How to choose a printer?

Picking the right printer for your needs has become a fairly complicated process due to the sheer volume of choices in the market.

There are two basic types of printers, laser and inkjet. Laser printers are further available in monochrome and color formats, while inkjet printers are available in standard and photo models. Both laser and inkjet printers are also available as multifunction printers that can perform two or more additional tasks such as scanning, faxing, copying, and printing.

There are many options to consider before making a buying decision. Some important ones are networking capabilities, print speed, print resolution, cost of consumables, paper capacity, memory capacity, size, and weight.

• Networking capability: If you are going to share the printer with others at your home or office then you need a printer that has out of the box networking capability and multi user support.
• Printing speed: Check the printer specs for printing speed.  Be aware that manufacturers’ claims about pages-per-minute (ppm) are never accurate and could only be used for comparison against other printers.  Laser printers usually offer higher print speeds and must be considered if you do high volume printing.
• Print resolution: Manufacturers’ print resolution claims can also be misleading. Inkjet printers usually have higher resolutions than laser printers but because of the difference in technology the crispness of printed text or line art never comes close to that of laser printer.  If possible get a test printout for comparison.  All inkjet printers can print photos but photo inkjets produce higher quality prints.  Laser printers are not as good at printing color photographs but do a better job at printing monochrome or color text documents with or without graphics.
• Paper capacity: Paper capacity can be an important factor if you do high volume printing.  Be sure to evaluate your daily print volume to make sure you do not have to refill paper too frequently.  Do you need to print on wide variety of paper stocks, including letter, legal, card stock, labels, envelopes and transparencies. Be sure to check if your choice of printer offers this capability.
• Memory capacity: If you print graphics heavy documents then memory capacity may be an important factor for you.  Sufficient memory capacity in a printer frees up your computer faster.
• Size and weight: Finally make sure the size and weight of the printer is suitable for your work space.  Last thing you want to do is to make a purchase and discover that it does not fit well in your workspace.

How much does it cost to buy a printer?

Be sure to factor the cost of consumables (replacement toner or ink cartridge) into your budget before making a final decision. Per page printing costs vary widely between printers. Divide the cost of consumables with rated output to calculate per page printing cost.  Use this measure to draw a comparison. Laser printers typically have a higher upfront cost but offer lower per page cost for ink while inkjets have lower upfront costs but replacement cartridges can be as expensive as the printer. To find the best deal in the market, compare printers from multiple vendors.