But you may be interested to find out that many businesses now look to lease their office equipment, including printers. Gone are the days when the only option was to buy outright – printer leasing now offers a cost-effective solution for many businesses, saving capital expenses and providing flexibility.

Focus on day-to-day operating costs

Although it is very important to stay up with technology to keep your business competitive within your sector, leasing your printer equipment helps decision makers keep capital available for day in, day out operating costs. Freeing up valuable resources to invest in other areas of the business is particularly important for SMEs and fledgling start-ups.

Keep up-to-date with technology upgrades

It is impossible not to recognise the rapidly changing face of technology. Businesses that purchase printer equipment outright are likely to have to maximise the use of their devices to get the most out of their investment. Consequently many businesses miss the boat with regards to upgrades. Conversely, businesses that lease printers can quickly upgrade at the end of their initial agreement.

Use products that are right for you

There is no substitute for trialling printing equipment within your workplace. Large outlays for printers can be a risky business without installing and testing them first. That’s where the flexibility of printer leasing comes into its own with the ability to test a product before entering a lease agreement. Most professional lessors will also be able to provide industry advice on the best products for individual businesses dependant on past experience.

Reduced maintenance costs

Invariably when businesses purchase high-end printing equipment the cost of maintenance and repairs is also significant. However, the benefit of leasing printers is that many lessors will include maintenance services as part of their package. Such deals can reduce equipment downtime as lessors have specialist access to both replacement parts and engineers.

For businesses interested in discussing how printer leasing could help their business, call First Choice Business Systems, specialists in Xerox printer leasing, on 0800 072 3747.

Businesses nationwide still depend on mail to liaise with current and prospective customers and spread their marketing message. Mailroom solutions can improve the efficiency of any business’ mail communications whilst being environmentally compatible with the relevant laws and regulations.

Here are four excellent options that are built with the day-to-day needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) firmly in mind.

Frama Matrix F6 Franking Machine

Designed for medium to heavy postal workloads, the Frama Matrix F6 is built to reduce the need for manual handling when franking envelopes, saving valuable office resource in the process. Businesses that make use of the Royal Mail bulk service, Cleanmail Advance, may be interested to know that the Matrix F6 is capable of bulk-handling DL-C5 envelope sizes ready for dispatch.

Frama Access B400 Electronic Letter Opener

Another mid to heavy-duty mailroom device capable of working with speed and efficiency in the office, the Frama Access B400 Letter Opener is Frama’s highest performance model for business and personal use. Processing up to 400 letters per minute using the device’s innovative envelope slitting technology, it is still the only electronic letter opener able to open letters up to 10mm in thickness.

Frama FI62 Folder Inserter

Such an intuitive piece of equipment as the Frama FI62 Folder Inserter can really make a significant difference to the office of any small or medium-sized business. Built to detect and understand various document and envelope sizes and the correct fold lines, the FI62 Folder Inserter is a self-starter solution that is capable of being used without the assistance of an operator manual.

Frama P700 Paper Folding Machine

Most SMEs do not have the space or capacity to install a mailroom solution that takes up considerable room. Multi-faceted mailroom devices such as the Frama P700 Paper Folding Machine are fantastic due to their compact design. You will be surprised at the number of features crammed into something so small, accepting paper sizes from A5 to A3 for folding and working at an awe-inspiring speed of up to 5,200 sheets per hour.

With the Xerox ColorQube MFPs you can print, scan, fax, USB scan and print, with the additional benefits of EIP and mobile print, all in a single device. Mobile printing is ideal for on-the-go workers as they can print securely from any email-enabled smartphone, tablet or laptop without the need to download an application, load a software or search for online printer information.

What’s more the ColorQube 8700 & 8900 models boast a high paper capacity of up to 3,475 sheets, full security, accounting and cost control along with an abundance of finishing options including stapling and 650 sheet stacking.

Solid Ink Technology has enabled offices across the world with a cost effective way of printing in colour. Combined with the ease of use and environmental benefits along with less hassle and more savings, companies can reallocate time and resources to their core business.

