"A proposal can tell you that service is included. It can't necessarily tell you what the experience will be when your copier goes down on a busy Monday morning."
You have two copier proposals sitting in front of you.
Proposal A is $685 per month. Proposal B is $742.
So, Proposal A is the better deal over the duration of the lease, right
Maybe. If you've received copier quotes or proposals from two different companies, comparing the monthly payments isn't enough. Different equipment configurations, print volumes, service coverage, overage rates, lease terms, supplies, implementation costs, and end-of-lease requirements can make two seemingly similar proposals very different.
There’s also an even more fundamental question to ask before comparing any of those numbers: Which proposal actually does a better job solving the problems you set out to address?
To accurately compare two copier proposals, first compare each proposal against your business needs. Then put the equipment, service, volume assumptions, costs, and contractual terms on equal footing.
Before comparing monthly payments, equipment specifications, or cost per page, go back to the conversations that led to the proposals.
What did you tell each provider?
Perhaps your current equipment is unreliable. Employees are waiting too long for service. You have more printers than you can effectively manage. Your accounting department needs a more efficient scanning process. You need better control of color printing. Or your existing copier agreement no longer fits the way your organization operates.
Can you see those priorities reflected in the proposal? A strong copier proposal should make it clear why certain equipment, services, and recommendations are being proposed.
At Datamax, every proposal includes a Summary of Benefits based on what we learned during our Discovery process. It connects the proposed solution directly to the needs, challenges, and objectives the potential client shared with us.
It also provides a simple opportunity for you to determine something that can be difficult to measure:
How well did we listen?
You shouldn’t have to reconstruct your previous conversations to understand why a solution was recommended.
Both. But start with your needs. Suppose your priorities coming into the process were to:
One proposal might have a lower monthly payment but only meaningfully address two of those priorities.
Another might cost more but directly address all five. Now you have a much different comparison.
This is why one of the best questions you can ask any copier provider is: “Show me where your proposal addresses the business objectives we discussed.” Whether or not a provider calls it a Summary of Benefits, there should be a clear connection between Discovery and recommendation. The quality of a copier proposal often depends on the quality of the Discovery that came before it.
Once you’ve established that both proposals address your objectives, look at the equipment itself. Two devices from different manufacturers may appear similar without being truly equivalent. Compare what matters to your actual work, including:
Be careful about assuming that more equipment or more features automatically means a better proposal. An undersized device can struggle with the workload you expect it to handle. An oversized device can leave you paying for capabilities you rarely use.
The objective is not necessarily to buy the most capable copier. It’s to select equipment that matches the work you need it to perform.
This is one of the easiest ways for two proposals to look comparable when they aren’t. Suppose one provider builds its pricing around 10,000 black-and-white pages and 1,000 color pages per month. Another assumes 15,000 black-and-white pages and 2,500 color pages.
The monthly payments cannot be fairly compared without accounting for that difference.
Ask what volume assumptions were used and, just as importantly, where those numbers came from. Were they based on actual device data and historical usage? Current meter readings? Your existing invoices? Or an estimate?
Realistic print volumes matter because inaccurate assumptions can make a proposal look attractive on paper while creating unexpected costs later.
Included print volume only tells part of the story. Ask what happens when you exceed it.
Review the per-page rate for both black-and-white and color printing and calculate how those costs could affect you during a typical month. A proposal with a lower base payment but significantly higher overage rates could ultimately cost more if your actual volume regularly exceeds what was included.
This is another reason accurate Discovery matters. The closer the proposal's assumptions are to the way your organization actually prints, the more meaningful the pricing comparison becomes.
Two proposals may both say that service is “included.” That doesn’t necessarily mean the same things are included. Items such as:
These are generally standard items that are included in a copier service agreement, but important to confirm. Of much greater importance (which we'll expand on below): Can they show measurable data that qualifies any service performance claims? Do they have service and operations resources available that track service response and resolution, invoice accuracy, first call completion rates, etc. for months, years, or even decades?
Additionally: Performance Guarantees are a major point of differentiation when considering the dreadful impact of downtime.
Monthly payment is especially easy to misinterpret when lease terms differ.
A lower monthly payment spread across a longer lease doesn't necessarily represent a lower total cost.
Compare the term of each agreement and understand the type of lease being proposed. Depending on the agreement, you may also need to review items such as documentation fees, interim rent, automatic renewal provisions, upgrade options, and other contractual requirements.
This is where looking beyond today's payment becomes particularly important.
A copier agreement may last several years.
Your business probably won't stand still during that time.
You could add employees, eliminate positions, open another location, consolidate offices, acquire another business, change workflows, or experience significant changes in print volume.
So ask each provider:
What happens if our needs change?
Can equipment be added, removed, upgraded, or reconfigured? What financial obligations remain? Who has the authority to make adjustments to the agreement?
This is also where it helps to understand who actually owns and manages your lease.
Some copier providers use a third-party leasing company to finance the equipment. Others offer in-house leasing, meaning the provider retains greater control over the lease and the ongoing financial relationship.
That distinction can matter when your needs change. With a third-party lease, the copier provider may have limited authority to modify an existing financial agreement. With in-house leasing, there may be greater flexibility to restructure equipment or terms because the provider manages the lease directly.
Neither structure should be evaluated on flexibility alone. Compare the financing terms, total cost, contractual obligations, and available options under each proposal.
The important question is not simply “Who is financing this?”
It’s “How will this lease work for us if our business looks different three years from now?”
The end of the agreement can feel a long way off when you're choosing equipment today.
It still belongs in your comparison. Ask:
Understanding these requirements now can help you avoid surprises several years down the road.
Some of the most important differences between two providers may never appear in a pricing table.
Service performance is one of them.
A proposal can tell you that service is included. It can't necessarily tell you what the experience will be when your copier goes down on a busy Monday morning.
Consider asking:
Price matters. Equipment matters. But the relationship you have with the provider will continue long after the proposal has been signed.
Look for evidence behind the promises being made.
Before making a final decision, normalize the proposals by putting the major components side by side. Once everything is visible on the same page, the lowest monthly payment may still be the best choice. But now you'll know why it's the best choice.
The best copier proposal isn't necessarily the one with the most equipment, the longest list of features, or even the lowest price.
It's the proposal that most clearly connects what your organization needs with what the provider recommends, while giving you a transparent understanding of what you'll pay and what you can expect throughout the relationship.
That's why the proposal process should really begin long before anyone puts a price on paper.
Through Datamax Discovery™, we work to understand your current environment, challenges, objectives, workflows, and technology requirements before recommending a solution. The resulting Summary of Benefits provides a direct connection between what we heard and what we're proposing.
Because when you're comparing two copier proposals, don't just compare the number at the bottom.