Cheapest Way to Get a Printer for a Medical Practice

eris on 11/05/2023 - 14:36

The medical practice I work for is moving to a new a office and we need a decent workhorse printer for 2-3 staff. ie. document feeder for medium/fast scanning, colour printing, wireless. We may also use it for faxing.

Xerox supplies the hospital we are currently at and I'm waiting on a quote from them. Xerox's printers at this location are aging a bit and have been a bit hit and miss, experiencing technical problems.

Would it ultimately be easier to shop around suppliers and lease one? Or are there decent refurb/second hand deals out there to buy one outright? The boss is very money conscious at the moment and wants to reduce any expenditure as much as possible. Just wondering what the cheapest option would be (we are located outside the major capital cities).

Computing Printer

Comments

  • Jolakot on 11/05/2023 - 14:53
    +6

    Is he looking to reduce overall costs or upfront costs? That's really the only factor here

    • HeWhoKnows on 12/05/2023 - 08:22
      +3

      Considreing…
      "Xerox's printers at this location are aging a bit and have been a bit hit and miss, experiencing technical problems"

      Is reliability the most important issue?

      Seems like OP is NOT the decision maker here.
      Just opting to get involved.
      Or has OP been given the job of finding a new printer?

      Somehow I dont think OPs boss is going to listen to anyone here on OB
      And OP is going to cop any flack when things go wrong

      Hence OP needs to get some online professional reviews to present to the boss and let them decide
      Or ask other medical practices what they are using and how they have found them to run

  • plmko on 11/05/2023 - 14:55
    +10

    I would lease it with support. Because if you do the right thing and buy the cheapest…..guess who's going to be defacto IT support?

    • eris on 11/05/2023 - 15:08

      Yeah, you've got a point there.

  • Gnostikos on 11/05/2023 - 14:56
    +4

    You need to clarify a few things first.

    Do you need an all-in-one desktop printer/scanner (e.g this) or do you actually mean a photocopier/MFP (e.g. this)?

    I can't imagine buying directly from an OEM like Xerox is going to save money for a practice of 2-3 staff as you're too small of a business to be doing a sufficiently high monthly print volume where you can negotiate aggressive pricing discounts.

    If you're thinking of a desktop all-in-one printer, I'd go with Brother. If you want a photocopier/MFP, I'd go with Konica Minolta.
    Having worked for a bunch of MSPs, these brands tend to have the least amount of issues. I'd stay away from HP, especially for desktop printers given their recent introduction of having to register for HP accounts before you can actually use them.

    Whether you want to purchase the printer as part of a managed print contract/maintenance agreement with a service provider (which would include technical support and possibly consumables) is another question though for a small business like yours, I'd imagine this is going to be too costly, especially given your boss' cost-saving stance.

    I'd say it'd be more affordable and make more sense for a business of your size to buy a printer outright as a cap ex and maintain it yourselves with the caveat that you do plenty of research and buy a reliable model with an established track record for longevity. A 2-3 person practice really doesn't need to be upgrading printers every 3 years or even every 5 years as you're just not going to be doing the print volume necessary to mechanically wear out the serviceable parts in the average workhorse printer to the point where it reaches EOL prematurely.

    • Clear on 11/05/2023 - 20:20
      +4

      I manage hundreds of practices around the country and I agree with your recommendations. Brother are an inexpensive option if you're after the all in one type printer to sit on a desk. While for a bigger photocopier style printer a Konica Minolta is more suitable.

      Some FUJIFILM Business (Fuji Xerox) print service providers do offer really good prices. You just have to shop around a lot.

  • Wiadro on 11/05/2023 - 14:57

    i dunno gumtree or fb marketplace

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/05/2023 - 15:09
    +2

    What’s your role in the place? Just get the boss to cough up for the highest tier tech supported option. It’s usually available on monthly plan and cash flow friendly…

    It’s all tax deductible typically** and ain’t no one got time to fk around turning things in and off again in frustration while trying to get it to work in a normal workplace let alone a medical practice.

