Frequently Asked Questions About Office Copiers, Printers, and Managed Print

Does my equipment lease include service and toner?

No, and this is the most common misunderstanding we see. An equipment lease finances the cost of the machine itself. Service is a separate agreement that covers on-site response, parts, and labour, priced on your machine usage and usually billed as a cost per page. Toner and supplies can be folded into your service agreement or handled separately through Toner AutoPilot.

Many offices choose to bring all of these onto a single monthly invoice for simplicity, and the underlying costs stay distinct. When you compare two quotes, compare the lease against the lease and the service against the service, or you are not comparing the same thing. Our managed print page shows how the pieces fit together.

Should I lease or buy our next office copier?

It depends on five things: how predictable you need your monthly costs to be, your growth plans for the next three to five years, your tax treatment preferences, the lifespan you expect from the machine, and how you want to handle service and supplies. For most offices of five to fifty employees, a lease or a managed service agreement makes more sense than an outright purchase.

We are glad to walk through the numbers with you and show you both. Our guide on how to choose an office printer or copier works through the same questions in more detail.

What are typical lease terms for an office copier?

We typically offer 36 and 60 month leases, and we can arrange other terms when a client needs them. A longer term lowers the monthly payment. A shorter term gives you more room to upgrade sooner.

The lease covers the financing of the machine only. Service, supplies, and on-site support are billed separately under a service agreement based on your usage, usually as a cost per page. Some clients bring the lease and the service charges onto one monthly invoice for simplicity, and the two costs remain separate underneath.

What does a managed print service include and what does it cost?

A managed print service brings your equipment, your service agreement, and your supplies together into one arrangement. The equipment portion is based on the cost of the machine. The service portion is based on your actual usage, priced as a cost per page that covers parts, labour, and on-site response. Toner and supplies can be included in that rate or handled through Toner AutoPilot.

Cost per page depends on the machine, your colour and black and white mix, and your monthly volume, so we quote it after we have looked at your fleet rather than before. There is no charge for that look.

What sets Uptown Business Machines apart from larger national dealers?

When you call us, you reach the same local team that knows you and your office. I have been in this industry for thirty years and I have owned UBM since 2016. You do not get a new account manager every year, and you do not work through a call centre to reach someone who has actually stood in your office.

The second difference is that we sell and service several brands rather than one. Kyocera, Xerox, Epson, and HP all sit on the same table when we make a recommendation, so what you hear is the machine that fits your work, not the machine we have been told to move.

Are you a local company, and what areas do you serve?

Yes. We are based in White Rock, British Columbia, and we serve offices across South Surrey, Surrey, White Rock, Delta, Langley, and the rest of the Lower Mainland.

If your business has locations outside that area, tell us where they are. We work with the Kyocera and Xerox authorized dealer networks across Canada and can arrange service for those sites, and we perform service work for other dealers ourselves. We will always be straight with you about which sites we cover directly and which a partner covers.

Can you assess our current printer fleet at no cost?

Yes. We are glad to come out, walk through your office, count and identify the machines you have, and look at your monthly print volumes and supply costs. There is no charge and no obligation.

At the end you will have an honest picture of what is working, what is not, and whether we can help. Some offices find the answer is to keep what they have and manage it better, and we will tell you that. Ask us for a free print assessment and we will arrange a time.

How fast can a new printer be delivered and installed?

Most printers can be ordered and shipped to your office within one to two business days. Specialty items can take up to a week, and we accommodate rush orders when we can.

Machines arrive pre-configured with your network settings, scan to email, and printer drivers ready to go, so your team can start using the machine the same day it lands. You can see what we carry in our copier and multifunction printer catalogue.

What is your service response time when a printer breaks down?

For clients on a managed service agreement, our standard is a same-day or next-business-day on-site visit, depending on the severity of the issue. Many smaller issues are diagnosed remotely inside the same hour.

No machine runs forever without needing attention. What we have built the business around is getting you running again quickly when it does.

What is Toner AutoPilot?

Toner AutoPilot is our automated supplies programme. The machine connects with our warehouse and orders the supplies it needs on its own. It reports what it requires without anyone at your office having to manage it, watch levels, or place an order.

Your team stops keeping a mental list of cartridges, the storage closet stops filling up with the wrong ones, and supplies arrive before you are out.

Toner AutoPilot runs on machines with and without a cost per page agreement. On a cost per page agreement, supplies are included in the rate. On its own, the ordering works exactly the same way and you pay for toner and parts as they are needed.

Does Toner AutoPilot work for printers we did not buy from Uptown?

Yes, in most cases. The best results come from machines we set up and configure from the start, and we are glad to bring an existing fleet on midstream. We connect your current printers so they report accurately and arrange automated toner and on-site support from there.

Reporting begins the day we install it, so the picture builds forward from that point rather than backward.

What if we get shipped the wrong toner cartridge?

In the unlikely event the wrong cartridge is shipped, or a printer was swapped out and the system has not yet caught up, we process a return for credit. You do not pay for supplies you cannot use.

Do you only support printers you sell?

The best machines for us to support are the ones we set up from day one, and we take on existing fleets too. We can connect your current printers so they report accurately, arrange automated toner, and provide on-site support regardless of where the equipment was originally purchased.

Some printer brands are proprietary and are built to be supported by their original manufacturer. We will tell you when a machine falls into that group rather than take it on and disappoint you.

Do you work with our existing IT team or replace them?

We work alongside your existing IT team and take the printer side of the work off their plate. Most IT professionals will tell you they do not enjoy managing printers and supplies, and we are glad to handle that work on their behalf.

They keep ownership of your network. We own the printer fleet.

What printer warranty do you offer?

Most of our printers and copiers carry a one or two year manufacturer warranty, and if a product arrives damaged or is not functioning it is repaired or replaced without delay. Our Epson wide format printers can be covered by a five year warranty package, which is among the strongest coverage available in that category.

Extended warranty options are available, and on a managed service agreement the coverage continues under the agreement for as long as the machine is on it.

What is DTEN and how does it help hybrid meetings?

DTEN is an all-in-one video conferencing system built for meeting rooms. The camera, microphone, screen, and meeting controls are in a single device. Anyone on your team can walk into the room and start a meeting without calling IT or fighting with cables and remotes.

Does DTEN work with Microsoft Teams and Zoom?

Yes. DTEN works with both Microsoft Teams and Zoom out of the box, with no separate licenses or complex setup required. If your team uses one platform today and switches to the other in two years, the same device still works.

Do you handle DTEN installation and setup?

Yes. We size the DTEN system to your meeting room, configure it for Microsoft Teams or Zoom, and set it up on-site so your team can start using it immediately. If your space needs cabling, mounting, or audio adjustments, we coordinate that as part of the install.