Solid Ink Technology offers consistent colour prints that get noticed, regardless of the media type. With Solid ink you can take advantage of the colour-editing tool, Colour by Words, which offers users accurate and vibrant colours from the first print.

Other Key Features of the Xerox ColorQube 8700 & 8900

•    Great colour, great savings – 3 tier billing or pay as you go
•    Ease of use – 7”UI with full smart controller features
•    Simplicity of solid ink, ease of use and administration
•    Environmental footprint is 20% less than competitive faceoff
•    TEC tier III compliant

We here at First Choice Business Systems are an authorised Xerox Concessionaire and pride ourselves in providing offices with a print solution that is tailored to their requirements. Call us today on 0800 072 3747 to find out what service we can provide you and how the Xerox ColorQube 8700 & 8900 could change your workflow.

Put simply, electronic document management is a piece of software or a combination of software that seeks to digitise and store sensitive information in an easy to read format. Such a system can improve efficiency and also enhance green practices within an office space, with most solutions containing software that can read and interpret paper documents and therefore reduce the use of paper in the office.

Although a paperless office may sound like pie in the sky to most organisations the fact remains that the Internet has significantly changed the way businesses communicate with their customers. Whilst typewriters and handwritten letters were the order of the day just a couple of decades ago, now businesses are compiling their documents via word processor and distributing via email.

Historically businesses have relied on organised book-keeping to store essential documentation. Many will also have experienced the frustration of spending hours if not days searching for a particular document that may have incurred a loss of revenue with potential customers opting to go elsewhere with their money.

However, electronic document management allows business owners to scan their documents digitally and store them on a computer. Electronic filing enables business owners to discard original documentation once scanned digitally and save valuable desk and storage space within the office.

It is also much more straightforward sourcing relevant documentation via an electronic document management system than sifting through tens of folders and drawers. An electronic solution can capture and index documents in any method that makes sense to each individual business, giving them the freedom to search and retrieve information based upon multiple criteria.

In theory, an electronic document management solution improves the overall productivity of a business, allowing them to find information at the touch of a ‘search’ button. For business owners working in an industry that deals with considerable amounts of paperwork a digital solution would save money long term with the reduced costs of disposable materials.

Green printing is growing in popularity with an increasing number of businesses beginning to understand the impact and threat the printing industry poses on the wider environment as a whole. Adopting green printing practices is a very responsible move for any business, which brings with it a host of additional benefits that organisations can use to their advantage.

Environmentally friendly

Many environmental printing experts recommend green printing for business not only for the reduced impact on the wider area, but for financial reasons too. Digital printing is recommended for businesses that require short run printing, whether it is business cards, flyers or promotional printing. Digital printing has its advantages as it uses 100% non-toxic toner that also produces less chemical waste.

Instant tracking of costs

Businesses that choose to implement GreenPrint Software have the ability to track and monitor the number of pages printed and the costs they have saved as a result. In turn administrators can therefore track savings made on a company-wide basis across all departments.

Educate customers

A great way to establish a business’ reputation and with it additional authority is to educate clients and customers of the merits of green printing for themselves. Many will find that not all clients are aux fait with green design and printing processes. Subsequently it is a good way for businesses to act as an eco-friendly advisor, evaluating individual projects on their merits and helping clients operate within industry standards.

Balance cost with flair

In some cases adopting greener printing practices may appear more expensive in the immediate term. However, it is important not to be put off by pricing issues as businesses can offset initial costs by economising with imagination and creativity. Where possible businesses may look to combine projects using the same recycled paper, which allows them to save money and be good to the environment too.

Encourages businesses to go paperless

Businesses that choose to adopt greener printing practices may also consider going paperless to reduce print wastage. For example, where once companies may have sent printed paper copies of memos or documentation to staff, they may consider making company announcements online via email or a business intranet.

