The phrase in the title does not, unfortunately for most of us, refer to a butler who brings coffee to your desk in the morning. It refers to a computer in the office that has a few special tasks to perform on behalf of others. So, perhaps in a different way it’s a little like a butler.

You could store all your files, emails, photos and more on your own computer. You could use only your computer for access to the Internet, printing, faxing and more. But that setup has some potential downsides, especially when your office grows to hold multiple desktops.

If your personal machine goes south, you could be out of business (at least for a while). Even if your machine doesn’t completely crash and burn, you could still be in serious trouble just by losing one file. You could make backups locally, say on a USB flash drive. But storing and using those small devices could lead to complicated and duplicate effort if your office has multiple computers.

If your machine is directly connected to a DSL, cable or satellite modem anyone else on your office network accessing the Internet has to go through your machine to get to the web. That drags down the performance of your machine while you’re using it, and slows down Internet access for the others.

All these problems and more can be solved by investing in a single computer that performs services on behalf of others. That’s the role of an office server. It centralizes your local email system, so everyone can take advantage of it without slowing down anyone else. It gives you a place to attach a printer, network fax machine and more so that everyone can use them without slowing down or relying on anyone else. Most importantly, it gives you a central storehouse for file backups and - worst case scenario - restores, if and when they’re needed.

With the enormous hard drives available on even ordinary computers today, servers are no longer critical for housing raw space. But their role is still important. They provide a convenient place to centralize documents, images and more that is accessible by every computer on the network with the security rights to get to them.

The alternative is what’s known as a peer-to-peer system, in which all machines on the network are equal. The Internet and all the personal computers that use it are somewhat like that (although, it also uses millions of servers).

For example, you may store your email, files and more on Google, which acts like a central server for you. Or, you may just pass files back and forth with other users, each one acting as a peer to the other. That method has its benefits and drawbacks as well. But for those who maintain an office of anywhere from two to two thousand computers a central server provides numerous values. You gain reliability, security and performance benefits from having a central system that does work on behalf of others in the office.

Now if you could only train one to bring coffee in the morning…

Find out more and check out customer reviews and comparion prices of Office Servers

There are as many shredding machine models today as there are users with different needs. You can choose from a strip or cross-cut style. You have a choice of low or high volume models. Some come with a built-in container, others simply hang over the receptacle next to the desk. Sorting out all these choices can be like… well, putting together shredded documents.

At the lower end of the scale are strip cutters. They tend to be cheaper and have fewer features. With these, you just feed in a sheet through an opening (called ‘the throat’) and the shredder spits out narrow strips of paper. But even here there are several options.

Look for models that have a throat wide enough to accommodate all the paper widths you might need to shred. Don’t limit your research to one that only slices 8 1/2 x 11 sheets. There will be times you need to shred large quantities of larger sizes. Having a small model will force you to spend more time tearing or folding sheets to fit than is worth it.

Next, think about your potential volume. Will you be shredding a few sheets per day or dozens? Most personal shredders are rated for 100-150 sheets per day. But like personal printers, the ratings are usually stated for a brand new or perfectly maintained machine. An office shredder, especially one used by multiple people, will see more action.

Shredders, like printers, are mechanical. Parts wear and blades get dull. Before long, the shredder will slice only half its rated capacity. Buy a little higher capacity than you think you’ll need.

Shredding capacity can also refer to the number of simultaneous sheets the machine will accept. Don’t waste your time feeding one or two sheets into the shredder on those larger jobs. Buy a machine that can shred several sheets at the same time without jamming or dulling the blades.

In this area, too, capacity is often overstated. A rating of 6-8 sheets is realistically only 4-5 after a few months of use, depending on paper type. Twenty-four bond paper is thicker than 20 bond. Take that into account.

To deal with possible identity theft, shredder models are available in a variety of cutting patterns.

Strip widths vary from 1/8-1/2 inch on most models. The narrower the strip the more secure the result. That’s assuming strips are cut perpendicular to the line of type. Strips cut parallel to sentences are very easy to re-assemble. Most people don’t want to have to pay too much attention to the way they feed paper and even vertical strips can still be put back together. Cross-cut shredders solve that problem.

