Expanding your business is no easy task.  But for those business owners who decide that expansion is the right move, one must make careful decisions when looking at the resources currently used in the business and be practical when adding or eliminating resources. Even small decisions made in the wrong direction can be the difference between growth and defeat.

One such resource that is often misused or just plain overlooked is the office printer.  Utilized properly and efficiently, this piece of equipment can save money, manpower and prevent adding unnecessary expenses that most business owners may feel are unavoidable. Here are just 3 ways your office printer can help you expand your business without having to expand your wallet:

• Postage…Do more in less time
• Producing New Marketing Materials In-House...Save $$
• Purchase an All-in-One Printer…the Upgrade that keeps on giving

Postage is a common expense for most small businesses that increases dramatically when adding the actual cost of postage to the labor involved getting mailings out.  Larger businesses endure the expense of procuring their own postage meter from the United States Postal Service and loading it with pre-paid postage via telephone or online. This is efficient, but also costly.  Small business owners make trips to the Post Office which is cost effective, but not as efficient. The solution? Register the business and create an account with the U.S. Postal Service online www.usps.com. Business owners can buy stamps, create mailing lists and print postage right from the office printer and request a pickup of the mail each day.  Printing postage from your office printer saves time and money.

Producing New Marketing Materials In-House can seem quite daunting.  As well it is tempting to outsource this task to a mass print company or copy store in an effort to save time.  The problem is that although some manpower is conserved, one usually must purchase a large volume of materials to see any value.  Print items such as business cards, letterhead, etc. that will not change are worth the volume. NEW Marketing Materials, Flyers and Brochures announcing the expansion, specials or promotions are not needed in large quantities, as they will change over time to reflect new promotions and ads as your expansion progresses. Tip: Print these items using black ink on colored paper to control the cost of ink.

Purchase an All-in-One-Printer; otherwise know as a Print/Copy/Fax machine. Although this is a suggested expense, it is one piece of equipment that a growing small business cannot do without. An All-in-One will allow you to streamline the way that your company paper trail is handled as a one stop shop for multiple tasks, saving time.  Having only one machine will save electricity; thus saving money.  Finally, one machine, one type of ink; needless to say the potential for savings are endless.

Proper use of your office printer can aid your expansion, save time and money; Money that perhaps in the not-so-distant future could be used to take a well deserved vacation.

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For many, the idea of starting their own business is an exciting prospect. For once you’re able to be the boss and to design your own schedule. You’re solely responsible for the amount of money that you are able to earn and the potential that your business has also rests on your shoulder. Many are so excited to own their own business that they often don’t sit and contemplate the things that they’re going to need in order to ensure that their business is a success. One thing that many forget about is the printer. The Role of the Printer In Business When you’ve got a business, having a high quality printer is very important. Almost all businesses can make constant use of a printer. Say, for instance, that you’re a carpenter. You may at first believe that a carpenter would have no need of a printer, but this is not so. A carpenter often needs to print out their invoices, or needs to print out a list of materials that is needed. Some use printers to print out the diagram of what their proposed design would look like, while others use their printer to print business cards to pass out. If you have a printer that is just “okay”, you’ll like wind up having to purchase a new one in short order, as most printers that are good for home use don’t hold up enough to be able to print constantly, which is often something that home business owners find themselves doing. The Right Printer When you’re searching for a new printer, the first thing you need to figure out is what you need your printer to do. Do you need it to be able to simply print things? And what quality of items will you need it to print? Often if you’re only looking to print out invoices, you can get away with purchasing a less expensive printer than you would need if you were going to be printing photos or something in that vein. Do you need your printer to be able to scan or to fax as well? Printers that can do all three, print, copy, and fax, are often a bit more expensive than printers that are only designed to print, but the consumer also gets to save a bit of money as well, as they do not have to purchase three separate machines. Some, however, say that the printing quality in an all-in-one machine is not as good as it is for printers that only print. Once you’ve found the right printer for your business, make sure you figure out where you’re going to order your ink cartridges. Having a good supply of ink cartridges on hand is often very wise, so that you do not have to worry about running out of ink at an inopportune moment. Printers are very important in the business world, which is why your printer choice matters so much.

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We love our printers. We love the way they print our pictures and print our text. Pleasure or business, they certainly get a lot of use. And then it happens; you’re humming along having the best time and then out of the blue with no warning there is a problem, the paper is jammed or there are lights flashing or there is no ink on the paper. What do you do? Slamming the printer to the floor or against the wall is probably not the best option even though it might be tempting. You might have to call a tech in, but before that, look at the list below and see if you can fix the problem and save the overpriced hourly rate. Can You Say “Paper Jam”? You know the sound.  That sound of paper tearing and crunching all at the same time. You flip open the printer and, oh yeah, it’s as bad as it sounded. Fortunately, there is a way to fix the problem, and it doesn’t include a chainsaw or a sledge hammer. Turn off the machine and pull the paper gently in the same direction as the paper path. What you don’t want to do is pull the paper backwards - doing that could mess up your printer for ever. Cancel the job on your computer, and send it again. How Much Paper Will Go Through the Printer at One Time? Oh how many ways can we spell frustration? You are almost finished with a printing session; the boss has already looked in three times to see if you’re finished and then, all the paper just fed through the printer at one time. This can’t be good. Can’t help you this time, but here are a couple hints to maybe keep this from happening again. Fan the paper before you load it into the printer, this will separate the sheets. Humidity can cause the paper to stick together so storing it in a dry, cool place will help. Hey Ma, Look!  No Words! You have installed a new cartridge, and after printing the first sheet – nothing! There’s not a single letter on the page. Two things might have happened. Are you sure you got every bit of the sticker off the cartridge before you put it in the printer?  If you did then the other thing to do is clean the print head. There’s a function for that installed in the printer. Running the print head cleaner will get any air bubbles out. Why Does My Face Look So Grainy? Guess what, your printer might not be at fault on this one. If the image quality is low, then the print quality will be low. Images need to be at least 300 dpi. Any dots per inch (dpi) lower than 300 will result in a grainy print. A Smudgy Printout Are you printing images that contain a lot of vibrant, bright colors? You could have the wrong setting for the paper selected. Text printing should not be done with the setting at the highest level. If you are using photo paper, make sure you are not using the regular setting. We know this is a small list of what can make your mild mannered printer go crazy, but it’s a good starting place.

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