Make your business aware of the advantages of solid ink technology, helping the Government meet new carbon reduction targets and improving your own organisation’s green credentials in the process.

Unbeatable colour accuracy on every business-critical document you print.

The best printer for your needs depends on whether you wish to print thousands of leaflets or glossy brochures, or whether you simply need a reliable printer to churn out documentation at an impressive rate.

There are many types of colour printers, but the two most common available on the market are laser colour printers and inkjet colour printers.

Laser printers

A very robust, durable printer with the top of the range models capable of printing as much as 200,000 pages a month. Operating costs for a laser printer are generally much less than an inkjet printer, however the initial outlay for a laser printer is usually greater.

Inkjet printers

Generally less expensive than laser printers, inkjet printers cost more in the long run as users need to replace ink cartridges on a regular basis, particularly businesses who rely on high volume output. Therefore they are better suited to low volume colour printing needs.

What specifications should you look out for?

o   Printer speed – One of the most important details you need to know about when choosing a printer for day-to-day business needs. If you are looking to increase productivity you will want a printer that prints as many pages per minute as possible. Do note that these statistics are usually tests undertaken by manufacturers in ideal conditions and therefore you should only use this as a rough guide.

o   Print volume – Another contributing factor to your choice of colour printer. The higher the monthly volume of your printer, the faster the printer usually is. Many experts recommend that you choose a printer that is capable of printing at least 25 per cent more than you estimate you will actually use.

o   Printer resolution – It is important to check the resolution of any colour printers on the market. Resolution is measured in dots-per-inch (dpi). At a minimum most business should look for a dpi of 600x600, but for high-end multimedia use a dpi of 1200x1200 is highly recommended.

Ultimately as a business you will require a colour printer that provides professional results on a consistent basis. As a result you should choose a printer more on its capabilities than its price as the right printer has the ability to save you money in the long run.

Productivity and scalability - all in one.

Production printers, by design, perform accurate operations with exceptional quality and with reduced errors. With this in mind at First Choice we are noticing a shift in demand towards this kind of hassle-free, environmentally friendly printing system.

For businesses without the knowledge and expertise of the market, here are five of the best production printers available for high volume use.

Xerox Colour 550/560

The all-new Xerox Colour 550/560 sets the benchmark for high quality image printing and expansive media handling that expanding businesses demand on a daily basis. The Xerox 550/560 works at digital speed and is incredibly easy to install and integrate into a daily workflow, with automated controls that can help accomplish quick turnarounds and cost-effective runs that a growing business expects.

Xerox 700 Digital Colour Press

The Xerox 700 Digital Colour Press can provide value for money in the short term and provide a return on your investment in the long term. Delivering everything a business needs in digital colour printing, with cutting-edge image quality and effortless workflow automation the Xerox 700 can also be fine-tuned for optimum results for specific jobs and paper stocks.

Xerox DocuColor 242/252/260

The Xerox DocuColor 242/252/260 is a digital colour printer and copier that offers industry-leading speed and image quality at an affordable price. For those in the graphic arts and design community or indeed an all-action corporate environment it is important to have a versatile production printer that handles a wide range of media sizes and weights and the DocuColor 242/252/260 ticks all the right boxes.

Xerox 4112/4127 Production Printer

The exceptional speed and printer quality of the Xerox 4112/4127 Production Printer makes it ideal for handling the complexities of day-to-day workflow, whilst achieving an excellent return as a long-term investment. Perfect for both publishing and transactional applications, the Xerox 4112/4127 EPS ensures exquisite presentation and accurate representation of the information that matters most.

Xerox 4595 Production Printer

Engineered for ultra-fast copying, printing and scanning, the Xerox 4595 Production Printer always exceeds the expectations of its customers. With a staggering print speed of up to 95 pages per minute, the Xerox 4595 really will increase your productivity at the flick of a switch. Perfect for large workgroups, busy users can copy, print and scan separate jobs all at the same time.