Cross-cut shredders cut paper horizontally and vertically in the same pass. You feed the paper normally and two sets of blades slice the paper into small rectangles. They tend to cost a little more and require a little more maintenance, though. The blades require simple-to-do oiling from time to time. Also, since there are two sets of blades with more mechanical controls, the price is higher.

Whichever type you buy, look for models that have extra, convenient features.

Some have auto-paper sensors. When you feed the paper into the throat a sensor detects paper and automatically begins the shredding cycle. No need to press a button. Just feed and forget.

Low-maintenance shredders are handy, too. Some use a type of carbon dust commonly used to lubricate locks, rather than oil. Some have an oil reservoir that you fill once and can forget for months on end. Some will have a light indicating when more oil is needed.

Some models have a jam light and an automatic shut-off feature. A reverse feed option is helpful for clearing paper when jams do happen.

Some shredders provide only the shredding unit with no paper container. They’re designed to fit over a standard office wastebasket. Others have adapters that can fit over round or rectangular containers. You might want an in-built receptacle designed for the unit, though.

Which one is right for you depends on your volume and security needs and budget. Still, don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. In this age of identity and credit card theft, spending a little more up-front could save you big time in money and grief.

For more on shredders, including prices and customers reviews, see Office Shredders.

If you have an office printer, you may not need a copier at all. You simply print a few extra and you’re done. But for larger volumes, and in particular for copying documents that you didn’t create, a copier is indispensable.

But with so many types and brands on the market, which to choose?

Cost is a constraint for every business. For a plain black-and-white desktop copier you might outlay as little as $50. Larger color models may be as high as a few thousand dollars. But be sure to consider the long term costs, not just the initial purchase price. Lack of reliability increases downtime and repair costs that may have to be paid for.

Before you can even think about the price, though, you have to decide which type of copier best suits your needs. The basic choices that we’ll cover here are desktop and stand-alone. Another option is the multi-function machine that incorporates a copier and printer in one unit. Bear in mind though that if the printer needs repair, you’ll be without a copier, and vice versa.

Desktop Copiers

A desktop copier is about the size of a personal printer. Some personal printers have the ability to copy as well. Depending on the model, it may be single sheet feed or have a capacity of only a few pages. How much time do you want to spend feeding the copier? That depends on whether you copy a page occasionally, or feed the machine often. You will generally pay more for a larger capacity.

Desktop copiers also have a smaller output capacity, both in terms of speed and expected lifetime. In other words, they take longer to make an individual copy and they wear out sooner than larger models. That may suit you fine if your needs are small.

Stand-alone Copiers

A larger or stand-alone copier often has a moving platen. That means that the copier doesn’t merely scan the page where you placed it and spit out the copy. It moves the original through the machine. More moving parts can lead to more repairs, depending on the reliability of the model.

But the risk of increased repairs is offset somewhat by the greatly expanded feature set of larger copier models.

They can typically copy much faster. A desktop copier may take as long as 30 seconds to copy a single page, a larger model might do the same job in two secs.

Also, larger models are able to produce many more copies more conveniently. A desktop copier will typically make no more than 30 copies or so before it has to be either filled with paper or emptied. A larger model will hold several hundred sheets and output almost as many before it requires attendance.

Check the monthly duty cycle and compare the rated outputs. This number is the expected maximum number of copies made per month. It’s related to the odds of the machine breaking down or wearing out sooner. Exceeding the rated output ups the odds of the copier requiring maintenance or replacement sooner rather than later.

Other features can be important, too, depending on the type of copying required.

Is the ability to collate important? That allows the copier to output multiple sets in the proper order when fed a multiple-page document. Is duplexing needed? That’s the ability to copy both sides in one pass without manually moving the input page or turning over the copied pages in the hopper. How important is it to be able to use different sizes or types of paper? You may need to copy legal-sized documents, photos at high quality or more.

In the end, consider also the hassle factor. The annoyance (not to mention lost productivity) of having an unreliable copier often far outweighs the money spent. Think ahead about which one to get, so you can get one you don’t have to think about afterward.

