19 Sep Should Architecture Firms Lease or Buy Wide-Format Printers?
Investing in a high-quality wide format printer is crucial for your architecture firm. Owning a printer allows you to overcome challenges like excessive outsourcing costs, printing and delivery delays, and poor quality prints. Whether you own a small, boutique firm or are in charge of equipment acquisitions for a national company, you can streamline operations and offer a higher level of client services by investing in a reliable wide format printer.
But you may be wondering what is right for your firm: buying or leasing a wide format printer? At Arizona Business Equipment, we worked with many architecture firms, and are here to highlight the pros and cons of either solutions!
Pros of Buying a Wide Format Printer
Buying a printer offers you full control over the work you do in-house. You can invest in the exact model you want and upgrade it as needed to enhance its features and settings. You may also have a higher return on your investment if you intend to use your printer for a long period of time.
Did you know that every time you use a wide-format printer its cost per use decreases, and it becomes a better asset for your company? This complete control over your printer — as well as its maintenance and repair schedule — offers your firm the unique advantage to invest in a piece of equipment that will improve your business’s offerings.
Cons of Buying a Wide Format Printer
Buying a wide format printer requires a significant upfront investment. If you can’t afford to buy a top-of-the-line printer, you may end up with one that is smaller and less powerful than what you really need. If you decide to finance, that could end up tying up your capital in monthly payments which could impact your business’s bottom line.
If the printer breaks down and you can’t afford to fix it, you could face immense downtime and inefficiencies that could cost you money and clients. Additionally, your printer may become outdated long before you recoup your initial investment.
Pros of Leasing a Wide Format Printer
Leasing a printer requires less of an upfront cost, and preserves your financing and cash for other expenses. You can also “try before you buy” and use the lease period as an opportunity to try out features and determine if the printer is right for the unique needs of your firm. At the end of the lease term, you can choose to buy the printer, continue your lease with an upgraded printer, or walk away with no further obligation.
Cons of Leasing a Wide Format Printer
A printer lease agreement requires a commitment of three to five years. This means that for that period, you are tied to the model you choose. A lease may also result in higher long-term costs if your printer requires costly repairs. In the end, you may spend more on your lease than you would if you had bought a printer outright. Plus, because you don’t own the printer, you can’t sell it or consider it an asset to your business. You are beholden to the terms of your lease agreement and have limited customization options as well as potential usage limitations.
There are the pros and cons of buying or leasing a wide-format printer. There really is no one size fits all in this discussion, and every firm has to find what is right for them and their needs. If you still have questions on whether to buy or lease, or just need to learn more about the benefits of a wide format printer in Tucson, AZ, our team at Arizona Business Equipment can help! We have worked with hundreds of architectural firms throughout Southern Arizona to help them find the printer leasing or purchasing options that work for them. Call us at (520) 888-2679 or contact us online to get started.