    **not financial advise see an accountant

    Also fwiw all the xerox machines I have used in previous workplaces have been the bane of my existence

    • Muzeeb on 11/05/2023 - 15:39
      +6

      **not financial advise see an accountant

      I see what you did there.

      I bet the practice owners don't give a rats about their Audi A5 repayments but quibble over anything that would make their receptionist jobs easier and more efficient.

      • soan papdi on 11/05/2023 - 15:50
        +2

        That makes cents. Cheers.

  • bargaino on 11/05/2023 - 15:16
    +9

    OK, first thing: stop saying it is for a medical practise. That should immediately knock 50% off what you're being quoted.

  • jv on 11/05/2023 - 15:21

    Cheapest Way to Get a Printer for a Medical Practice

    Bulk Bill

  • [Deactivated] on 11/05/2023 - 15:24

    We may also use it for faxing.

    Do you want a brand new or used printer?

  • stratbargain on 11/05/2023 - 15:26

    Xerox don't sell in Australia. It used to be Fuji Xerox, now rebranded as FujiFilm (Business Innovations).

    You really need to consider how important printing/faxing etc is for you. I'd argue for a medical practice it's a critical piece of technology. Especially knowing how reliant they can be on fax.

    The point of buying a device on a service agreement means you have a fixed price per print (toner included) and you have SLA's around servicing if there is an issue (normally < 4 hours within Metro)

    Sure you can go to Officeworks and buy a device for $300 that will probably meet your basic needs. But what happens if it breaks?

    • Gnostikos on 11/05/2023 - 15:40
      +1

      The point of buying a device on a service agreement means you have a fixed price per print (toner included) and you have SLA's around servicing if there is an issue (normally < 4 hours within Metro)

      Managed printed contracts/maintenance agreements are typically thousands of dollars per year, even for entry-level printers and especially if consumables are included.
      I've never seen a managed print contract that didn't start at around $1,500 annually and that's minus additional scope/coverage and extras.

      I just can't imagine that a 2-3 person practice has that kind of money to throw around, especially given that the OP mentioned their boss is a penny pincher.

      I do agree with you that their printer is probably a mission-critical piece of equipment but you have to remember that over the course of a typical managed print contract's term (usually 3 years), with the amount of money spent on that contract this practice could have bought and replaced a dozen printers that would probably work perfectly well for their needs.

      Hell they could buy one expensive mid-range printer, buy another as hot spare plus some replacement parts, if they're that concerned about printer downtime affecting their bottom line and it'd still be way cheaper than a managed print contract over 3-5 years.

      The other factor to keep in mind is that managed print service providers are all about keeping you locked in with them for the long-term; that's where their real profits are made. Every time a managed print contract comes up for renewal, the copy costs go up by at least a few cents per copy which equates to an annual increase of at least several hundred dollars; the same way that your insurance premiums for your home/car go up every single year. You have to keep shopping around every single year to find a better deal and/or negotiating with the current provider and that becomes a major pain in the ass too.

  • Seraphin7 on 11/05/2023 - 16:05
    +2

    For two or three people, I'd consider getting two or three "decent" home printers that do the jobs you want.

    Effectively assign one to each person, and you end up with instant fallback arrangements if one machine goes bung.

  • TSH on 11/05/2023 - 16:30
    +5

    Indian boss?
    I know a handful of these doctors and they whine and bitch about payroll tax, trust funds, rents, printers and staff internet usage.
    You'd have tears in your eyes about the poverty they endure everyday.

    • bobbified on 11/05/2023 - 18:13

      At the risk of being called racist, I laughed out loud when I read that first bit! haha

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 11/05/2023 - 18:17
    -1

    TIL businesses still use fax.

    • AustriaBargain on 11/05/2023 - 18:42
      +3

      There are cloud services that will turn incoming faxes into emails, and turn outgoing emails into faxes and some doctors use it. I know because the fax number I got used to belong to a doctor and I keep getting medical records faxed to me. I call up the people faxing them and they are just like "wut".

