​Printers and print costs are often a point of contention between a business owner and his or her accountant. If your business is churning enough hardcopy to make daily trips to a print shop impractical, then it's tempting to overindulge on a do-everything multi-purpose print device.

For print purists, a colour laser printer with scanner and fax, capable of outputting on A3 is the ultimate device. But it's also an expensive device. On the other end of the scale is the basic monochrome laser - a dependable workhouse that does A4 printouts and not much more.

For businesses like architects, builders or anyone who needs hardcopies of complex spreadsheets or other tables, A3 can mean the difference between squinting at something illegible, and communicating vital information clearly.

But when you go A3 you have to pay a massive premium - until now that is. Fuji Xerox DocuCentre S2520 strikes a balance between cheap dependability and flexible capability.

It's a multifunction device with scanner and fax on board, it can output to A3, and because its monochrome a single page costs less than a cent to print.

What's more, with a lease, a business can get an Fuji Xerox DocuCentre S2520 in the office for less than $2 a day.

While its footprint is closer to photocopier than desktop printer, the Fuji Xerox DocuCentre S2520 actually is a desktop device. It's not especially heavy and it ships with a single paper bin built-in. Additional bins and a wheeled stand can be added on later.

Since it's a state-of-the-art laser printer it outputs at 25 pages per minute, and can be connected to a single PC via USB or, more usually, put on a network via Ethernet.

Operation can be as simple as selecting print from a word processor, or power users can make use of various collation options including stacking copies at alternating 90 degree angles for easier separation.

The single paper bin can only take one size of paper a time, but a door on the side of the printer lets the user load a few A3 (or A4) sheets when needed. For businesses that need to swap paper sizes more frequently, additional paper bins add on via simple stack.

Obviously even this device is overkill if you don't need A3 output, but if big paper could help you communicate with clients and customers, the S2520 is a cost-effective way to go about it.

Source: ​BIT (Business IT).

Large format printer uses more than 30 types of paper material. Which is the most suitable paper material that meet your current jobs requirement? Let's us give your some useful tips on difference between a glossy, semi-glossy, satin, metallic and matte photo paper.

1. Gloss – A highly shiny glossy finish which is very reflective
2. Satin– (Also referred to as lustre, Semi Gloss or Pearl) – A soft sheen paper which is half way between Gloss and Matt.
3. Matt – A totally flat finish with no sheen or reflective properties

​
Glosy Finish photo papers have a high glare finish. The higher the gloss level of the finish, the higher the glare. Photographic images will be highly colourful and deep with a wide colour gamut but If viewed from and angle in strong light conditions, some of the image will not be visible because of reflection off the surface and the viewing angle might need to be adjusted.

Satin Finish photo papers provide the full colour capability of the gloss with a wide colour gamut and high resolution. Viewing images printed on satin paper is made easier by the low glare and light reflection off this paper. Image can be seen clearly from a wider angle and are less affected by strong light conditions when viewing. When displaying images behind glass, Satin paper is better suited than gloss.
Satin papers have a wider range of glossiness and this is often referred to with different terminology such as pearl; a slightly glossier satin, or lustre which has a slightly lower satin level and is closer to matt.

Matt Finish photo paper has no sheen or finish on the surface and has an extremely low reflection property. They have a lower colour gamut capability although high resolution printing is possible. Images will appear duller on this paper and will not shine in any way. This paper is mostly used for reports, booklets and presentations where there is no “keepsake” value to the image.

The choice between gloss and satin finish is often a matter of taste. Satin paper will provide the most flexible image on a piece of paper, allowing it to be displayed in differing environments. Glossy papers are liked by many but required precise conditions in order to be viewed to its full potential. Matt papers are used in larger run prints, giveaway presentations and booklets and as a high resolution alternative to standard print inkjet paper.

More option of paper available at https://www.officedepot.com.my/papers/large-format-paper

A plotter is a graphics printer that uses a pen or pencil to draw images. Plotters differ from printers in that plotters use continuous lines to create images while printers use a collection of dots. Like printers, plotters are connected to computers and are used to produce complex images and text. However, plotters are much slower than printers because of the mechanical motion necessary to draw detailed graphics using continuous lines. Architects and product designers use plotters for technical drawings and computer-aided design purposes since plotters have the ability to create large images on oversized sheets of paper. Additionally, many garment and sign manufacturers use cutting plotters in which the plotter's pen is replaced with a sharp razorblade.

