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MFP vendor wants to sell us A3, do we need it?

A3 is more expensive in purchase, lease, footprint and cartridge volume. For most SMBs A3 is overkill: in practice nearly all prints are A4. Unless you structurally print posters, floor plans, or CAD drawings, A4 makes more sense.

Try this first

  1. 1Count A3 prints for a week. Ask current users, accounting, drafting room.
  2. 2Under 5 A3 prints/week: don't buy. Occasional A3 goes to a copy shop or online printer.
  3. 3Over 50 A3 prints/week: A3 MFP makes sense. In between is a judgement call: time saved vs 2-3x higher monthly cost.
  4. 4Second consideration: footprint. An A3 MFP is much deeper and heavier; some offices can't place one without things going wrong.
  5. 5Get three quotes (one from incumbent, two from others). Lease prices easily vary 30%.

When to bring us in

We have no lease incentive and can compare A3 vs A4 honestly. A one-hour talk often saves a thousand euro a year in unneeded A3 capacity.

See also

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