Smaller firms can increase their productivity by making use of a printer with more than one function, it has been suggested.

Printer manufacturer Lexmark UK highlighted the benefits for small and medium-sized businesses of using a multi-function printer which can scan, copy and fax documents, as well as print them out.

"Rather than investing in a fax machine, scanner and printer as three standalone products, incurring the administrative and service costs of three separate vendors, SMBs should invest in a multi-functional product," the firm said.

But according to Lexmark, even those 62 per cent of SMBs in the UK who own a multifunction printer may not be getting the most out of their product as just half of firms (55 per cent) use it to fax and scan documents.

The manufacturer said this means that "essentially many SMBs are missing out on the opportunity to unlock the productivity of their office equipment".

Reliability was highlighted as being of key importance for SMBs when choosing a printer, as it may be the only one in the office.