      Doctors/clinics may be legally obliged to use actual fax machines, or they may not, I wouldn't have a clue.

      And before you ask I have it because I need to send a few faxes a handful of times a year and I was sick of going to the post office to send them. And having a fax number on my business card makes my business seem much older than it really is, fortunately I was provisioned a fax number with an Adelaide code so it looks like a real fax line.

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 11/05/2023 - 19:54
        -1

        Cool story. Which part of 'cloud services that will turn incoming faxes into emails, and turn outgoing emails into faxes' have to do with a printer?

        • AustriaBargain on 11/05/2023 - 20:03
          +1

          I thought the reader could infer, but if the clinic used a cloud fax service then they wouldn't need a printer that can fax, only one that can scan. Incoming faxes would go to the email inbox at reception desk, and outgoing faxes would be scanned then emailed by reception staff using the same email client or the web interface for the cloud fax service even.

          And they should have a device that can scan from a feeder because they may one day be asked to scan a 100 page medical history or something.

    • Clear on 11/05/2023 - 20:17
      +1

      If you want to meet RACGP/accreditation requirements then fax is considered to be "secure" unlike unencrypted email. Fax to email services are more commonly used now, as well as password protected zip files in email and secure messaging services like Healthlink.

      Healthlink is worth a mention as that's commonly used by specialists/hospitals and very secure. While fax, encrypted email and discs in the mail are more common with GP to GP communication.

  • AustriaBargain on 11/05/2023 - 18:40
    +2

    I hope you are asking this on the clock. You shouldn't even be thinking about work printers when you're not being paid for it.

  • payless69 on 11/05/2023 - 19:57
    -1

    Xerox invented pinch zoom! (Steve Jobs could or would never explain)
    Humans are now zombies of their phones!
    Up to you if you want to reward the inventor!

    • AustriaBargain on 11/05/2023 - 20:07

      Steve Jobs did not try to hide or deny that the ideas for the Macintosh and Lisa came from Xerox. In fact, he openly acknowledged the influence of Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) on the development of the Macintosh. Jobs famously visited Xerox PARC in 1979 and was shown the Alto computer, which had a graphical user interface (GUI) and a mouse. Jobs was impressed by what he saw and recognized the potential of this technology for personal computing. He later brought several members of the Macintosh team to Xerox PARC to see the technology for themselves.

      Jobs gave credit to Xerox PARC for their work on the GUI and mouse, but he also believed that Apple improved on these concepts and made them more accessible to the average user. In a 1994 interview with Rolling Stone, Jobs said, "I mean, they [Xerox] had it all there. And they invented it. We just grabbed a few things they hadn't thought of yet and did it first."

    • PVA on 11/05/2023 - 20:14
      +2

      What?

  • Darayus on 12/05/2023 - 11:20
    +3

    Avoid service plans for printers, you need a multi-function printer machine.

    There are various suppliers who can supply you outright, such as Sharp, Cannon, and Toshiba ask for a small printer with A4 paper monochrome or colour.

    When you buy from the service plan they offer you very cheap honeymoon rates with hidden standard monthly cost or minimum copies cost ( which they mentioned as small print) which can be anything like $ 400 to $ 600 pm.

    Some companies also charge you for scanning your documents ( which is weird);

    Very difficult to exit the contract once signed, they will keep increasing service cost year on year sometime more than 50% to justify an increase in operation cost to maintain and thereafter forced you to upgrade to the new machine after 3 years.

    I had gone through their nightmare moment you try to close their contract you will receive a very long letter from their legal teams about compliances and their cost such as sending the machine back to their warehouse ( which will be interstate) via the fragile handling company the cost will go north of '000.

    3-6 months notice period for cancellation and they will stop supporting you for the last 3 months and you have to continue to pay them as per contract.

    I strongly recommend not signing any use-by basis and remember there are various photocopier companies who are happy to sell you their machine outright.

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