Are you worried about whether you can afford to upgrade your office equipment? The better question is: can you afford not to? Technology like copiers and printers work quietly in the background of your office, right up until they stop. Then that glitchy or dead device brings employee workflows to a grinding halt.

‘Downtime’ is a dirty word in the business world. Every minute that people in your office are struggling with malfunctioning equipment is a minute lost forever. More technical problems or serious failures can mean days of downtime, missed deadlines, and money down the drain.

Regular maintenance and upgrading worn-out office equipment are often one of the first things trimmed from a tight budget. They’re also the cuts you’re most likely to regret making. To keep work flowing, you need to invest in the devices on which your business relies.

Office Equipment Remains Critical for Business Workflows

It may be a new millennium, but traditional office equipment is still key to a successful business. Modern printers and other devices may have become much more sophisticated, but they aren’t sticking around because of all the bells and whistles. Companies rely on this equipment for basic processes that are critical in every industry.

Even businesses embracing digital files need to handle some types of paper documents. Scanning, printing, faxing, and other processes come up daily. On any given workday, your company may need to:

• Fax a contract to a demanding client who strongly prefers having paper copies of everything
• Scan in old tax files to free up space in the file storage room
• Print highly accurate engineering blueprints
• Back up proprietary company data in paper print-outs kept in a safe
• Produce a wide variety of paper goods, from envelopes with customized greetings to glossy color pamphlets for a coming trade show

Paper-based systems have been used for centuries. Even the younger generations in the workforce are comfortable using this equipment. When computers became commonplace worldwide, people predicted they would eventually replace paper systems. Instead, businesses are using paper and digital together in a hybrid approach that combines the strengths of both.

Office equipment increases efficiency and enables a variety of workplace processes. When this equipment breaks down, all of these processes are affected. Downtime, which comes in many forms, can hit your business hard and sink productivity across the board.

What Downtime is Really Costing You

What is downtime? It’s an unplanned period in which employees are idle. They’re on the clock, but they aren’t working. Downtime can happen for various reasons, from power outages to equipment breakdowns. Some people also think of unproductive effort as downtime. For example, the hour an employee spent on hold with your printer supplier after the machine broke down wasn’t exactly productive.

However, catastrophic equipment failure isn’t the only cause of downtime. Inefficient equipment can also slow down workplace processes and cause downtime throughout the workday. This can include:

• Waiting for an ailing industrial printer to boot up
• Having to re-do a big print or scanning job because the pages were illegible
• Fruitlessly hunting for patches for defunct software

Downtime costs your business money, but that is just the start of the problem. It can trigger a domino effect of lost productivity. Office equipment is used for so many different processes. You may have a line of employees waiting impatiently for it to come back online.

Jobs may not get started unless and until that contract is printed out. Deadlines may be missed, deadlines that customers planned their schedule around. If you produce goods for other companies, they may also find themselves at loose ends while you sort out your equipment problems.

Regular maintenance can help prevent a lot of downtime-inducing problems. Technicians can keep the printers clean, troubleshoot issues you’re having, check the device’s security, and more. They can also replace parts that are worn out and in danger of failing.

However, maintenance isn’t always your best option. There comes a time when office equipment may still work, but it’s no longer an asset to your company. These basic, old-fashioned devices are costing more and more while holding you back and compromising your data security.

Is Upgrading Your Office Equipment A Good Decision?

Office equipment, especially industrial or complex devices, can be a pricey investment. Is it worth the cost when you have old machines still working? Here are a few reasons to consider making an upgrade:

• It’s just a matter of time before that old machine fails. Even worse, it will probably fail during times of high use, which is when you need it the most.
• Modern equipment has superior capabilities, from image quality to the speed at which it handles documents. Productivity can increase as employees are no longer bogged down with a slow device.
• Old equipment is notoriously energy-inefficient. You may see significant utility savings if you replace a half-dozen ancient devices with one multifunction printer.
• Modern equipment is designed to be intuitive to operate. It can also be easier to troubleshoot, as sophisticated computers give more specific and helpful error messages.
• Old devices with out-of-date security patches are a favorite target for hackers. Modern office equipment comes with software designed to thwart all their tricks. These devices also give you tools for greater control over where your company data goes and who can see it.

Office equipment like printers is critical for modern business workflows. Because this equipment is relied on by many people, breakdowns can trigger a cascade of downtime throughout your company. You can reduce costly downtime through maintenance. However, you may be better off upgrading to equipment that can do more for your Mill Creek business than basic functions.

If you’re thinking about upgrading your Mill Creek business’s office equipment, contact Copiers Etcetera today. One of our office technology experts will be happy to discuss your options.