When in the market for a laser printer, there are two main options to consider: buy a new printer or purchase a refurbished printer. New printers come in fancy branded boxes, none of the parts have been used before, and they come with a manufacturer’s warranty…but are these really advantages? All of the components of a new laser printer, be it the casing, the circuit boards, the fuser, etc. are made from scratch. It takes a lot of raw materials and carbon emissions to make these items, and the assumption is that since everything is brand new, it should all work properly and without issue (which is true most of the time). That said, each individual part of a printer does not have to be new for the printer to work properly. This is why refurbished printers make sense for a lot of businesses in Greater Vancouver and the Okanagan.
Some of the working parts do eventually wear out, but there are many printer components that do not wear out. For example, the plastic outer casing accounts for quite a bit of the mass of a printer. But since it doesn’t contribute to any of the printing functions, it isn’t subject to the wear and tear that other parts are. So, when someone discards a printer, it’s safe to say that most of the components are still usable.
And then consider the environmental impact of shipping new printers all over the world. Each truckload of new printers is emitting unnecessary carbon into our atmosphere. To combat this, our technicians get broken-down printers and replacement parts through local sources, so there is little if any need to ship anything in from far away. And all of the work to refurbish the printers is done locally, so there is no requirement to ship parts from factory to factory which is common for products assembled in various locations overseas. So, we not only save on our cost and reduce the eventual sticker price of your printer, but also dramatically reduce the carbon emissions that are given off in making a refurbished printer that works just like a new one.
Every printer should come with a manufacturer’s warranty which is useful if your machine breaks down, but can be a hassle to deal with when it applies to new printers. Sure you probably won’t have to pay anything, but in many cases the warranty work can only be done by the original manufacturer. This means it has to be shipped somewhere, fixed, and shipped back to you. In the end, your printer will work again, but you’ll be without it for an undisclosed amount of time, and will also have to take time out of your own day to get it taken back and picked up from the place where you bought it. Conversely, since our entire operation is local, we can have a technician come to you promptly to get you back up and running again if a problem were to arise. As a result, there would be very little downtime and, again, a reduction in carbon emissions because of reduced transportation.
In summary, buying a refurbished printer is much like buying a used car. It’s a better value than buying a new one, just so long as you’ve managed to find a reputable dealer to work with.