Reduce costs with printers such as the Xerox ColorQube 9301 / 9302 / 9303

Advantages of a Xerox multifunction printer

Save space – The multifunction printer offers print, scan, fax and copy functionalities in one device, allowing you to free up office space. Having all these capabilities in one device can also help the office reduce electricity consumption, thus saving you money.

Save money – Save the money you spend on cartridges and choose to use Solid Ink Technology. When you choose this alternative, money can also be saved on energy bills. Xerox has worked hard to reduce the energy consumption of solid ink printers from over 75% by an additional 42%.

Reduce Waste – With Solid Ink Technology your office can reduce its waste by up to 1/20^th. This not only has a positive effect on the office, it also allows you to give the environment a helping hand.

Quick Fact: Solid ink printers produce 90% less waste than conventional laser printers and generate 23 pounds of waste, compared to 450 pounds by a laser printer.

If that isn’t enough, we here at First Choice can offer you some amazing printer leasing rates removing the need to buy the printer outright. Enjoy speed and efficiency with credit being approved and contracts put in place within 30 minutes. Take a hassle free approach and let First Choice organise the paperwork with suppliers and liaise with them through delivery and payment. Take flexible and tailored finance agreements with First Choice. Enjoy a one stop shop with finance, servicing and main point of contact all under the First Choice umbrella and take advantage of an easy upgrade process with First Choice recommending upgrades to help improve your business efficiencies.

There are so many benefits of leasing a printer with us here at First Choice, especially when leasing starts from as little as £12 a month. Have 2012 get off to a great start by calling us today on 0800 072 3747.

The scanning device can scan up to 25ppm and 44 images per minute in duplex mode. The Xerox DocuMate 3125 also includes a 50-page automatic document feeder that accepts various-sized items from business cards to A4 documents and can be folded closed when not in use, generating a small footprint of 11.2" x 6.7" x 6.5".

Notifications can be generated as the Double Feed Detection technology can tell the user when more than one page is being scanned at one time, which can also prevent unexpected dropped pages.

If ease of use is what you look for in a scanner, you will be pleased to know that the Visioneer OneTouch software makes it easy to manage scanning jobs, simply with the touch of a button.

John Capurso, vice president of marketing at Visioneer, a Xerox licensing partner said: "The new Xerox DocuMate 3125 was designed to meet corporate compliance requirements, streamline workflow and improve overall office productivity.

"It is an extremely affordable solution for organisations looking for ways to constantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations."

Instant Cloud Storage Options

With the touch of one button users can scan and automatically upload paper documents to popular cloud destinations, thanks to the Visioneer CONNECT links for Visioneer OneTouch. The Visioneer CONNECT links include:

• Google Docs™
• Evernote®
• FilesAnywhere™
• OfficeDrop
• DropBox

All cloud links are certified and available for free download.

Intuitive Productivity Software

The software bundle includes:

• Visioneer Acuity to provide advanced image enhancement
• Visioneer DriverPLUS to enable sophisticated integration with your operating system and applications
• Certified TWAIN, ISIS and WIA drivers enable communication with hundreds of enterprise content management and document image management software solutions
• You will also find Nuance PaperPort® and OmniPage® Pro OCR are provided in the bundle

With this software the DocuMate 3125 improves information accessibility, management and collaboration by protecting sensitive information, streamlining expense reports and receipt submissions and increasing security and control of paper document and ID card capture for Healthcare applications.

First Choice Business Systems are an authorised Xerox concessionaire who supply top quality print solutions for office and print production environments. If you would like more information about the products they supply and the services they provide, please contact First Choice Business Systems on 0808 231 8491.



Jake Durrant, senior lecturer at Ravensbourne Digital Design College said: "3D printing in general has been around since 1986 or thereabouts. But the uptake in industry has been governed by the disposable budgets of companies, so aerospace and Formula One were some of the first."

