How Do You Select A Printer That Will Best Meet Your Requirements

There's a home printer that can handle every type of printing you might need. However, deciding on an appropriate printer can be difficult considering the number of options on the market. To assist you, we've put together a quick-and-dirty buying guide for selecting a home printer, with easy explanations of some of the most commonly used terms, as well as suggestions which will satisfy the majority of customers.

Inkjet or laser?
All printer buyers need to answer the following question: What do you want to print and what amount do you plan to print? Laser printers make use of toner. This is a type of ink that bonds to paper, and inkjet printers use cartridges that are placed on paper, which is then that is wet and then dried quickly. ,Home page.

The majority of the color inkjet printers are in high demand because they can print virtually anything: Pie charts essays, glossy photographs, and even pie charts. Inkjet printers of today and all-in-ones are fast, often having print speeds that are comparable to or surpass their laser counterparts.

Monochrome printing remains an option for offices. Laser printers are an ideal choice. For the most part they can be purchased for a low cost they are able to print at a decent speed, and provide prints with a lower price per page than color inkjet. But you have to decide whether to give up the flexibility that a color inkjet printer offers. Color laser printers are another alternative, but they typically are more expensive per page than the color inkjet.

Laser printers generally have excellent page yields; their long-lasting toner cartridges are able to last between 3000 and 20000 pages before needing to be changed. Inkjet cartridges tend to last for between 2,000 and 2500 on average. This is not as important if you print little or frequently, but it could be a significant difference for those who use lots of cartridges for inkjet printing or those who purchase for offices.

Multifunction printers
Multifunction printers can scan print, fax and scan. These printers are available in inkjet or laser versions and are often called multifunction printers (MFPs) or "all-in-1s".

For home use, a multifunction device makes a lot of sense. Not only because it's cheaper than buying a printer and a standalone scanner as well as to save room. Since all-in-ones are quite popular and the manufacturers don't cost a lot of money for them (you can often find some with prices as low as $50 to $60), we highly recommend them to home users.

MFPs let you scan documents directly onto your personal computer. Some even provide the option of faxing. While they're more prevalent in the workplace however, they are not widely available for application in the field of commercial.

Printers for photos
If you're more interested in keeping photographs of your family on paper rather instead of printing assignments for homework and pie charts, consider the use of a dedicated (single purpose) photo printer. They're not as versatile as multitaskers but the prints are usually superior to those you can receive through kiosks or a mail-order service. The cost you be paying for this convenience is measured through the cost of printing, however. ,Learn more.

Many of the printers sold only for dedicated graphics or photo printing are compact units capable of printing photos as large as 4 by 6 inches in size, or wide format models designed to print media up to 24 inches in width. The supplies for these printers are also generally more expensive than those for the standard multi-function printer. Canon and Epson both have models that can print at 8.5x11 inches. They also use up to six colors of ink to create images with better color accuracy. Many all-in-one printers are capable of turning out photos up to 8.5 by 11 inches if you use the right paper.