Photocopier Hire & Leasing
If you are considering renting a photocopier, the following guide will explain the different factors that might affect what you get from your model, and how much you pay on average for small, medium and large volume machines.
This article will look at the following topics- if you want to jump to a section in particular, just click the link:
Why you should rent a photocopier
Whether you are looking to hire a photocopier for the short-term or the long-term, you can be sure that it will be a money-saving investment.
By renting a copier from a third party, you not only avoid the often large upfront costs of buying a new machine, but you can also avoid other costs such as maintenance and resource fees.
The most common reason a business will rent a photocopier is for the flexibility.
Rental contracts can range from a few days to three years, so you’ll be able to get hold of a machine for as long as you need it.
Some situations may include:
- Exhibitions
- Conferences
- Trade Shows & Expos
- Large business meetings
- Events
- Seminars
- Conventions
- Annual reports
- Large projects
- Annual taxes
- Audits
- Legal work
- Contract work
- School exams
- Charitable events
- Building site offices
- Temporary buildings
- Startups
Renting vs Leasing: which is right for you?
For many businesses, buying a photocopier is a huge expense. In fact, many businesses aren’t even aware that hiring or leasing a copier is a legitimate option, let alone a money-saving one!
There are many situations when you might need a photocopier. But should you lease one or rent one?
Renting
Advantages:
- Renting a copier for a monthly fee allows a company to use a more advanced machine that might otherwise be out of their price range.
- Rentals are more flexible than leasing and are usually paid on a rolling, month-to-month basis. This means you won’t be locked into long term contracts.
- Typically contracts are easy to cancel, so long as you provide 30 days notice up beforehand.
- Renting a photocopier allows you to upgrade or downgrade your machine as and when you need to. This means you can jump up to a bigger machine if business is busy, downsize if it’s quiet, or even upgrade just to get the latest machine!
- Photocopier rental contracts cover both service and supplies - which means no unexpected costs down the line.
Disadvantages:
- Monthly rental fees are generally higher than leasing fees due to the shorter, more flexible contractual agreements in place.
- Renting a photocopier for a long time might eventually prove more expensive than buying the same model outright.
Leasing
Advantages:
- Leasing a photocopier allows a company to secure a high-end MFP for fixed monthly payments that cover a set period (12-64 months).
- Monthly leasing fees tend to be lower than monthly rental fees.
- Leasing payment schemes are 100% tax deductible, which helps you to manage cash flow and funds.
- Lease payments can be deducted from taxable profits if your company pays corporation tax, and can be reclaimed on a ‘by payment’ basis.
- When your lease contract comes to an end, you’ll be offered the option of purchasing the photocopier at its current Fair Market Value (FMV).
Disadvantages:
- Leasing contracts tend to be much longer and much more rigid than rental agreements. You should expect to sign a minimum 3-year contract when leasing.
- You’ll almost definitely be charged a fee if you want to upgrade/downsize your photocopier, or end your contract early.
- Should your company close down, you’ll still need to pay off the photocopier lease payments until the contract is completed.
What service can you expect when renting or leasing?
We work with the UK’s top suppliers to offer you not only the best deals around, but the best service too.
When renting or leasing a photocopier from one of our partner suppliers, you can expect the following top notch service:
- Savings of up to 30% on already market-competitive rental + leasing prices.
- Quick delivery and installation, so you can start boosting productivity sooner.
- Inclusive service and maintenance, which reduces costs and worries.
- Professional setup and equipment training by qualified individuals.
- A bespoke rental/leasing deal tailored to your business and unique situation.
Types of Photocopier Rental
Photocopier rental schemes in the UK are based on the volume of photocopying that your business requires, as well as any additional features you may need from your machine.
Rental photocopiers are usually classed as low, medium, or high volume.
In order to get the best deal for your office needs, you should first determine what volume of photocopying you will require each month.
Most rental companies will discuss the needs of your business before you make a decision to ensure that you get the best option.
The table below will help you decide which hire photocopier suits your needs:
| Copies Per Month | Monthly Cost | Functionality | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Volume (Mono) | 750 | ~£25 | Basic hardware Scanner |
| Low Volume (Colour) | 1000 | ~£35 | Basic hardware Colour scanner |
| Mid Volume | 8,000 - 40,000 | ~£50 | Advanced hardware Faxing Colour scanner/printer & more |
| High Volume | 40,000+ | ~£200 | State-of-the-art hardware Faxing Stapling Binding Larger paper trays Hi-def colour printing Network capability Automatic document management & more |
Look carefully at the different features on offer before making a decision.
It may be more cost effective to rent a photocopier that can also simultaneously function as a fax, scanner and printer.
For instance, when renting, you can upgrade your photocopier throughout the rental period, which will keep you up-to-date with technology and can replace multiple items of office equipment.
Benefits of Renting a Photocopier
There are arguably more benefits to renting or leasing a photocopier than there to buying one.