Alpha Form is one company that constructs car parts for teams such as McLaren and Red Bull and used rapid prototyping to help keep up with the evolving design of the racing cars. Jon Fidler, a previous employee of Alpha Form said: "Components, such as the spoilers, are very complex shapes and they can be printed within 48 hours using printers, which gives a turnaround of days rather than weeks compared to using more traditional methods of production."

Over the years, not only has the name of the technology changed, it has also become accessible to a wider market, due to the technology being improved and simplified. Since 2004 the shoe company, Converse has used 3D printers to get more products to market at a quicker pace. Alessi has also benefitted from the technology, using it to improve its best-selling La Cupola coffee-maker for 70% less cost and in a fraction of the time.

One of the key innovators in bringing 3D printing to the masses was Adrian Bowyer, a lecturer from Bath University. In 2004, Bowyer invented the machine RepRap. It could print around 50% of its own parts, and in 2008 it successfully managed to print itself. With the ability to self-replicate, it meant that unlike earlier 3D printers, the RepRap offered little financial gain. It is for this reason that Bowyer decided to make his designs openly accessible to all, allowing him to adapt and develop his design collectively.

Not only has the machine been simplified and improved, so too has the software making the design process a lot easier. Even search engine giant has capitalised on this and now offers Sketchup!, a user-friendly and free software download. Erik de Bruijn, one of the first RepRappers to replicate functional parts said: "Design is getting more and more accessible. There are a number of websites that don't even have to install software – you can just start drawing straight away. Or if you don't want to create your own design, you can download one of 11,000 online. There is a massive sharing culture with 3D printing, which is forming the building blocks for a new age of design."

Even start-up companies have benefitted from the accessible RepRap. Many garages, through using the technology, have been able to produce affordable, open source machines that they have been able to build themselves. De Bruijn continued: "The RepRap was a very good breeding ground for innovation but at same time very chaotic for new users," says Erik de Bruijn, who was one of the first RepRappers to replicate functional parts. "So I decided to create the Ultimaker which enables users to get printing in a single day – it wasn't designed to self replicate."

According to Bre Pettis, founder of Makerbot, when they started using 3D printing they just wanted to make the cheapest 3D printer kit that anyone could put together, but now, they're making their printers even better. Mr Pettis said: "It's good for business to give our users access to our plans and design files. They're our R&D department, so we get to benefit from any changes they make."

When talking about his second-generation printer, Mr Pettis said: "It has 90% of the functionality of professional printers, but at 1% of the price," says Pettis. These prices aren't just democratising 3D printing; they're democratising manufacturing. "We make 3D printers to offer an alternative to consumerism," Pettis continues. "Nearly three years after we began, there are now 6,000 folks with Makerbots and they get to make a choice between buying something and 3D designing and printing it."

"We live in a throwaway culture, and I think Makerbot interrupts that. It adds value to what you already have by fixing them."

The Makerbot community is also working on ways to recycle leftover plastic and other household materials that can be used to create more useful products. If this is successful people will be able to minimise costs and reduce their carbon footprints as it will encourage local recycling, instead of shipping it round the world for it to then be shipped back.

With 3D printing, manufacturers can make products quickly and easily, which also gives the consumer the opportunity to make more demands on design. Bram De Zwart, the product manager at Dutch design company Freedom of Creation says that until now, products have been pushed into the market, leading to high levels of waste production. "3D printing enables much more of a pull distribution instead, so consumers can buy products that are really tailored," he says.

Alice Taylor, founder of a London based games and toy company, MakieLab agrees that 3D printing removes the risk element of mass production, as you can print according to demand. "With traditional toys, the company comes up with an advert first to test it out. They then run the design over to China, where it is made in large numbers. Manufacturers are gambling on the fact that the end customer still wants the product. But by using 3D printing you don't have to make anything until they've hit 'buy', so it tips the whole process on its head."

This is also good news for startup companies, as they can produce something for very little cost and test the market before filling a warehouse with products that might not sell.

First Choice Business Systems are specialists in Xerox business printers and can offer advice on the best printing solutions for your company. Contact them today on 0808 231 8491 for your free consultation.