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When it comes down to buying a printer for yourself, the real key is finding the best printer for your needs. And how do you find the best printer? Ask questions! Here are 10 great questions to ask yourself in order to find the absolute best printer for all of your printing needs.
1. Is the printer going to be the only printer in the home or office?
If yes, then you need the printer to be able to do multiple functions like print pictures, print text fast, and do it all effectively. But very few offices have one printer, and even some homes have more than one with the price of printers on the market. So it might not be a bad idea to buy two printers for your home with one for photo printing, and one for everything else.
2. Do you need a multifunction (all-in-one) printer or not?
Nowadays you can buy printers that scan, copy and fax. Will you need your printer to perform any of those things? If you don’t necessarily need the printer do any of those things, then it will not be a factor you need to consider. If not, your buying decision will be much more speedy.
3. What are you going to use the printer for? If you have a need for one particular function in a printer, look for just that at first. For instance, if you want scanning capability, look for that first and then go for the printing part. This means what are you going to use the printer mainly for? Here are some common printer uses, usage levels and the type of printer that may be best suited for this usage:
4. What is your budget for buying that printer?
You can start by coming up with a budget and then try to get the best printer that fits your needs in that budget. This can work several ways. Most likely, however, you will think of a number that looks great on paper. After a bit of research, you may find that you overestimated or underestimated the cost of a printer that fulfills all of your needs. Then, you’ll come up with a more accurate budget and go from there. Be sure to consider the cost of printer ink cartridges in your budget as well, as they will be a recurring expense.
5. What is the true cost of printer ownership?
6. Have you heard of the printer brand before?
7. What do professionals and customers think about it?
8. What do your friends think about it?
9. Have you thought about non-traditional brands?
10. Where will you buy the printer from?
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If you are looking to purchase laser printer, here are some features of laser printers which would be helpful to those who are purchasing laser printer or those who need information about laser printers. Laser printers give the highest quality text and images among the printers. Laser printers got different model. Some of them are perfect for small businesses and home offices. Some reliable low-cost models are also available that are perfect for everyday personal printing. Some of the features of Laser Printers are Resolution, Quality, and Color: – The standard resolution of leaser printer is 1200 dots per inch (dpi). For everyday printing, including small DTP jobs this type of laser printer is well-suited. But still some laser printers have a resolution of 300 dpi. Resolution enhancement technology is used in such laser printer with a resolution of 300 dpi because such printer causes rough edges on the images. RET are used to smooth the rough edges. Color laser printers are more expensive as compared to black-and-white versions and require a great deal of printer memory to produce high-resolution images Speed: – As far as speed is concerned Lasers printer is the fastest among the printer. One can get full-color results as fast as 3 to 4 pages per minute (ppm), and black-and-white output as fast as 25 ppm. But it needs time to warm up the fuser to operating temperature when the printer is turn on. It generally takes 5 to 30 seconds to warm up the printer. But now laser printer with “instant on” fuser is available. This instant on fusers has been design to reduce the warm up time of a printer Paper handling, size and capacity: – Most laser printers use letter-size, cut-sheet paper. Supplementary paper trays or feeders can be added to increase the capacity. Laser printers can print on a variety of papers sizes, types and weights, such as transparencies, labels and card stock. They can also handle non-traditional media like envelopes. But papers, such as iron-on transfers, are not suitable for laser printers, as the heat used in the transfer process could damage the paper and gum up your printer. A laser printer with duplex printing can print on one side of the paper, then turn the paper over and print on the other side. Most laser printers, however, use the simpler manual duplex printing. PCL or postscript:- PCL – “Printer command language” is the standard printer language for HP’s and most other laser printers. PCL is used for printing letters, database printouts, spreadsheets and simple graphics. A laser printer that uses only PCL can be upgraded to Postscript by installing a software driver provided by the manufacturer of the laser printer.

 

Presented with the wide rage of printer supplies available in the market today, people can end up buying the wrong printer because the choices are far too many and every sales person will convince the buyer that what they are selling fits their printing needs perfectly. One of the factors to consider before buying a printer is the speed of the printer. Depending on the kind of print jobs one intends to use the printer for, they should inquire about how many pages the printer is able to print per minute. Laser printers are faster and can print over ten pages per minute while the inkjets depending on the type can only do a maximum of ten pages per minute.

 

Another aspect to consider is the features of the printer. Some have added features that include a scanner, copier and fax. If one is setting up office and has not yet bought them, it is more economical to consider a four-in-one printer as it will save on costs. One should also consider how available the printer supplies are. Resolution is the color intensity and how clear a printer can print. This should also be a key consideration. Some printers can be adjusted to print in different dots per inch resolutions that range from 600 dpi to 1200dpi. In inkjet printers, one is provided with various color options that include; fast draft, fast normal, normal printing and best. The latter gives more color intensity. If ones work involves printing photos, then an inkjet printer is mandatory as it produces more clear pictures.

