The Many Possibilities of Multifunction Printers

Today’s technological consumers want more: more from their phones, more from their computers, more from their printers. In a day and age when our electronics go so far beyond their once-intended use, it comes as no surprise that a machine that sits in our office produces not only printed pages, but also makes copies, scans, and sends faxes. An even more obscure fact, however, is that the multifunction printer, or MFP, can do even more to meet your office technology needs.

Printing

If your needs are more basic, for instance, if you only need a simple black and white printing capacity for in-house print material, there may not be a need to spend money on color printing. Businesses that use their printer client facing materials will most likely want to consider color capability. However, another factor to consider is that if your business only requires a small number of marketing materials, you may find that it is less expensive to outsource those as needed and only invest in an office multifunction printer that meets your day-to-day needs.

Photocopying

Of course, running copies is another common use of the office multifunction printer. It is fast and easy to run even a large batch of copies. Speeds and clarity vary by model, so it is important to consider how important these qualities are for your business.

Scanning

Using an MFP, you can easily scan documents, and email them directly as an attachment or save them to your computer or file server. Scan single-sheet documents or photos on the flatbed of the multifunction, or send muti-page documents through the document feeder. Many models will scan both sides of a page in one pass, saving you valuable time.

Faxing

Fax is still a secure way of transferring private data securely, making it a preferred method for many businesses. A multifunction printer is an easy way to continue to offer this method of communication without having a separate, standalone fax machine.

Other Capabilities

A multifunction printer’s capabilities go beyond these “big four.” Many models offer finishing capabilities such as folding, stapling or binding.

Once you've decided on your equipment, you can make the most of it by integrating complementary software. If you will be using your MFP for a lot of scanning tasks, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software recognizes both typed and hand-written documents that have been scanned, so they become searchable and available for filing and indexing. Additionally, document management software enables automated workflows that can use OCR to link files to pre-existing records (name, date, invoice number, etc.).

Knowing all of the functionalities of your device can help streamline your workflows and help your business run more efficiently. If you'd like to start browsing available models and their specifications, see our product catalog