In the video case study below, you can find out about many of the business benefits that come with hiring a photocopier from Midshire, one of our key photocopier partners.
Other advantages of renting a photocopier for your office include:
Flexible contracts
If renting a photocopier then you’ll benefit from a flexible rental timeframe with no fixed end date. This is ideal if your business is growing or only needs a photocopier for a certain amount of time.
And if you only need a short term photocopier rental or have reached the stage where you don't need it at all, you can return it without having to find a buyer.
However, if leasing, then you may find it harder to negotiate extremely short-term contracts. As leasing is a more long-term commitment, you can expect contracts to last between 12-60+ months.
Upgrade as your business grows
A key benefit of flexible office photocopier rentals and leases are that they the let you upgrade or downsize as you need to.
Need the newest model? Just contact your supplier.
Business a bit quiet and looking to downsize? Contact your supplier.
Business is booming and you need to upgrade as your current photocopier can’t cope? Just contact your….- you get the message.
Fast + free installation / delivery / training
Most photocopier companies in the UK offer a quick and reliable service when it comes to delivery and installation.
The installation staff will also very experienced and know their way around the photocopier model being delivered. This means they are the people best qualified to train your team on the new machine and get you all up to speed.
Service, maintenance and supplies are included
Although you have to pay a monthly photocopier rental fee, it can actually work out to be cheaper since maintenance and toner are usually included in the cost.
Another benefit to renting is that if your machine breaks down, which isn’t unlikely over time, it is not your responsibility to repair it.
All you have to do is call your supplier or manufacturer and request a maintenance technician to come as quickly as possible.
Tailored payment plans
If you are just starting your business, your cash flow is in question or you are gearing up for rapid growth, then renting a photocopier is a great option to keep cash flowing.
Paying a rental fee is also a regular business cost and so has better tax advantages than capital allowances.
Cost of Buying vs. Renting a Photocopier
As you might expect, there are significant cost differences when buying or renting a photocopier.
In the short video above, the Director of Charterhouse Claims explains his company's experiences with photocopier hire costs.
Should I buy?
When buying a copier, a cheap desktop machine might retail for a couple of hundred pounds - if that - but is only really suitable for home offices or individuals.
More powerful, multifunction photocopiers that can handle huge volumes of jobs each month can start at just under £1,000 but can cost in excess of £20,000 for truly top end production models.
The advantage of leasing
Let’s use an example.
Take a middle of the road, black and white photocopier and it will cost around £25 per month to rent. This includes ink and maintenance in the agreement. If leased on a 60 month (5-year) contract then your total spend would equal:
£25 pcm x 60 months = £1,500 investment over 5 years
The same photocopier would usually cost around £800 to purchase outright, excluding ink and maintenance.
It seems cheaper, doesn’t it?
But what if we now take a look at the cost of ownership over those 60 months?
Over the same 5-year period, you can expect to also pay the annual costs for toner cartridges, paper costs and any potential repair costs should the worst happen. If we add up all these additional costs, then it becomes clear that the cost of renting outweighs a full investment:
£800 + (3 x £70 cartridge per year) x 5 years) + £150 paper costs + £200 repair costs = £2,200+ investment over 5 years
The graph below compares your total investment when leasing (blue area) to your total investment when buying (red area) over a 5-year period.
In order to break even on the purchase cost alone, you would have to maximise the life of toner cartridges and hope that your machine never requires repairing.
When doing the sums, it becomes clear that it takes many years to make buying a photocopier worthwhile. Renting a photocopier is undeniably cheaper and more convenient in the short, medium and long term.
Photocopier contracts: what to be aware of
Photocopier leasing & tax efficiency
Finding an office photocopier rental or lease plan to suit your monthly budget is easy, with plans available from a few days to more than 5 years.
Leasing a photocopier can help you to reduce your tax bill as you can claim payments as a business expense.
Buying a photocopier is also tax deductible, but at 40% in the first year and 25% the year after.
Leasing a copier differs because your monthly payments are 100% tax deductible on a payment by payment basis, which helps you to better manage your cash flow.
Low photocopier rental costs - not all they seem
You should also be wary of extremely low rental rates that appear to be much cheaper than other quotes.
Always read the small print in these cheap photocopier contracts, since they often reveal that a much larger deposit is required to achieve the stated rate.
Sometimes you may even need to make anadditional payment during the year to keep the rate as low as it started.
Photocopier rental maintenance charges
Maintenance charges are always separate from rental agreements since your copier service is normally paid on a ‘cost per copy’ basis, which starts from as little as 0.005p per copy.
If you are looking at maintenance charges check whether there is a minimum billing amount that will need to be paid regardless of whether you make any copies a month.