 

Some printers are able to connect to a network of computers through network cables, while other has memory card slots, USB ports that allow for direct connectivity with cameras and other storage appliances. One should also consider this. When purchasing a printer, one should think about the printer cartridges it uses and whether it can take alternative but compatible cartridges, usage of toners and other printer supplies, one should dig deeper to know how often the printer will need maintenance and if any of the parts needs constant changing. The overall determinant of what one buys is probably the money one is willing to spend on a printer. Others may have a genuine monetary constraint that leads them to the cheapest alternative of a printer. The overall cost can be brought down by the usage of alternative compatible cartridges, toner refills and inkjet refill.



Portability is another factor to consider. Due to reduced workspace, some people may prefer smaller printers that fit perfectly in limited spaces. Some people also prefer traveling with their printers for convenience. For those who multitask with their printers then the inkjet printer is the ideal choice. Although a bit slower than the LaserJet printers, they can do a little bit of everything. Printing in color is mostly a reserve of the inkjet printer; however, some laser printers are able to handle the job quite well. The only downside of this is the cost of the inkjet refill kit. However, laser jet printers with color printing capabilities are more expensive, and their accompanying toner refill kit equally costly but they last more. Buying a printer will largely depend on its uses and convenience to the owner.

Almost every home today makes use of a consumer printer for educational, personal, work or home business related reasons. Buying and maintaining a consumer printer can get to be rather expensive however it is possible to purchase a consumer printer and not have it take a huge bite out of your budget.
First of all when considering your consumer printer purchasing options think of exactly why you are needing to purchase a printer. Are you going to be needing a printer simply to print reports and other projects for school? Are you going to be printing things like new recipes or colouring pages for your children? Perhaps you are looking into an inkjet printer to print marketing materials for a brand new home business. Some consumers need a printer for a combination of these reasons. Once you have a good idea of why you need a new printer you will have a better idea of which type of printer will best meet your needs.
Purchasing replacement printer ink cartridges for your consumer printer can lead to be quite an expense so many consumers are turning to the option of compatible printer inks and inkjet refill kits. A quality compatible printer ink cartridge is often less of an expense then a ink cartridge made by a manufacturer. Most compatible printer inks offer exactly the same print quality (if not sometimes a little better) as manufacturer cartridges. Compatible printer inks are a smart money saving option for those looking to purchase a consumer printer on a budget.
Comparison shopping is a very smart idea for those looking to purchase a consumer printer on a budget. Do not feel compelled to buy the first printer that you come across. The internet is a plethora of great options for purchasing a new consumer printer. Ebay can be a great resource for those seeking a printer or printer supplies at a great price. There are also many great online stores that offer printers, ink cartridges and other printer supplies for very reasonable prices.
Another thing to consider if you are on a budget while shopping for a consumer printer is that while a more expensive printer may take a large portion of your budget it could save you money in the long run as a less expensive printer could be more expensive to maintain.
If an inkjet printer will let you change the ink tank it can save you more money than printers that require just the ink cartridge to be replaced. If you are buying a multifunction printer keep in mind that if for example the copier fails the other functions might not be that far behind. This could end up costing a consumer a lot of money so carefully research the printer you plan to purchase before making your final decision.
These are just a few great ideas for purchasing a printer if you happen to be budget. Making sure that you do your research and shop around will help you find a wonderful consumer printer at an even more wonderful price.

One of the more perplexing decisions when faced with choosing a new printer is which print technology is going to suit you best. At the moment there are two main printing systems: the laser technology, using toner cartridges and a transfer drum assembly; and ink jets using ink tank cartridges and fine-spray nozzles. The method that will suit you best will depend largely on what you plan to print on your new printer, and cost factors that affect the costs of running it. Laser printers are possibly better for high-volume printing, with lower ‘per page’ costs and they better black intensity text than most ink jets. Laser printers tend to have a faster page rate but ink jets still offer the important advantages in affordable colour printing.

For home use, you’ll probably want to print out digital photos or graphics, which makes colour a must. The traditional differentiation between lasers and ink jets has been office versus home use; however, colour offers obvious presentation advantages for business use as well. Fortunately, prices for both categories of printers have come down enough to make it practical to purchase both a laser and an ink jet if you absolutely need both colour and high-quality text.

The work you do

There are a number of different printer configurations available today, many of them quite specialised in the applications. There are specialised photo printers, direct disc CD printers, Multifunction printers, desktop ink jets and high-speed lasers.

If you want a printer that is specifically designed for printing photographs, you will most likely look for a colour ink-jet system that is a photo printer, allowing very high quality colour output and capable of printing all the way to the edge of the page. Recent releases by major brands now include all-in-one Multifunction devices that include scanning and printing capabilities. Many smaller units that are designed purely as a photo-printer to plug directly into your digital camera are also available. Much the same can be said for CD or DVD printing, with specialist printers available for printing directly onto discs, saving label application.