See Office Copiers in our store for prices and customer reviews of popular models.

The two basic choices for an office printer today are the inkjet type or the laser printer. Both, in turn, are available in either color or black and white printing styles. Which is best for you?

Just as with computer monitors, the office printer has changed dramatically over the past few years. Lasers, once very expensive, have seen a sharp decline in price. Inkjets are now often given away with other purchases. But the stated purchase price isn’t the only figure you want to consider. Running costs and usable lifetime are equally important, for they determine the true cost over the long run.

Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers function by shooting a small jet of fast-drying ink from a cartridge onto paper. They can produce outstanding results and, when using special paper, the output is as good as a photographic print made from a film negative or digital camera. Today, they’re low cost to purchase (often less than $50) and may last as long as several years.

But they do have some drawbacks.

Inkjet printers are cheap, but - as the marketing adage goes, give away the razor and sell the blades - the cartridges can add up. A basic four-color inkjet cartridge (black and 3-primary colors that combine to make a range of tones) runs anywhere from $20-$40 or more. If you only print a few pages per day, the cost per sheet may be as low as 10 cents. But it will generally range between 25-50 cents per page. Still, that’s not a huge expense at small volumes.

But, for large volumes, the cost of cartridges can balloon into something substantial before you know it. Since they only last a few hundred pages, you may have to replace one often. Even a black-only inkjet cartridge, which might be as low as $10-$15, can last only as long as 400 pages for average documents with no graphics.

A color inkjet cartridge will often last less than half that and the cartridges are double or more the price of just black. Full color documents with complex graphics can consume a color cartridge in a few dozen pages.

The most serious drawback, though, comes in at ultra-low volumes. If you print a document only occasionally, the cartridge may not work at all after a while. The ink at the nozzles has a tendency to dry out, making printing impossible if the printer sits unused for a few weeks.

Laser Printers

The initial purchase price of laser printers is typically higher. But sometimes the total cost difference is minimal depending on your use.

A quality black and white laser printer can be purchased for under $100. Desktop color laser printers may go anywhere from $200 or higher. A high output laser printer can be as high as a few thousand dollars.

Cartridges are more expensive, too. A black and white toner cartridge starts at about $40 and may be as much as $100. Color cartridges are $150-$200. However, they may print as much as 3,000 pages before running out, so the cost per page is typically much less than with inkjets.

Depending on the type of document (and the cartridge cost) 2 cents per page is achievable. The average for printing a page is in the 10-25 cent range for a color laser printer. In part, the higher price is due to the increased amount of graphics that tend to appear on a color page.

A good laser printer can reliably print many thousands of pages, producing several hundred to a thousand or more per day for years before wearing out. They also don’t suffer the same low-volume problem as inkjets. Laser toner can sit unused for months and still print a clean, crisp page on demand.

Choose according to your personal circumstances, but keep in mind the longer-term costs.

See the Office Printers section of our store for latest products, prices, and reviews.

If you manage an office or run your own business, then you know the value of productivity. The more money you can save, the more productive you are; the more productive you are, the more money you make. Therefore, it behooves you to do everything you can to increase productivity, from hiring the most efficient workers to making sure you have the proper office supplies on hand. You’re on your own with the first, but we can help you with the latter.

Paperless office? Hah!

Offices run on paper. This was as true a century ago as it is today, despite the electronic revolution that was supposed to result in the paperless office. Sure, email is all well and good, and the Internet is a great way to browse the headlines and order personal checks online, but paper has hardly withered away; if anything, there’s more it than ever. From checks to receipts, meeting agendas, documentation, and expense reports, we’re all but drowning in paper. And we always need more.

With this in mind, it’s a good idea to keep copious supplies of the most necessary paper and paper-related supplies on hand, so that a simple thing like running out of printer ink won’t have your office in knots. We recommend that you always keep on hand the following supplies:

• Business checks
• Printer paper
• File folders
• Printer cartridges

Pretty paper…

Running out of business checks isn’t likely to shut you down, but it’s better to have them ready when you need them than to wait for a week while they’re printed. Quicken business checks and printer blanks are easily acquired online, whether you favor fabulous deluxe checks or cheap checks with a plain design. You should always have some on hand so that you can take care of expenses and bills.

