The most important piece of equipment you need to begin printing tracts and other literature is a printer. After printing, you can fold the tracts by hand if necessary, and then distribute them.

• Laser printer (A4). Printers come in various sizes and budgets, so you should be able to find one that fits your budget. Consider the cost of consumables in addition to the initial cost of the printer. Some printers are so cheap, but ink refills may be 50% of the initial cost of the printer! Although a duplex option is nice, it is not necessary as you can flip the sheets manually and print the other side.
• Computer. This can be a desktop or laptop computer with word processing software or layout and design software. You can usually send print jobs to the printer via a USB cable.

Includes everything in the ultra-minimalist list with the addition of the following:

• Paper cutter. You can start by purchasing the kind that cuts just a few sheets at a time. It is a lot more efficient and professional than using scissors to cut the paper. This machine is useful for dividing sheets if you print two or more tracts on one sheet, for example.
• Long-reach Stapler. If you plan on producing booklets, it is nice to have a long-reach stapler to staple the cover and pages of your booklets together before you fold them.

Includes everything in the minimalist list with the addition of the following:

• Laser printer with duplex option (A3). The duplex option will significantly increase efficiency and reduce errors when printing tracts and booklets and books. Printing with A3 paper and then cutting down to size is generally more efficient than printing the same amount of paper through an A4 printer twice.
• Paper stack cutter. This is useful to cut larger stacks of paper at once much more efficiently than with the simple paper cutter. Usually in our context it is best to get the manual version, not electric or hydraulic.
• Long-reach heavy-duty stapler. This allows you to staple thicker booklets or reinforce the binding of perfect-bound books.
• Paper folding machine. A table-top version is usually sufficient for most small print-shops. This machine saves many hours of times and finger blisters by folding thousands of tracts rapidly and accurately.
• File server. If you have more than one person working on files and documents, it is extremely useful to have a central server where all files are kept. Each client computer connects to the server computer. This central file server also makes Backups more easy and efficient to manage.

Includes everything in the medium list with the addition of the following:

• Riso duplicator (A3). For printing tracts or Bible studies, this printer has many advantages over the laser printer. It is faster and uses significantly less power.
• Color printer. This is mostly for printing covers for books or booklets. Full color is attractive.
• Book binding machine. If you want to begin producing perfect-bound books with hot melt glue, you may want to consider this machine.

Consider incorporating the principle of Redunancy. Think through each of your machines and ask yourself, “What happens if this machine breaks down? Can I still continue producing materials?” If the budget allows, buy identical copies of your most important machines, especially if you are in a remote region without easy access to repairs and parts.