3 Tips For Fulfilling Your Printing And Copying Demands On A Tight Tech Start-Up Budget

While small tech start-ups have an advantage in going paperless as much as they can, it's not entirely possible to avoid paper altogether. You'll need to make hard copies of certain documents, whether it's to fax them to another company, share them with colleagues at a meeting, or retain them in on-site file storage.

While modern copiers can be quite expensive, it's fairly easy for a cash-strapped start-up to meet their printing and copying needs thanks to leasing and renting arrangements. These allow you to save capital and put it towards revenue-generating sources such as hiring and training employees. If you're forming a small tech start-up, here are three tips for meeting your printing demands while short on capital.

1. Look for Cloud Features

As a start-up, you need to remain agile. Employees can't be locked to the office in order to print documents they've received electronically. They need to be able to print them from across the world while working remotely or working with clients and investors.

Look for a copier with cloud document storage support — many modern copiers include this feature. This provides a safe, encrypted storage server located in the cloud that allows your employees to send documents and print them out on your copier from anywhere. Employees can easily and quickly create hard copies of important documents or print reports for the office while never having to step foot inside.

2. Rent or Lease a Copier Instead of Buying

Start-ups are often squeezed for capital, especially if funding is tight. The up-front cost of purchasing a copier can be a burden for many start-ups, as full-featured copiers can be quite expensive.

Thankfully, copier sales providers have met this demand by allowing small businesses to rent or lease copiers instead of purchasing them. Instead of paying for the entire copier at once, you pay a small monthly fee. Copier sales providers will ship the copier to your office, install it for you, and give you a small guide about using all of its features.

The choice between renting and leasing is a choice you'll have to make based on how certain you are of your funding. Short-term copier rentals have higher monthly payments, but you're able to discontinue the rental at any time. Leasing will require you to sign a leasing agreement for a fixed duration, but the monthly payments will be lower.

If your start-up has already secured guaranteed funding, leasing is often the better option — you'll save money compared to renting. If the future prospects of your start-up are uncertain, however, then you may opt for renting in order to avoid signing a fixed duration leasing agreement.

3. Include Maintenance and Technical Support in Your Contract

While a tech start-up likely has employees capable of managing copiers on their own, it's better to focus on deliverables and meeting your business goals rather than supporting your copier — start-ups need to begin producing revenue as soon as possible.

As another way to support small businesses, copier sales providers also often offer technical support and maintenance along with rental or leasing agreements. They'll send technical staff to troubleshoot and repair any problems that you may have with your copier. Some copier sales providers will even deliver paper and toner when you're running low, saving your start-up from having to worry about these issues.

Because copier sales providers have continued to meet demands for the needs of small businesses, owning a modern, full-featured copier is easier than ever for a small tech start-up. When capital is tight, you can lease or rent instead of purchasing the copier outright, and support allows you to focus on your business needs rather than maintaining your office copier. If you're forming a start-up, contact a copier sales provider and ask about what they can do to help your small start-up meet its copying and printing needs.