While the notion of a paperless office sounds great in principle, the reality is that many small or home office (SOHO) businesses still have a need to copy printed documents on a regular basis.
The old style standalone office copy machines have nearly disappeared in the digital age, replaced by multifunction printers that combine the functions of printing, copying, scanning, and optionally faxing into a single device.
Technically a “copier” in today’s terms is normally a printer that has a built-in scanning device so that a document to be copied can be scanned and reproduced by the printer.
As with most electronics copier/printer devices continue to decline in price yet come with more features than ever, and the convenience of copying in house rather than driving to a print/copy shop can't be beaten.
Here are the key buying factors to help you choose a printer/copier for your SOHO.

Inkjet vs Laser/LED

For high-speed copying of text documents Laser/LED printers are generally the better choice. Inkjets are capable of printing at much higher resolutions and so are more suitable for graphics and especially for photographs.

Cost

When looking at the cost of a printer/copier, it is important to take the ongoing cost of consumables into account if you plan to do more than occasional printing/copying. Manufacturers have changed tack in recent years and rather than making profits on selling printer/copiers now often sell them at cost (or even at a loss) and instead make huge profit margins on selling ink and toner.
Many units now come with ink/toner cartridges that have embedded microchips that prevent “unofficial” cartridges from being used, or have “starter” toner cartridges that have half the normal capacity. That bargain inkjet or laser doesn’t look as cheap when it comes time to replace the expensive ink or toner cartridge(s).


Color printer/copiers are particularly expensive to run as they require 4 cartridges (black and white, cyan, magenta, and yellow). It is typical for the replacement cost of inkjet/toner cartridges to exceed the purchase price of an entire unit, making printers a common resident of electronics recycling depots and landfills.  
Fortunately most ink jet and some laser toner cartridges can be refilled at a much lower cost – companies such as Costco offer one hour inkjet refills, for example. Refill kits are also available for the do-it-yourself types, but refilling inkjet or toner cartridges is messy and not for the mechanically-challenged. And you can Make Printer Ink Cartridges Last Longer with little effort.
Before you purchase a printer/copier, be sure to check the manufacturer’s published cost per page.

Volume

Most small business oriented printer/copiers aren't designed for heavy volume so check the unit's recommended usage (pages per month duty cycle). The ISO yield for the ink/toner cartridges will give you a rough idea of how often the cartridges will need replacement.
Note that even if you have an in-house printer/copier it may still make sense to use local or online copy/print services (such as Staples or UPS) for larger print/copy jobs or specialty printing such as brochures.
With the price of consumables (as described above) it is simply not cost effective to do large volume printing/copying on less expensive printers/copiers, particularly with color documents or photographs. Purchasing a lower cost printer/copier for basic needs and outsourcing larger print/copy jobs is an ideal compromise for most small businesses - running off 500 copies of a color business brochure is a job for a professional printing shop.

Duplexing

Duplexing is the ability to print/copy on both sides of the page and is a highly desirable feature. Besides saving paper it is a must for making professional copies of two-sided printed material.

Connectivity

For using the machine as a printer, the more options to connect to the device the better. Aside from direct USB connectivity to a PC, most printer/copiers come with network connectivity - wired, wi-fi, or both.
If you need printing from the cloud or from mobile devices make sure your printer supports technologies such as Google Cloud Print or Apple AirPrint.


Black and White or Color?

Color copying is slower and more expensive, but might be a feature you want your printer/copier to have if you intend to produce promotional materials for your small business, such as brochures, or copy color photos.

Media Versatility 

As the main reason to buy a copier for your small or home office is convenience, you'll want to be sure to choose a copier that's able to handle a variety of paper sizes and weights and other media, such as transparencies and index cards. Look for copiers that offer flatbed copying if you're concerned about copying from books or copying other objects that won't fit through a sheet feeder.

Paper Handling

As a small business person, you have better things to do than refilling paper trays or feeding single sheets through a printer/copier. If you print/copy regularly look for a model with a paper capacity of at least 250 sheets - or more. You'll also definitely want an automatic document feeder that holds at least 30 sheets. 

​Response Time

Printer/copiers that have no warm up time are ideal for small and home offices, where the machine may be sitting idle for hours or days. High print/copy speeds are great, but won't save you any time if you have to wait minutes for the unit to warm up every time it comes out of sleep mode. Some printer/copiers now offer a first copy time of less than 10 seconds.

 Source : Susan Ward (The Balance)

​Choosing the Right Book Scanner

Among all different kinds of book scanners on the market, a zero-edge design book scanner is very helpful for book scanning. Plustek offers dedicated book-scanner series with the unique zero-edge design allow you to easily perform book scanning. The special edge design eliminates the book spine shadow and text distortion of thick books while scanning. This revolutionary technology efficiently let you scan a book page to the edge of the spine and get clear image scan results. All book scanners come with software eliminates distortion and shadow artifacts.