A Church Staple: Quality Equipment Is Key To Managing An Efficient And Effective Church Office

by Scott Hoover

Take heed to the ministry which thou has received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it.--Colossians 4:17

Each member of the church is entrusted to conduct their own type ministry. From the senior pastor to the volunteer, each has been selected to minister to the flock in his or her own way. With effective communication at the core of a well-run congregation, knowing the types of equipment available, as well as their functions, can help a church's office staff make wise long-term investment choices that can save both time and money and allow these shepherds to continue their ministry.

Digitally Speaking

The digital duplicator is a fairly new product to the church market. It was introduced to office executives during the late 1980s in an effort to save money on copier expenses. According to Anchi Liu, marketing manager for the digital division of the Santa Ana, Calif.,-based Duplo U.S.A. Corp., church administrators are just beginning to learn about duplicating machines and the advantages it can bring to the church office.

"Many of our new customers are churches who have just learned about digital duplicators," he says. "Often, for a church to buy a high speed copier, it can be extremely expensive. A duplicating machine can produce 120 copies per minute. Basically, if more than 25 copies of an original need to be made, in the long run, a duplicator will end up saving the church money."

Liu adds that digital duplicators are not meant to entirely replace copy machines; however, it is a great product to co-exist with the copier or laser printer.

"The reason people associate with copy machines so quickly is because of marketing," he says. "Actually, if you go into any office environment, including a church, everybody needs a copy machine. Duplicators are not meant to be the product that replaces copy machines. In many churches, most of the jobs require 300 copies or more per original. These types of instances are perfect for a digital duplicator. Every time I explain the digital duplicator concept to church administrators, the response is great. It just is a matter of how people are educated."

High end duplicators can print all sizes of documents as well as spot color and easily can be networked to a personal computer or Macintosh so that a project can be taken from start to finish. In addition, duplicators can print envelopes, index cards, card stock, even lunch bags for a church picnic. Since a duplicator looks similar to a copy machine, space requirements are minimal.

"The most misunderstood aspect of digital duplicators is how they save money," states Liu. "I tell my staff that they are not sales people, they are consultants. It is our job to listen to church administrators, find out what type of needs the church has and how a duplicator can help them to save money."

Liu adds that there are two types of Duplo duplicators--the standard series and edit series. The standard series duplicator can stand alone or interface with an office computer. The edit series allows the user to scan the image and edit it in an effort to manipulate the document. The company also supplements its product line with collators, folders and a number of other products.

"Most churches network the duplicator with an office computer, thus eliminating the need for the edit function," he notes. "One of Duplo's largest advantages is that it offers solutions from start to finish. In a church office, you need equipment that can fold, collate, make booklets and complete a variety of other tasks. A lot of churches, when they are upgrading their church offices, want to be able to work with one company. That is what we offer."

In-House Printing

Printed materials are one of the most important parts of a congregation's communication network. It is common for churches to have outside printing sources to fill certain needs, especially for projects that require color.

Many churches may not have considered bringing color-printing capabilities in house as a way to save time and money.

According to Kevin Thompson, national religious marketing manager for RISO based in Amhurst, Mass., the company has been helping churches eliminate the worry of leaving their printing deadlines in the hands of an outside source.

"The Risograph looks like a copy machine; however, it is capable of printing 16 different ink colors via a digital scanning unit and saves money" he says. "For instance, a church may be able to run 500 bulletins, two-color, two-sided, for less than half a penny not including the cost of paper."

Thompson adds that a Risograph also can be networked with a computer and is compatible with all types of hardware and software.

"Church secretaries now have the option to send whatever item they are working on to the Risograph and have it go directly into the system," he says. "The past couple of years as software has become easier to work with, the electronic bulletin has become much more popular, and being able to network the computer with the Risograph has made it very convenient."

In addition, the environmentally friendly Risograph does not require the use of toners or developers which can be costly for many churches.

"Churches making at least 10,000 copies per month can cut their costs by as much as 80 percent a year by keeping their printing costs in-house," says Thompson. "Churches that make just a few copies at a time, however, would be wise to use an ordinary copy machine to avoid the time delay involved with having the first image electronically scanned. Churches have learned that copy machines are more effective for such things as administrative copies, whereas the duplicator takes over for such items as informational and instructional copies."

On Hold

Depending on the size and needs of the church, the costs involved with equipping a church office with the basic, necessary tools can vary greatly, as can the quality and features of the equipment purchased. Deciding what the equipment primarily will be used for, as well as estimating the frequency of use and the volume of printed materials to be produced must be considered before making any type of long-term investment.

When considering what type of phone system or answering machine to purchase, there are several important features that should be considered. These features can differentiate a basic phone or answering machine, from a high-quality product.

