Printer Shopping Guide for Small and Solo Practice Law Firms

Any law firm, even a solo practice at that, would know that it’s just not possible to go 100% paperless. According to Tim Hubbard of the digital print and document management company, Alto Digital, creating a paperless office is not the challenge. What is necessary is the set-up of a workplace where “paper and digital documents work together in an efficient, cost-effective way.”

Litigation lawyers for instance will have to deal with generating copies of legal documents in the course of a deposition. Given enough time prior to court proceedings, copies of exhibits (whether monochrome or full color) and other court documents can be routed to third party printing service providers. However, this in not always the case as there will be a recurrent need to get those research and case notes prepared by paralegals printed right away.

Laser Printer or Inkjet?

This is the upfront challenge to both the small and solo law practice. Typical questions that come to mind include the now rhetoric inkjet or laser printer debate. Given the volume of document print jobs required in the course of a deposition, the production speed and output quality of mainstream inkjets will not be able to match the published print speeds as well as the crisp, clear and professional-looking monochrome output of lawyer laser printers.

Now that we’ve established how laser printers have the upper hand in the legal practice, a follow up question would be should a law firm invest in a single function monochrome laser printer or a multifunction laser printer (MFP)? The odds will most likely be in the favor of MFPs. However, what Sam Glover of Lawyerist.com recommends is to Avoid the All-in-One Printer, Scanner, Copier, and Fax Machine. Well, this pitch makes a lot of sense!

Choosing the Right Lawyer Laser Printer: Single Function or Multifunction?

If you have purchased at least a monochrome MFP Lawyer laser printer in the past, what is evident is the zero to minimal usage of non-printing functions such as the copier, scanner and fax. Photocopying is usually delegated to third party print services. If done in-house, photocopiers are commonplace with law firms that might just even be subscribed to managed print services. Now if the intent is to really pursue paper-less documentation, then any small or solo law firm would need a top of the line, dedicated scanner to handle all of its scanning requirements. Of course, who needs a fax machine these days when businesses can get by with virtual fax services.

Any law practice will need a photocopier, scanner and of course a laser printer. But it pays in the long run to invest in separate office machines, particularly in a monochrome lawyer laser printer that offers advanced paper handling features.

Streamlining Lawyer Laser Printer Running Costs

Keeping a close watch of a law practice’s printing expenses should be seriously taken into account. This is true whether you’re running a solo practice or a huge law firm given the magnitude of collaterals produced in each disposition. This can be accomplished through the use of a print management software. However, many small and solo law practices will find the price of lawyer laser printer consumables rather steep. An OEM monochrome cartridge can fetch as much as $100 depending on the model and make. Meanwhile, ordering a set of black and color OEM toner cartridges can exceed the acquisition cost of the laser printer.

Going paperless is probably the best way to avoid incurring the hefty running costs associated with lawyer laser printer use. But since laser printing documents is indispensable to the legal practice, streamlining printing costs can be accomplished through the use of aftermarket consumables, particularly remanufactured toner cartridges. Save from between 50% to 70% of OEM pricing when you replace empty toner cartridges with Catch Supplies brand industrial quality, remanufactured toner cartridges. Learn More!