Print Jargon Explained

Paper size, 297mm × 420mm. Twice the size of A4. Most business copiers are 'A3 machines', meaning they can handle both A3 and A4. If you only ever print A4, you can still use an A3 machine. It just gives you the option.

Automatic Document Feeder. The tray on top of the copier where you stack pages to scan or copy multiple sheets without lifting the lid for each one. A 'RADF' is a Reversing ADF that flips pages to scan both sides. Slower than a DADF but cheaper.

A contract where toner, maintenance, parts, and engineer visits are all included in one monthly fee. Should mean 'no surprises'. But check the small print. Some dealers exclude colour toner, staples, or callout fees. Ours includes everything except paper.

The cost to exit a lease early. Usually the total of remaining monthly payments. Some contracts add penalties. Always ask for a buyout figure before signing so you know the worst case.

Cost Per Copy. The amount you pay for each page printed. Typically 0.3p to 0.8p for mono and 3p to 7p for colour. This is the running cost on top of your monthly lease. It should cover toner, maintenance, and parts.

Duplex Automatic Document Feeder. Scans both sides of a page in a single pass. Much faster than a reversing feeder. Worth having if you scan a lot of double-sided documents. The Develop ineo range has some of the fastest DADFs on the market.

A cylindrical component inside laser printers that transfers toner to paper. Drums wear out and need replacing, typically every 100,000 to 300,000 pages depending on the machine. This is included in your per-page charge with a managed print contract.

Printing on both sides of the paper automatically. Every modern business copier does this. If you're defaulting to single-sided printing, you're using twice as much paper as you need to. PaperCut can enforce duplex by default.

The maximum number of pages a machine can physically produce in a month without damaging itself. It's NOT how many pages you should print. That's the recommended volume. A machine with a 200,000-page duty cycle might have a recommended volume of 20,000. Don't confuse the two.

Fair Market Value lease. At the end, the finance company sells the machine at its current market value. You don't own it. This is the most common type of copier lease in the UK. If you want to own the machine at the end, ask for a £1 buyout lease instead.

The part in a laser printer that uses heat to bond toner to paper. It runs hot, draws power, and eventually wears out (£200 to £400 to replace). Epson's Heat-Free inkjet technology doesn't have one. That's one of the main reasons their running costs are lower.

Grams per square metre. How paper weight is measured. Standard office paper is 80gsm. Letterhead is often 100 to 120gsm. Business cards and thick card are 250 to 350gsm. Check what weight your machine's bypass tray can handle if you print on heavy stock.

Epson's term for their business inkjet printers. Instead of using heat (like laser), they use piezoelectric technology to push ink onto paper. Result: no warm-up time, lower energy use, fewer parts to replace, less waste. It's a fundamentally different approach, not just marketing.

Multifunction Printer. A machine that prints, copies, scans, and sometimes faxes. Basically every modern business 'copier' is an MFP. Also called an MFD (Multifunction Device).

Machines In Field. An industry term for how many machines a manufacturer or dealer has installed. Dealers sometimes use it to sound impressive. 'We have 5,000 MIF.' What actually matters is whether they look after them properly.

The minimum number of pages you pay for each quarter, regardless of how many you actually print. If your minimum is 5,000 and you only print 3,000, you still pay for 5,000. Make sure this number matches your real usage, not the dealer's wishful thinking.

Black and white printing. The cheaper option per page. If you're printing mostly text documents, mono is all you need. You can set most machines to default to mono with colour available when you deliberately choose it.

Originals Per Minute. How fast the scanner processes pages. Different from PPM (prints per minute). A machine doing 240 OPM with a single-pass duplex scanner is scanning both sides of 120 sheets per minute. That's fast.

Print management software. Tracks who prints what, sets rules (like defaulting to mono and duplex), and adds secure print release so documents only print when you tap your card at the machine. We install and support it. Particularly useful for offices with 15+ people.

Pages Per Minute. The speed at which a machine prints. Entry-level machines do 25 to 30 ppm, mid-range 40 to 45 ppm, high-end 55 to 75 ppm. But speed isn't everything. A fast machine with a slow scanner is still slow for scanning.

An assessment of your current print setup. How many machines, how much they're printing, what it's costing you. We do these for free. It tells us (and you) exactly what you need, so nobody's guessing. Takes about a week, done remotely.

The number of pages a machine is designed to handle comfortably each month. This is the number that matters, not the duty cycle. If a machine has a recommended volume of 10,000 and you're printing 25,000, it'll struggle. Match the machine to your volume.

Retail Price Index / Consumer Price Index. Annual price increase clauses in lease contracts are often tied to one of these. RPI-linked increases are broadly fair. Watch out for contracts that say 'RPI plus 3%' or a fixed percentage. Those compound fast.

A type of booklet finishing. The machine folds pages in half and staples them through the spine, like a magazine. If you produce booklets, brochures, or property particulars in-house, a saddle stitch finisher saves hours of hand-folding and stapling.

A feature (usually via PaperCut) where documents wait in a queue until you authenticate at the machine, by tapping a card, entering a PIN, or scanning a code. Nobody else can see or collect your printout. Essential for offices handling sensitive information.

The powder used by laser printers to create images on paper. It's fused to the paper by heat. In a managed print contract, toner is included in your per-page charge and delivered automatically when levels get low. You should never need to buy it separately.

A lease where you pay a nominal £1 at the end to own the machine outright. Monthly payments are higher than an FMV lease, but you keep the kit. Good option if you want to run a machine beyond the lease term without paying ongoing charges.