Whether it be for home or office, choosing a new printer can be daunting. Printer manufacturers nowadays have a wide range of options on the market. So how do you choose what’s right for you and your home or business? This guide will help make that decision clearer and get you set up with a printer that adequately suits your needs.
Remember, Price isn’t Everything.
The cost of purchasing a new printer is certainly going to be a factor for everyone, but it shouldn’t be the end-all-be-all for your final purchase decision. Someone looking to go for the absolute cheapest option might buy a low-cost inkjet printer (be very wary of free printers) only to find that their printing needs are not being met in a cost-effective way by wasting of time and money forcing a printer to function under a workload it is not suited for.
On the flip side of this coin, it’s not necessary to spend an arm and a leg on a printer/scanner/fax machine with all of the bells and whistles if you only have basic printing needs. Having top the line equipment is always nice, but if you are buying a printer with extra expensive features that you’ll never use you may be wasting money, and that’s no good either.
So How Do You Know What Printer is Right for You?
“Keep what is useful. Eliminate what is not.”
This bit of wisdom is directly applicable to a wide range of aspects of life, including the topic of buying a printer. When researching what printer to buy, do yourself a favor and be honest. What are your business needs?
The following quick-guide will give you some information that will help simplify this process.
Inkjet Printers vs Laser Printers
These days there is a bit more crossover between all of the available types of printers. But one key consideration in the debate between inkjet and laser printers is this:
“How much will I be printing and what will I be printing?”
Here is an easy equation to think of to get you started. The more expensive the printer, the cheaper the long-term price per page for printing: the cheaper the printer, the more expensive the longer-term price per page will be. Since the toner/ink will always be the repeating factor in this equation it must be kept at the forefront of the ultimate purchase decision.
~ If you are only going to be printing on a handful of occasions or a few pages a day then an inkjet printer may be the way to go. The upfront costs will be lower as entry level inkjet printers tend to be notably cheaper than laser printers, but you should expect to pay more per page to print.
~ If you or your office is printing several reams to multiple boxes of paper each month a laser printer should be considered. In addition to the multifunction aspects frequently found in today’s laser printers, the initial expense of the printer will certainly pay itself off in the long run with the cost per page savings found with these units.
“Is color a factor?”
Are big colorful spreads or pages that include pictures a regular part of your printing? Inkjet printers will generally provide a better-quality color product as they rely on dye and pigment-based inks. The process involved with inkjet printing allows for a finished product that covers a wider spectrum of tones and subtle shades of color, but does have the potential of smudging when handled if the ink has not dried yet. If quality color or photo printing is important to you and cost is less of an issue, an inkjet printer should be considered.
Laser printers are better suited for those who will need to produce lots of text-based documents on a regular basis. The upfront cost is higher but the cost per page for replacing toner cartridges is notably less than their inkjet counterparts. Toner cartridges of a laser printer rely on a dry powder resulting in clear and crisp text that is easy to read and ready to handle the instant it comes out of the printer. Laser printers can come with the bells and whistles you might expect to find in a typical office space, ranging from the ability to make copies and send faxes to the more complicated functions such as stapling or duplexing.
“How much room do I have for the printing station?”
One final thing to consider that many overlook is the size of the printer. It may sound silly, but if you purchase a multi-function laser printer with fax and scan capabilities and try to set it up in a tiny office or on a small desk you’re likely to get a little claustrophobic.
Inkjet printer technology has reached the point where some printer options can fit in very tight spaces. If space is very limited and it’s a tossup between which type of printer best suits your needs an inkjet printer may be the way to go in terms of size alone.
Consult the Pros
Still not sure of what printer option suits you best? Speak with a professional today at 3D Office Solutions. We can discuss your specific needs and find the best printer for you and your budget. Call us now at (406) 257-4453.