink droplets. Laser printers, on the other hand, use heat to melt the ink powder from the toner onto the paper.

Color inkjet printers are at the top of the printer popularity list because you can print practically anything: essays, diagrams, photos, anything you can think of and need in your daily life.

However, laser printers are still a good choice for office environments where most print jobs are monochrome, i.e. black and white. Monochrome laser printers offer better speeds and lower costs per page than inkjet models at an affordable price.

Printing costs

For users who frequently print at home – whether it’s a home business or the occasional home worker – the ink and toner portion of printing costs can be a crucial factor in choosing a printer. Whether you want to print only black and white or also color has a big influence on the cost of printing, as color inks are obviously more expensive.

The cost of printing ink can be determined by the number of pages that can be printed with a particular cartridge or toner. However, efficiency will depend on the printer and its design, as well as the manufacturer’s specifications for the number of pages a cartridge can print, whether it’s black and white or color. If you divide the toner price by this figure, you get the cost per printed page.

There are companies that, for a subscription fee, provide a continuous supply of toner and ink cartridges for the printers used by their customers, which can help a home business reduce printing costs. Buying refilled toner or even refilling empty toner at home is risky because many printers fail to recognize used or non-manufacturer toner.

Conclusion

The home printer or the commercial printer are products that must be bought carefully and based on certain criteria. Because productivity and related costs depend on their characteristics, you want to have a printer that ensures high productivity at the lowest cost.

So, regardless of whether you want to buy a printer for the office or for home, aim to buy a printer that meets your needs.