The Printer Buyers guide December 23, 2005 15:03 by John Sollars

The Potential Printer Buyer’s Guide

With a plethora of options available on the market, buying a printer can surely become a daunting task. This guide will provide you with a checklist you’ll need to buy a printer best suited to your needs.

Here’s an overview of the basic types of printers available:

Inkjet - Inkjet printers essentially work by spraying microscopic droplets of ink onto the page. Newer inkjet printers can deliver remarkable image quality. If you're mostly concerned about being able to print photos, inkjet printers will be best for you.

Laser - Laser printers use a precision laser to draw images and letters on the page with toner. They print more pages per minute than an inkjet printer and have a lower cost of operation over the long-term, even though they cost a little more than inkjet printers. Laser printers provide a low-cost option for text and basic graphics. Although the prices of colour models are now coming down, they still remain the most expensive option.

Multifunction - Multifunction printers (MFPs) with built-in scanners, fax machines, photocopiers and many more features take the place of a number of pieces of equipment, saving you desk space. Many of these printers also include memory card inputs and LCD screens, making it easier to print photos. You can find MFPs in either inkjet or laser versions.

Now, to get started, you’ll need to first ascertain the purpose of your use.

Basic home use – You’ll find the most affordable and versatile printers in this category. Most inexpensive colour inkjet printers do a good job with photos, but make sure you use the right paper for best results. Take into account the cost of constantly replacing ink cartridges you print a lot. It's also wise to consider printers that use cartridges with replacement print heads attached; cartridges without print heads can dry out if you don't print often enough.

High-volume printing - If you print documents frequently, a laser printer may be your best bet. You could get a separate photo printer or inkjet for colour printing and for your photos.

Photography - If you print a lot of pictures, consider either an inkjet printer designed for photos or a dedicated photo or snapshot printer.

Home office - If you work from home, then a Multifunction Printer (MFP) would be more useful. Its handy features include a flatbed scanner, auto document feeders for faxing or copying large files, and extra onboard memory for faxing or copying larger documents. A few basic features of the printer that you’ll need to keep in mind are:

Print Resolution - A printer's resolution, also known as Dots Per Ink or DPI, is the maximum number of dots per inch that can be printed. A resolution of 600x600 DPI means that there are 600 vertical dots and 600 horizontal dots in every square inch. Nowadays, printers vary from 600x600 to 4800x1200 dpi. The more dots a printer uses, the better the outcome of the picture is, although more ink is also used. However, you don’t need a high DPI for printing text; anything above 300x300 DPI is simply a waste of ink, even 300x300 DPI is sometimes too high.

Speed - Speed ratings normally apply to the printer's performance on the lowest quality settings. This is rated in PPM (Pages Per Minute); naturally, the higher the rating is, the faster a printer can print. Realistically, the performance will be closer to almost half the listed pages per minute. The reason is that the rating of the printer is normally done when in Draft Mode. Speed of the printer does not necessarily mean it will produce poor images or unclear writing. The quality essentially depends on the DPI (especially for images), and also the maker of the printer itself. Memory - Printers essentially need an onboard processor and memory to get the job done. If you plan to print a number of large files, such as high-resolution photos, extra memory will come in handy.

Printer Interface - With the move towards USB, many printers do not come with the old standard parallel port connection. Nowadays, all printers feature either USB 1.1 or the faster USB 2.0 connection, and some have both. To keep your options open for the future, you could consider a printer that also includes a Bluetooth, infrared or Wi-Fi® wireless link. Network printers will require an Ethernet connection.

Printer Consumables:

Paper Another important thing to consider when purchasing a printer is the different types of paper the printer can accommodate. If you’d want to print your own business cards, then you should find out if the printer can print properly on cardboard paper, etc. Making sure that the printer can do the job effectively is very important before the purchase. Moreover, you should consider the cost of specific types of paper that you might use, e.g. photo quality paper. Using all-purpose paper for printing images not only produces a lousy output, but it also wastes a lot of ink. Photos should be printed on photo quality paper only, so that ink isn’t absorbed into the paper. Ink Cartridges

The cost of ink is also a major issue you cannot overlook. Every company manufactures its unique cartridge that works best with its own printers. Moreover, printers are designed to perform best with Original Manufacturer Cartridges (OEMs). Even cartridges of the same company are incompatible with its different models. Refer to other resources on this website for further help on ink cartridges. Conclusion

This guide was designed to give you an idea of what to look for when considering purchasing a printer. Some computer stores may let you try a demo printer that they have on the shelf to check the quality of prints. However, it’s advisable that you do some research before making that final purchase, so you know exactly what you are getting. Check manufacturer’s websites for information and don't rely on the salespeople at the store. They might not be knowledgeable and you might end up unhappy with your purchase.