One of the most exciting parts of setting up an office is buying the equipment to fill it. Here is a list of some items you might consider:
Computer
Important for: All industries.
Your computer is amongst the most important pieces of equipment you’ll own. Where you may wish to scrimp on some other things, it’s worth investing in a reliable computer that suits your industry and situation, and that you love working on.
Colour Printer
Important for: graphic designers, photographers, web designers, illustrators.
Colour printers are far less expensive than they were in the past, so you can get one for US$150 to US$500. When purchasing a colour printer, factor in ink and paper costs too. Quality inks and papers can be very expensive and add up quickly. A more expensive printer can in fact be more economical when inks and paper costs are taken into account. Aim for a printer that has separate ink cartridges - that way you only need to replace the inks you’ve used up. It’s kind to the environment too.
If you are often going to be printing pages of text as well, it can be more economical to buy an additional cheap black and white printer. Printing out pages of text on a colour printer will send your ink cartridge expenditures skyrocketing.
Black and White Printer
Important for: Writers, copywriters, translators, project managers
Black and white printers are extremely cheap (as little as US$50) and essential for almost any office.
Fax Machine
Although many of us would not use a fax machine any more, you’ll still find many clients who will. Often you can get a printer/fax/scanner all-in-one and this can be a handy way to hit three birds with one stone. One tip when buying a fax is to avoid fax machines that use rolls of fax paper. Many faxes will now print to ordinary paper making it easier to refill.
There are also many services that allow you to send and receive files as faxes. Some examples are:
Flat Rate Fax
Internet Fax Provider
Green Fax
This option works for anything except sending pages that need your signature, in which case you’ll need a scanner or just a regular fax machine.
Scanner
Important for: Photographers still working with negatives, some graphic and web designers, some illustrators.
A scanner is useful if you regularly use physical materials (hand drawn or painted elements, old photos, etc.) in your work. A scanner will cost US$150 to US$600 depending on its speed and resolution.
Backup
Important for: All industries.
Almost every seasoned freelancer has a nightmare story of losing client work and not having a backup. Ideally you should be backing up your work daily. If you lose work you might repeat days of work (unpaid of course), seriously upset your client and even get sued. It is your responsibility to keep your work safe.
One backup option is to invest in a portable hard drive. These cost between US$70 and US$200. The advantage of a portable hard drive is that it is fast, doesn’t eat up your bandwidth and can handle huge files (especially important for graphic designers and photographers.) However, they can be expensive. Additionally unless transport them to another location after each use, you aren’t protected against a physical mishap, such has fire or water damage or even theft.
A second option is to use remote backup. Remote backup systems will update relevant files via the Internet. These systems generally work via subscription and cost around US$5 to US$20 per month for your average freelancer. You can set most of these systems to backup your files automatically every time you log on to the web. This is a big advantage, especially as they are able to only backup the files you have edited since you were last online.
Because a remote backup is out of your office completely you are safe against anything but the worst of luck.
The disadvantage of course is that if you have very large files remote backup systems will eat up your bandwidth, take a long time to upload, and slow your internet connection down.
Some services to look into include:
I would recommend using these two both a remote and local backup system in tandem.
Finally you should always burn DVDs of completed projects, send one to your client and keep one for your archives.
Surge Protectors
Important for: All industries.
Surge protectors aren’t often mentioned when it comes to essential workspace equipment, but they can save you a great deal of money. Surge protectors stop a surge of electricity destroying your equipment. They cost around US$20 to US$50, are easy to use and could save you thousands of dollars in damaged equipment.
Computer
Important for: All industries.
Your computer is amongst the most important pieces of equipment you’ll own. Where you may wish to scrimp on some other things, it’s worth investing in a reliable computer that suits your industry and situation, and that you love working on.
Colour Printer
Important for: graphic designers, photographers, web designers, illustrators.
Colour printers are far less expensive than they were in the past, so you can get one for US$150 to US$500. When purchasing a colour printer, factor in ink and paper costs too. Quality inks and papers can be very expensive and add up quickly. A more expensive printer can in fact be more economical when inks and paper costs are taken into account. Aim for a printer that has separate ink cartridges - that way you only need to replace the inks you’ve used up. It’s kind to the environment too.
If you are often going to be printing pages of text as well, it can be more economical to buy an additional cheap black and white printer. Printing out pages of text on a colour printer will send your ink cartridge expenditures skyrocketing.
Black and White Printer
Important for: Writers, copywriters, translators, project managers
Black and white printers are extremely cheap (as little as US$50) and essential for almost any office.
Fax Machine
Although many of us would not use a fax machine any more, you’ll still find many clients who will. Often you can get a printer/fax/scanner all-in-one and this can be a handy way to hit three birds with one stone. One tip when buying a fax is to avoid fax machines that use rolls of fax paper. Many faxes will now print to ordinary paper making it easier to refill.
There are also many services that allow you to send and receive files as faxes. Some examples are:
Flat Rate Fax
Internet Fax Provider
Green Fax
This option works for anything except sending pages that need your signature, in which case you’ll need a scanner or just a regular fax machine.
Scanner
Important for: Photographers still working with negatives, some graphic and web designers, some illustrators.
A scanner is useful if you regularly use physical materials (hand drawn or painted elements, old photos, etc.) in your work. A scanner will cost US$150 to US$600 depending on its speed and resolution.
Backup
Important for: All industries.
Almost every seasoned freelancer has a nightmare story of losing client work and not having a backup. Ideally you should be backing up your work daily. If you lose work you might repeat days of work (unpaid of course), seriously upset your client and even get sued. It is your responsibility to keep your work safe.
One backup option is to invest in a portable hard drive. These cost between US$70 and US$200. The advantage of a portable hard drive is that it is fast, doesn’t eat up your bandwidth and can handle huge files (especially important for graphic designers and photographers.) However, they can be expensive. Additionally unless transport them to another location after each use, you aren’t protected against a physical mishap, such has fire or water damage or even theft.
A second option is to use remote backup. Remote backup systems will update relevant files via the Internet. These systems generally work via subscription and cost around US$5 to US$20 per month for your average freelancer. You can set most of these systems to backup your files automatically every time you log on to the web. This is a big advantage, especially as they are able to only backup the files you have edited since you were last online.
Because a remote backup is out of your office completely you are safe against anything but the worst of luck.
The disadvantage of course is that if you have very large files remote backup systems will eat up your bandwidth, take a long time to upload, and slow your internet connection down.
Some services to look into include:
Mozy Pro -
I would recommend using these two both a remote and local backup system in tandem.
Finally you should always burn DVDs of completed projects, send one to your client and keep one for your archives.
Surge Protectors
Important for: All industries.
Surge protectors aren’t often mentioned when it comes to essential workspace equipment, but they can save you a great deal of money. Surge protectors stop a surge of electricity destroying your equipment. They cost around US$20 to US$50, are easy to use and could save you thousands of dollars in damaged equipment.
