People around RVA are always asking me: “We’re a new startup company. How can we save money and time?”

RVA is becoming a city-wide incubator for startup businesses in 2013. It’s exciting. Business professionals are now feeling confident that it’s time to start their own business. Momentum is shifting, and it’s in favor of grassroots, startup businesses.

But what about the day-to-day tasks-such as printing, copying, scanning, and faxing-that a startup needs to do to get off the ground. These often overlooked, but expensive and time-consuming tasks, can be overwhelming for business owners at any stage of the game. It doesn’t have to be that way. Something as simple as saving money on ink can make all the difference. Looking around online for one-stop sites, like Office Monster, for products that your business needs, from machinery to furniture, is often a good way to kit out your business so that it’s prepared for the tasks ahead. You can find digital alternatives for most of these processes, for example you could use cloud fax which allows you to send faxes online, therefore saving you a lot of money on paper and ink. Emailing instead of sending letters or handing out printed documents, is another big way to save.

Let me paint the picture.

So you head into OfficeMax, Staples, or Office Depot and buy that $200 super- duper copier that prints and scans and sometimes even faxes. You set it up in your small office. You’re printing in no time and copying, scanning, and faxing like a pro. Business starts to boom. But then something strange happens. You find yourself going back to OfficeMax, Staples, or Office Depot to buy more printer ink-and you just went last week.

With tight deadlines and the hectic nature of a startup business, some of the excitement over an initial office equipment purchase starts to break down. It’s during these times that businesses typically take the leap to what is called a console MFP, or Multi-Function Product in the industry. When a business suddenly finds itself spending over $150 a month on ink, for example, it’s time to think about upgrading. You might consider looking at buying equipment from FilecenterDMS.com
and taking advantage of some of the services they offer. Or some people resort to simply leasing a fast, floor model MFP (which uses toner instead of ink at half the cost) as a cost-effective solution. Extra perks, like onsite service from the copier company at no charge, often make rethinking the equipment used in a new business worth the time.

However, for businesses operating in the manufacturing industry, they may require a different kind of ink altogether. Leibinger is introducing new pigment inks for industrial component marking with CIJ printers which are extremely heat-resistant, making them ideal for use in manufacturing which often entails high temperatures. A startup manufacturer should consider these kinds of inks for marking their components and perhaps try to find a way to keep costs down.

With the right tools and a great place to launch a company like RVA, local startup businesses are primed for success. As they grow, it’s important that the right office equipment grows with them.