Jun 6, 2025

Is it worth getting printers repaired

You rely on your printers every day, so when one grinds to a halt you face an immediate question: “Should I fix it or replace it?” Right away, you may also wonder, how do on site printer repairs work, and will they actually save money over buying new hardware? In a market where a single hour of downtime can cost a business hundreds in lost productivity, the answer matters. Over the past 35 years PrintCom has helped thousands of Perth businesses find the sweet spot between repair, replacement, rental, and proactive maintenance—always with the goal of slashing total print spend while keeping teams productive. In this Q&A guide, we’ll unpack the economics, the practicalities, and the hidden advantages of professional printer repairs, showing you when it pays to pick up the phone and call a technician (and when it doesn’t).

How do on site printer repairs work? A quick step-by-step answer

On-site service is designed to be as painless as ordering a pizza—only instead of pepperoni, you receive a fully functional printer by the end of the visit. Here’s the typical workflow PrintCom follows:

1. Remote triage: A technician confirms the model, error code, and symptoms over the phone or email, ensuring the right parts travel with the van.
2. Rapid dispatch: Because PrintCom stocks components for Brother, Kyocera, HP, Oki, Epson, Fuji Xerox, and Samsung printers locally, 90% of jobs are scheduled within 24 hours.
3. On-site diagnostics: Using OEM service tools and firmware, the technician pinpoints the faulty assembly—fuser, pickup roller, laser scanner, or PCB.
4. Immediate repair: Most faults (paper-feed issues, print-quality degradation, random error codes) are fixed in a single visit that lasts 40–90 minutes.
5. Preventive check-up: The tech resets life counters, cleans sensors, checks consumable levels, and leaves a short preventative maintenance report.
6. Warranty & follow-up: Parts are covered for up to five years under PrintCom’s extended warranty, and your invoice shows exactly how much downtime, supplies, and labour were saved.

Because everything happens at your office, you avoid the packaging, freight expense, and extra days of lost output associated with depot repair. In other words, on-site service converts potential multiday disruption into a lunch-break inconvenience.

What factors decide whether repair or replacement is smarter?

The repair-versus-replace decision boils down to three buckets: financials, functionality, and future growth. Financially, consider the ratio of repair cost to replacement cost (industry analysts advise repairing when the estimate is ≤50 % of a comparable new device). Functionality asks whether the existing unit still meets speed, volume, and feature requirements. Finally, growth examines if your print environment will scale; buying a bigger machine early can avoid another purchase next year.

To make the call easier, look at hard numbers. The table below illustrates a typical mid-range colour laser scenario PrintCom sees weekly:

*Includes toner, drums, maintenance kits, and electricity; data based on PrintCom contract averages.

How much can professional repairs really save compared to buying new?

Industry research by IDC suggests that organisations waste up to 20 % of their annual printing budget on premature hardware replacement. When PrintCom audits a fleet, the most common culprits are inexpensive parts: a $95 pick-up roller causing jams every 20 pages, or a $140 laser scanner mirror degrading colour sharpness. In 2024 alone, PrintCom’s qualified technicians performed 2,300 such component swaps, saving Perth businesses an estimated $740,000 in hardware spend and averting approximately 84 tonnes of e-waste.

Savings don’t stop at capital expenditure. Less obvious gains include:

• Consumable optimisation: Updated firmware and recalibrated sensors reduce toner overuse by 8–12 %.
• Energy efficiency: Replacing a fuser thermistor often drops power draw in sleep mode by 15 %.
• Staff productivity: According to Quocirca, each print failure costs an average of 23 employee minutes—repairs minimise those hits.

Which printer faults are usually fixable on site, and which are terminal?

Not every dead printer deserves CPR, but you may be surprised by what is salvageable. PrintCom categorises faults as follows:

As the table shows, most mechanical and consumable-related failures are solvable within an hour. Structural damage and discontinued firmware, however, typically push the balance toward replacement or leasing.

What makes PrintCom’s repair service different from the rest?

Plenty of companies promise “fast repairs,” yet PrintCom stands out through a mix of depth and breadth. As an authorised dealer for all major brands, they receive parts directly from OEM factories—no grey-market delays. Their qualified technicians each carry certifications for at least three manufacturers, which slashes multi-brand fleet downtime. Extended warranties up to five years mean you’re not rolling the dice after each service call. Finally, PrintCom layers a maintenance contract that bundles consumables, remote monitoring, and quarterly health checks so you rarely face surprise breakdowns at all.

Beyond repairs, PrintCom offers rental and leasing options that combine low monthly fees with unlimited service visits. This hybrid approach lets a client keep aging devices operational while testing a newer model risk-free—a strategy that cut one Perth law firm’s print overhead 27 % last financial year.

When does renting, leasing, or upgrading outrank repairing?

There are clear scenarios where a new device or lease is smarter. Ask yourself:

• Is print volume climbing >20 % annually? A larger duty-cycle machine may halve cost per page.
• Are security or workflow features aging? New MFPs offer pull-print, card authentication, and native cloud integration—repairing can’t add these.
• Is the model discontinued? End-of-life devices lose firmware updates, exposing networks to vulnerabilities.
• Do you need fixed budgeting? Leasing folds hardware, service, and supplies into one OPEX line item.

PrintCom’s consultative audit weighs these points against repair viability, delivering a written recommendation and TCO forecast within 48 hours—at no cost for existing maintenance clients.

Is it worth getting printers repaired in 2025? The verdict

After examining costs, downtime, environmental impact, and functionality, the answer is nuanced but clear: yes, repairs are often worth it when the device still meets performance needs and the repair bill stays beneath roughly half the cost of replacement. On-site service, especially from an authorised multi-brand specialist like PrintCom, slashes downtime, curbs e-waste, and extends asset life for pennies on the dollar. Yet, when your growth trajectory demands faster speeds, tighter security, or integrated workflows, a strategic upgrade or lease may deliver better long-term ROI. Either way, understanding exactly how do on site printer repairs work arms you with the insight needed to choose confidently, keep budgets under control, and ensure your team never waits around for a print job again.