The following are some important phone system features:

• 2-Way Call Recording--Allows you to record both sides of a conversation.
• 2-Way Page Intercom--Transmits voice between the handset and the base unit.
• 900 MHz--A shorter signal more capable of going through small openings and navigating around physical obstructions. There is less weakening and blockage of this signal, and the fre-quencies in this band are not affected by common office items such as radios.
• Adjustable Ringer--Allows you to turn on/off the ringer and/or set the volume of the ring.
• Adjustable Volume--Allows you to adjust the volume of the voice coming through the handset.
• Auto Redial--Automatically redials a busy number for a limited amount of time.
• Auto-Dial Memory--Access and dial a preprogrammed number with the touch of one button.
• AutoScan--Automatically searches the channels on a cord less phone for the clearest on which to send the call.
• Call Screening--Allows you to listen in as a message is being recorded so you can decide whether or not to take the call.
• Digital Answering Machine--Messages are recorded directly into a digital microchip. No tapes are used.
• LCD Display--Display on the phone's base that shows time of day, phone number called and duration of the call.
• Memo Feature--Allows you to record a personal message for others to playback.
• Page/Find--A one way page from the base of the phone to the handset, to help locate the handset.
• Remote Access--Allows a caller to playback a message from a touch tone phone.
• Speed-Dial Memory--Access and dial a preprogrammed number with the touch of two buttons.
• Tape Answering Machine--Messages are recorded onto tapes in the machine.

Other Office Essentials

A fax machine is an integral part of business in the '90s. Businesses, both large and small, have made the fax machine the preferred method for communicating information quickly and efficiently. When deciding to shop for a fax machine, there are a number of key attributes that need to be taken into consideration.

Foremost, there are four basic types of fax machines including thermal, inkjet, laser and multi-functional.

The thermal fax is the most commonly used by small businesses. An important characteristic is that this type of fax prints on thermal paper. Thermal paper can be expensive and faxed documents tend to curl and/or fade over time. However, the affordable pricing is what makes the thermal fax machine an attractive system.

The inkjet fax machine is considered a step or two above the thermal unit. It prints with better resolution and uses standard bond copy paper. The inkjet fax machine is priced higher than a thermal system, but documents tend to look clearer and are easier to read.

The laser fax allows the highest quality or resolution. Laser fax machines are popular among larger businesses, law firms and real estate offices because of the professional quality. The laser fax also uses standard bond copy paper, but provides an outstanding print quality. Although laser fax systems are priced above both inkjets and thermal fax units, technology and lower prices have made the laser fax machine more affordable.

A multi-functional fax combines a copier, printer and fax into one system. Higher end units also can include a scanner, PC fax and message center capabilities. Due to the fact that a multi-functional fax combines several office machines into one system, it tends to save money and is ideal for the small church office.

Printers also can be combined into categories including the laser printer, inkjet printer and dot matrix printer. Laser printers offer the best performance and print quality, inkjet printers provide good performance and print quality for organizations on a budget and dot matrix printers are viable if church employees only need to print multiform documents.

Laser printers are becoming the standard in most industries. With a minimum 300 dots per inch and the fastest print speeds, laser printers offer top-of-the-line print quality. Today, manufacturers are developing laser printers to meet a variety of needs. Laser printers range from expensive, high-end printers for camera ready work, all the way to printers that offer a high standard of print quality for newsletters and correspondence at lower, affordable prices.

Inkjet printers spray tiny drops of ink onto the page to form letters. The printers are quiet and produce in high-quality resolution. The main advantage of an inkjet printer is that it is priced at about half as much as a midrange laser printer. The disadvantages are a drop-off in print quality and the fact that inkjet printers are slower than laser printers. However, if a church can sacrifice some print quality for a lower price, then an inkjet would be the logical choice.

Dot matrix printers work much like a traditional typewriter. It features the same hammer or pin drive that takes the ink from the ribbon to the page. The advantage of a dot matrix printer is that it is relatively inexpensive and prints quickly. The disadvantages include print quality and noise. Dot matrix printers lack the print quality of a laser printer or inkjet printer. However, if the church prints a lot of multiform documents, a dot matrix printer might be the best option.

There are a number of considerations when searching for a personal copier; however, the goal is to find the balance between features and price.

The copyboard is located on top of the copier where you place the document to be copied. Typically, less expensive copiers have a copyboard that moves back and forth while making copies. Unless space is a consideration there is no difference between the performance of a stationary and moving copyboard. If space is a concern then the stationary model is ideal.

The paper size refers to the copier's ability to copy letter, legal and 11-inch by 17-inch documents. If you need all three types of documents copied, paper size should be a consideration.

The reduce/enlarge feature enables the user to adjust the documents print size. This is a convenient feature for churches that deal with many different size documents. Some copiers have preset reduction/enlargement percentages, while higher-end models allow you to reduce/enlarge in increments of one percent.

The yield per toner cartridge refers to an approximate number of copies the machine will make before the toner needs to be replaced. The greater the toner yield, the more copies per cartridge. Copies per minute is another important feature. The church office is a busy place. The higher the CPM, the faster the copier will produce pages, and save time.

Paper tray size refers to the amount of paper that will feed from the tray at one time. If you are producing more than 250 sheets per day then you probably will want a paper tray that holds between 500 and 2,000 sheets.

Warranties vary from machine to machine and it is important to know the warranty's terms before church administrators purchase a copier. The warranty should be an indication of how closely a manufacturer will stand behind its product.