Top 5 cheapest office photocopiers to rent
Brother DCP-9020CDW
The Brother DCP-9020CDW is a cost-effective, colour photocopier that is ideally suited to smaller businesses. Duplex printing is standard and the machine’s crisp finishing more than makes up for the slightly slower print speeds.
| Print Speed | 18ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 250sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Colour |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan |
| Connectivity | Wireless, USB, Wired Network |
| Size (w x h x d) | 602mm x 565mm x 534mm |
Canon i-SENSYS MF3010
The Canon i-SENSYS MF3010 is an eco-friendly, multifunction photocopier that can help boost productivity. All-in-one cartridges and a rapid first document out time help to make the i-SENSYS MF3010 an efficient office machine, whilst the low price point makes it a smart investment for businesses with smaller print demands.
| Print Speed | 18ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 150 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Mono |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Size (w x h x d) | 372mm x 254mm x 276mm |
Dell Colour MFP E525w
The Dell Colour MFP E525w is a 4-in-1 colour photocopier that is quick and easy to setup and install. With its compact design, this Dell photocopier can output up to 18 pages a minute in either colour or black & white. An intuitive control panel keeps operation simple.
| Print Speed | 18ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 150 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Colour |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan/Fax |
| Connectivity | Wireless, USB |
| Size (w x h x d) | 561mm x 520mm x 549mm |
HP Officejet Pro 8620 e-All-in-One
The HP Officejet Pro 8620 e-All-in-One is a productivity boosting, money-saving photocopier that can cut the print cost per page by half. Offering high quality printed documents, a large touchscreen display and the capacity to handle up to 30,000 documents per month, the HP Officejet Pro 8620 e-All-in-One is a smart buy for busy businesses.
| Print Speed | 21ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 500 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Colour |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan/Fax |
| Connectivity | Wireless, USB, Wired Network |
| Size (w x h x d) | 569mm x 518mm x 377mm |
Xerox WorkCentre 6015
The Xerox WorkCentre 6015 is a budget photocopier that prints in both colour and black & white. This machine occupies the lower end of Xerox’s workplace printers but it is not without its own merits. Print speeds are respectable but more than enough for small or home offices.
| Print Speed | 15ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 160 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Colour |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan/Optional Fax |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Size (w x h x d) | 410mm x 337mm x 389mm |
Top 5 high-volume office photocopiers to rent
Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE C7280i
The Canon imageRUNNER ADVANCE C7280i is a fast-printing, high end photocopier designed for large, busy businesses. Offering rapid print speeds and supremely crisp finishing, the imageRUNNER ADVANCE C7280i is a real workhorse. In-depth security features help to maintain user privacy, whilst a range of connectivity options let users print whenever, wherever.
| Print Speed | 70ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 9,300 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Colour |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan/Optional Fax |
| Connectivity | USB, Wired Network |
| Size (w x h x d) | 689mm x 1221mm x 932mm |
Konica bizhub C754
The Konica bizhub C754 is a high volume, multifunction photocopier. Ideal for large businesses, this A3 printer-copier boasts unrivalled print finishing thanks to Konica Minolta‘s unique colour technology. This copier can also connect to office servers and provide detailed metric and account tracking for all users.
| Print Speed | 75ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 3,650 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Colour |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan/Fax |
| Connectivity | USB, Wired network, (Optional Wireless) |
| Size (w x h x d) | 650mm x 1155mm x 799mm |
Lexmark CX860DTFE
The Lexmark CX860DTFE is a fast-printing yet economical photocopier, whose high-yield colour ink cartridges help to cut costs. Fast print speeds combine with a high-volume paper cartridge to keep you printing for longer. A large touchscreen makes this copier easy to operate, while a range of finishing options mean you’ll never be caught short.
| Print Speed | 57ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 4,500 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Colour |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan/Fax |
| Connectivity | USB, Wired Network |
| Size (w x h x d) | 762mm x 1380mm x 830mm |
Sharp MX-M950
The Sharp MX-M950 is a device that has been fine-tuned to the most demanding of office environments. This is a large, floor-standing machine that boasts an 80gb internal hard-drive - ideal for handling large jobs remotely. The Mx-M950 possesses one of the fastest print speeds on the market.
| Print Speed | 95ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 8,050 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Mono |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan/Fax |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Size (w x h x d) | 1031mm x 1518mm x 771mm |
Xerox WorkCentre 7855
The Xerox WorkCentre 7855 is a reliable multifunction photocopier that is recommended for medium to large businesses. Capable of printing crisply finished documents at high speeds, the WorkCentre 7855 is a great office partner.
| Print Speed | 55ppm |
| Paper Capacity | 2,180 sheets |
| Colour/Mono? | Colour |
| Functionality | Print/Copy/Scan/Optional Fax |
| Connectivity | USB, Wired network, (Optional Wireless) |
| Size (w x h x d) | 640mm x 1150mm x 700mm |
Next Steps
If you are interested in hearing about photocopier prices or buying or leasing one for your business, then fill out our form for tailored quotes.
An Expert Market team member will then contact you by phone and discuss your needs in greater detail with you. Once we fully understand your unique business requirements, we’ll match you to the best photocopier suppliers for your business.
