An MFP for the Office: How to Choose a Printer-Scanner-Copier and Set Up Network Printing and Scan-to-Folder and Email

A multifunction printer, or MFP, combines a printer, scanner and copier — and often a fax too. In a small office it's one of the most-used devices: contracts, invoices, passport copies, certificates. A poorly chosen or badly set-up MFP becomes a source of daily irritation: the print queue hangs, scans have to be carried over on a flash drive, and every time the router restarts the printer "disappears". Let's look at how to choose an MFP for the office and how to set it up so it saves time rather than wasting it.

The main selection criteria

• Recommended monthly volume. The manufacturer states how many pages a month the device can print without accelerated wear. A home MFP rated for a few hundred pages will soon fail in an office of ten people.
• Print speed and first-page-out time — important when many people are printing.
• Duplex printing — saves paper and space in your files.
• An automatic document feeder — for scanning and copying multi-page documents without swapping sheets by hand. A duplex feeder scans both sides in one pass.
• Cartridge yield and cost — for an office the cost per page matters more than the price of the device.
• Laser or inkjet — for office documents a mono laser MFP is the usual choice; colour if you often print colour material.

Network connection

In an office, an MFP is better connected to the local network by cable than to one computer by USB. Then everyone can print and scan, and you don't need to keep a "main" computer switched on. It's essential to give the MFP a fixed IP address: if the address changes after the router restarts, computers lose the printer — that's the most common cause of "the printer's disappeared" complaints.

Scanning: features that save time

• Scan to a network folder — the document goes straight into a shared folder on a computer, NAS or server.
• Scan to email — the scan arrives with a colleague or client straight from the device.
• Scan to the cloud — to the organisation's cloud storage.
• Text recognition (OCR) — produces a searchable PDF or an editable document.
• Profiles on the device panel — one "Scan to accounts" button instead of fiddling with settings.

These are exactly the features that most often stay unconfigured: the device can do it, but staff carry on scanning to a flash drive.

Tracking and security

In an office with heavy printing, user codes or department tracking are useful — you can see who prints how much. Confidential documents can be printed with a PIN: the page only comes out when the person is standing at the device. Don't forget the security of the MFP itself: change the default admin password, update the firmware and don't expose the device to the internet — network printers are attack targets too. Many MFPs have internal storage where scanned documents are kept, which needs wiping when the device is retired.

Common problems with office MFPs

• The printer disappears from the network — a dynamic IP address, the device's power-saving mode, Wi-Fi problems.
• Jobs get stuck in the queue — a Windows print spooler fault, an unsuitable driver, a port conflict.
• Scan to folder has stopped working — the user's password changed, a Windows update disabled an old file-sharing protocol, or the computer's address changed.
• Scan to email won't send — the email service requires a secure connection or an app password.
• Paper jams — worn rollers, unsuitable or damp paper, the device being run beyond its rated volume.
• Streaks and faded prints — a cartridge running out or of poor quality, a worn drum unit.

Buy or lease

For offices with heavy printing there are MFP leasing plans with servicing: you pay per printed page, and cartridges and repairs are included. For a small office it's usually better value to buy a reliable device with the right duty rating and set it up properly.

What our technician does

1. Selects an MFP to suit your print volume, number of staff and office needs.
2. Connects the device to the network, fixes its IP address and installs drivers on every computer.
3. Sets up scanning to folders, email and the cloud, panel profiles and text recognition.
4. Sets up security: the admin password, firmware and access restrictions.
5. Fixes print queue problems, network dropouts and scanning errors.

A real example

A notary's office on Aghmashenebeli Avenue used an office MFP connected by USB to the secretary's computer. When the secretary went to lunch and switched the computer off, printing stopped for everyone, and passport scans were carried around on a flash drive. Our technician connected the MFP to the network by cable, fixed its IP address, installed drivers on all the computers and set up panel buttons for scanning to each staff member's personal folder and to email. Now documents scan to the right folder at the touch of a button, and printing works regardless of who has switched on which computer.

Call a technician

If you need an office MFP chosen, connected or sorted out, we'll come to any district of Tbilisi around the clock. Learn more on our local network setup, driver installation and computer setup pages.