While we are all being encouraged to reduce our printing and paper waste, the concept of a paperless office remains a myth. Over the past 20 years, paper usage has increased or remained steady in most offices rather than decreased. Here’s why you still need a printer in your office in 2025, and why a centralized, fully managed, and integrated office copier and printer is now the most affordable and efficient way to manage your printing needs.

Why Do You Need an Office Copier?

Despite the prevalence of computers and digital documents, your team still needs paper to have a physical backup version of important information. And leasing a high-performance, centralized office copier is the most affordable and effective way to meet those needs.

Hard Copies, Redundancy, and Backups

While most businesses keep track of their records digitally with strict version control and an accessible digital document library, these systems can fail. While we are all building redundancies into our networks, computers, and devices storing crucial documents can crash unexpectedly, making essential documents inaccessible in an emergency, which is where hard copies can save the day.

But hard copies of essential records, such as financial documents and legal agreements, aren’t just useful during a technology failure; in some circumstances, they are required. For example, the IRS requires businesses to keep hard copies of filed documents for at least three years.

Meanwhile, an office copier with an integrated scanner can also help bridge the gap between online and paper filings, allowing you to digitize hard copies, upload them digitally, and send them to customers and clients for their signature.

A centralized office printer means that team members are never left wondering how they will print essential documents in an emergency. Good printers also offer prioritization, allowing team members to override existing print jobs, even when they are in process, if more important documents are needed immediately.

Enhanced Security

When printing sensitive documentation, whether it be financial records or your business’s latest valuable intellectual property (IP), you need complete control over who has access to the documents.

Standard printers can represent a risk, as documents sent to them usually are printed immediately. They remain there until the person who sent the print job is available to pick them up. This means that, deliberately or accidentally, anyone can view sensitive materials such as HR documentation or confidential letters while they are waiting or just passing by.

A good office copier should allow team members to send sensitive documents with password authorization to handle so that the documents can only be printed when the authorized user arrives at the copier to type in the password and retrieve them. This minimizes risk and enhances the security of your business’s data.

Improved Green Credentials

A good printer can reduce paper waste and the use of related printing products like ink and toner. Compared to individual desktop printers, larger copiers, and printers tend to be more compatible with using sustainable materials. For example, they often have multiple paper sources and print modes for team members to choose from.

You can encourage team members to choose eco-friendly options when producing review documents and also give them access to higher-quality print options for materials going to stakeholders.

Features like automated double-sided printing, collating, and stapling also mean less paper waste.

Established Audit Trail

A central office printer also allows you to maintain an audit trail for your printing activities, letting you track where printing tasks are being sent from. This can help you identify sources of unnecessary printing and copying, enabling you to implement new policies to reduce printing costs and paper waste.

Easy Management

There are few things worse than attempting to print something only to realize that you are low on ink or toner and will have to wait for more to arrive or find an alternative printing solution.

This risk is reduced with a managed office copier, as your service provider should keep you stocked with essential materials based on your print load. In addition, you can stock up on printing supplies you know will be used by your central printing service, rather than stocking up on one-off supplies that are only used on specific printers in individual offices, which can result in waste.

With a locally managed service, you can also expect an immediate response from your office copier provider if something goes wrong with your printer.

Increased Options

If you don’t have a good in-house printer and office copier, you can also be limiting yourself and your business. Having to rely on outsourcing small tasks like producing letters, brochures, and other print materials can be a barrier to business growth and can certainly use up valuable time and money. If you outsource, you may be overpaying for simple print jobs that could easily have been managed in-house.

Better Standardization and Professionalism

Standardized printed materials also add to the professional image of your business. Every communication sent out should look like it came from the same place, with a consistent look and feel. An in-house printer gives you complete control over your print quality.

Staff Wellbeing

Depending on what your team is working on, they can also benefit from producing hard copies in-house. Reading long and complex documents on screens can be bad for the eyes, concentration, and productivity. Being able to mark up a hard copy of an important document can reduce human error and facilitate thorough review.

While we might all dream of a paperless office, humans weren’t designed to look at screens all day, and offering print, when necessary, can enhance both productivity and well-being.

Find the Best Office Copier for Your Business Today

While printers remain an essential piece of office equipment, they can be expensive, especially if you find that you need to upgrade your printer as your business needs change. This is why leasing an office copier is often the smartest, most cost-effective option. You can get access to the latest technology through a fully managed service, which means that if anything goes wrong, help is just a phone call or an email away.

Copiers Etcetera serves the Mill Creek area with a guaranteed emergency response time to ensure that your essential printing and copying services are always available. Reach out to us for all your copier needs.