Another area that the guys needed to watch their dollars was on the trade show set up. They needed to provide receipts to all the customers and they wanted to have something professional looking. They rejected the hand written receipt immediately.
So they wanted to print some receipts on the spot for each sale. They were not planning on doing hundreds per day maybe two to three dozen every day while they were attending the shows. The guys started looking at different injet machines and the speed that they wold print one page. But what about the ongoing costs. They needed to look at the inkjet cartridges replacement costs. Because with those sales levels they would need to replace the cartridges after each trade show.
The guys decided to go with either an Epson printer or a HP printer. They made the printer choice based on warranty issues and the ability to print the receipts at a decent speed level.
I convinced them that they should base the final decision on price and also supply of the replacement cartridges. The epson inkjet cartridges are cheaper than the matching HP models. But there was one more factor to help make the decision. Anyone who has worked at any tradeshow knows you always forget something. So what happens when the guys forget their replacement cartridges. That is one of HP advantages. You could go into almost any business store and find HP inkjet cartridges sitting on the shelve. That would save the guys some stress in the future because Ièm sure it will happen.