Photocopier prices: what a copier costs

What drives a photocopier's price

• Size. A3 machines cost more than A4.
• Speed. A machine that prints 45 pages a minute costs more than one that prints 25.
• Colour. Colour machines cost more to buy and their pages cost more to run.
• Grade. New costs most, then renewed, then refurbished, then used. An ex demo machine, when one comes through, sits close to new.
• What is fitted. A finisher, extra drawers or a large capacity tray add to the cost.
• How you pay. Outright, or spread over 36, 48 or 60 months.

The costs most buyers miss

• Minimum charges. Some agreements bill a minimum number of pages, or a minimum amount, every month, whether you print them or not.
• Price rises during the term. Many service agreements let the supplier review the cost per page during the term, often once a year. Ask how often, and by how much it can rise.
• Heavy pages. The cost per page assumes an ordinary page, mostly text. Photos and solid colour use far more toner, and some agreements charge more for them.
• Parts, labour and call outs. Check what the page cost really covers. Some agreements leave out certain parts or charge separately for labour and call outs. With no service agreement at all, every visit and every part is paid for as it happens.
• Toner delivery. Toner can be included in the page cost and still carry a delivery charge on each order.
• Getting started. Delivery, installation, network and scanning setup, and showing your team how to use it, can be charged separately. Ask whether they are in the price. With us they are.
• Insurance. On a rental or lease you usually insure the machine yourself, and pay for damage the agreement does not cover.
• The end of the term. Some agreements roll on at the full payment until you give notice. Some charge to collect the machine or to wipe its hard drive.
• Leaving early. The payout is usually most of the payments left, plus any service charges still owing.
• Finance fees. Some finance agreements add a setup or documentation fee.
• Software. Secure printing, scanning software and cloud connections are sometimes a separate monthly charge.

None of these is unusual, and none should be a surprise. Ask any supplier, us included, to put each one in writing before you sign. The full agreement checklist.

The running cost matters as much as the price

Over three to five years, what an office pays to run a copier can add up to as much as what it pays for the machine, and in a busy office far more. The running cost is the cost per page, which covers toner, parts and repairs on a service agreement.

A machine that is cheap to buy can be dear to run. When you compare quotes, ask every supplier for the black and white and colour page costs in writing, and what they include.

Photocopier monthly cost

Your monthly cost is the rental or lease payment plus the pages you print. In a quiet office the payment is usually the larger part; in a busy office the pages are, often by a long way. Tell us your volumes and we will work out both for you.

Why there are no prices on our machines

Every machine is different: its page count, what is fitted to it, and how you want to pay. Rather than print a figure that does not fit you, we give you the figures for your situation, in writing, for two or three machines. It takes a short phone call or the form on this page.