As for printer paper, it goes without saying that you should have plenty on hand… but we’re saying it anyway. Paper should be available not merely in reams but in boxes, because once you’re out, your office is likely to shut down until you’re restocked. Of course you can recycle paper that’s already been printed on one side, but that can be confusing, especially if it’s from that novel you’ve been writing in your spare time.

Why file folders? Because as a matter of course, you should be filing every piece of paper that comes into your office, particularly if you’re the person in charge. Without file folders, things pile up, and before you know it your desk looks like an exposure at the Grand Canyon, and the paper spills off your desk and onto the floor, and a year later… well, you’re lucky if you can find your desk at all.

Last, but certainly not least — printer cartridges. This is another seemingly “Duh” suggestion, but the moment you use up the last one, that “Duh” will turn to “Doh!” It doesn’t matter how many reams of paper you have, or how beautiful and efficient your gleaming new PrintDream 9000 printer looks; if you don’t have ink or toner, you won’t be printing.

It seems absurd that something as seemingly minor as a lack of office supplies can cripple your office’s efficiency, but sadly it can. Most of us have seen just such an effect in our own offices. Sure, you can remedy the situation by sending the office boy on a quick run to the office supply store — but keep on top of things supplies-wise, and you won’t have to.

Published with permission (FCDMInc)

For the small business or home office, few choices are more important than the personal computers you select for the office. Whether you favor Apple or Dell or some other hardware vendor, whether your preference is for the Mac Operating System, Windows or Linux, there are some common elements that run across any good system.

Cost is clearly the first thing that anyone will consider. We’d all like to have $10,000 to spend on every computer in the office. With that kind of money you could buy the absolute best around. But rarely is that justified for even a single personal machine, much less every computer in the office.

The specific amount is less the idea here, though, than the principle: get what you pay for, but pay for what you need. We’re all tempted to cut corners. Saving money is critical in any business, especially when starting out. But trimming the computer budget too tightly will cost you productivity all day, every day for the useful life of the machine.

It is possible to spend too much on a machine even when you think you’re getting something for that money. “Too much” in this context doesn’t mean not getting a good deal from a vendor. It means spending money for features that don’t give you equivalent value.

One current Intel processor that runs at 3.16 GHz clock speed, for example, sells for several hundred dollars more than the 3.0 GHz model. The other features of the two processors are almost identical. The higher number does not, in fact, mean the machine will be 5% faster. Even if the price was only 1% higher you would still be spending money unwisely. You will rarely notice the difference. There are many aspects to computer performance and this small extra speed will, in the majority of cases, go unnoticed.

So, lesson one is that if you learn a little bit about what makes for good computer performance then you can avoid spending extra money and get essentially nothing extra in return. No need to be an expert yourself, although it never hurts. But be sure to ask some probing questions or get someone to advise you.

Post-sales support can be equally important. No major hardware manufacturer today gives stellar post-sales support. They simply have too many customers to make it feasible to answer all the questions that come up. Most will send replacements parts or a repair person in a reasonable amount of time for machines that actually break down within the warranty period. But you should not expect much more.

That means it can be worthwhile (depending on your personal comfort level with computers and other circumstances) to purchase indirectly. Many resellers offer a great value by providing increased phone and email support, rapid on-site repair services and other value-adds if you purchase from them instead. They can do this because they have a smaller customer base, often are closer to the customer and are usually much better trained than the customer service staffs at major corporations.

Lesson two, then, is to consider how important for you is it to have rapid, reliable, knowledgeable help when something goes wrong. Hardware (and even, to a large extent, software) is very solid these days. If, when you need help you need it now and need it badly, it can easily be worth the extra 10-15% you might pay for a system.

The old saying “penny wise and pound foolish” is an enduring truth, never more so than when it comes to choosing a desktop computer. For most offices today, it forms the core of a person’s productivity. It’s worthwhile to put a little extra thought into choosing one.

See the wide range of affordable desktop computers offered at hard-to-beat prices in our Small Business Store.