All-in-one machines aren’t really copiers, after all. If you really want a copier, just get a copier. Any good workgroup printer will do just don’t rely on a cheap laser printer unless you’ll never need to print large batches of documents quickly.
Then you will wish you spent the money on a good laser printer. It just isn’t very good at scanning, which is what you will be doing with it most of the time.Īs for the printer, nearly any good laser printer will do - until you are trying to print out four copies of all your exhibits the night before a deposition or trial. Once you use it, you’ll understand why your brilliant plan to save money with a printer/scanner/copier/fax machine is so misguided. And while it’s all well and good to shop around, in the end there’s only one you should buy: the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500. If you are serious about going paperless - and it is hard to imagine why you wouldn’t be - you need a serious, dedicated document scanner. What you’re left with is an okay printer and a not-very-good scanner.
They add more things to the hardware that can break, and they add stuff you don’t need to to the software you use to operate the combo unit. Those unnecessary functions are just bloatware. Use an electronic fax service like HelloFax and you’ll never miss having a fax machine (or the cost of paper, supplies, and an extra phone line). Then you can print as many copies as you need, whenever you need to.įax machines, however, are not worth having any longer. It will save time in the long run if you just scan documents and save them to your computer. But you should be scanning everything anyway. That is fine if you do not have digital files.
You probably just need a scanner and printer.Ĭopying is just scanning and printing without bothering to save the document in between. You can be more productive with a ScanSnap and a good laser printer than you can be with a typical all-in-one machine.įirst, you probably do not need a scanner, printer, copier, and fax machine. But when it comes to scanners, printers, and copiers, it is better to buy dedicated machines. Lawyers often choose all-in-one solutions when buying hardware and software, probably because it feels cost-effective to get a bunch of things bundled into one package.