On the other hand if you are a small home-office worker, then your requirements may be more general, in which case you need to make a printer decision based on the types of documents your produce and how many. In general terms, ink-jet printers offer high quality colour outputs at a low hardware cost, but high consumable cost. Lasers offer significantly higher speeds but at a much higher hardware cost. High volume usage however, reduces the cost per page considerably.

Multifunction printers (MFP) are often ideal for home office or student needs because they combine multiple functions into one unit, usually a scanner, printer, copier fax machine, doing a little bit of everything, and saving considerable desk and office space in the bargain. Generally ink-jet style printers, some MFP may trade-off performance for price and convenience ( e.g. lower resolution, slower print speed) than if you were to buy a printer and scanner individually.

You can buy Multifunction printers specially configured for printing photographs, with some machines providing the ability to scan directly from 35mm slides and store digital files and print them, which is ideal for archiving old photo libraries. However, the scanned images may not exhibit the same clarity and brightness of digitally capture photographs, or as the kind of quality that you can obtain from a deidcated scanner. Search Myshopping.com.au for the specifications you require and compare prices and performance between brands and technologies.

Dealing with Technical Talk

One of the specifications that you will be faced with, is that of resolution. Up to a point, a printer’s resolution determines aspects of its print quality. Images are made up of tiny dots of ink or toner that is applied to the page, and resolution is the term given to the number of dots per inch-quoted as dpi. This usually represented in a two-dimensional matrix (eg: 600 x 300 dpi). Most printers today support a basic 600 x 600 dpi resolution that produces adequate quality in most instances. Many ink jets, however, especially photo printers and high-end plotters, offer higher resolutions and more dots in the vertical plane than the horizontal.

Resolution ratings are not the whole story however. Many printer manufacturers now incorporate smoothing and enhancing features through software algorithms. This means that some output from printers with a lower dpi looks just as good as that from a higher dpi unit. And, although some printers have very high resolutions, you’re not likely to notice any difference in quality with common print jobs once you go above 600 x 600 dpi resolution. What you will notice however, is much higher consumption of inks or toner. It is noteworthy, and perhaps obvious to some, that the higher resolution you are printing at, the higher will be your consumable consumption, and this is the most expensive part of your printer.

Speed is another important consideration. Vary rarely will you find that your printer performs at the ‘pages-per-minute’ rate (ppm) that is advertised or cited in the specification. There are a number of reasons for this including the size of the file being printed, the amount of ink coverage on the page, the proportion of black to other colours, the weight of the paper stock and possibly even the constancy of the power supply of electricity to your premises. This is not to day that the manufacturers, under laboratory conditions are not able to make the machine perform at spec, just not to rely on the claim as a gospel figure. However you can use the speed ratings to make some judgement of performance differences between brands and models. If speed is an important consideration, then you can short-list printers that claim to perform above a certain rate and the compare other factors. You can do this at Myshopping.com.au simply by searching for printers that offer a certain ppm speed.

Laser printers use powder toner that is electromagnetically attracted to the page by an image temporarily made on a transfer drum through a laser scanning process, and then fused to the page with a heat-setting system. This toner is supplied in cartridges, usually one for each of a four-colour printing system (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). Manufactures give some estimate of how many pages of a given size each toner cartridge will print, based on a predetermined proportion of coverage (say 10%). As with the speed claims, these estimates are rarely accurate, but can be used to make some judgement between makes and models. The higher resolution of image you are printing, the more toner will be used in the process. Ink jet printers use a liquid ink stored in tanks that are sprayed by very fine nozzles onto the page as they are required. Just as you replace the toner cartridges in the laser system, you replace ink tanks when they’re depleted in an ink jet printer.

It is important to understand that even thought the printer might be cheap, consumables is where the manufacturers actually make enormous profits, so be sure to consider replacement consumables when doing your cost comparisons. With ink jet printers, some have colour cartridges in one unit, others have separate colour units. In the long run, separate tanks will most likely work out cheaper, because as one colour runs out, you replace only that colour. When all colours are housed in the one cartridge unit, you may have a nearly full tank of cyan when the yellow is completely gone, and you have to throw away unused ink. Not only does this waste your money, it can also be environmentally expensive.

Cost

There are two parts to your cost assessment of a printer. The first is the purchase price of the printer itself. This can vary considerably between brands and models, and is usually differentiated through different features being offered. Use Myshopping.com.au to search for a printer based on a given price range and compare the features. However, possibly more important is the ongoing cost, often measured in cost per page. A typical ink jet printer may cost you 40-50 cents per printed page, depending on how much ink you are using on the page, it may even cost more. By comparison, a colour laser may work out to 15-20 cents per page. These costs don’t usually include the paper stock, and are based on consumables and maintenance costs. Companies like Xerox often supply large colour Laser printers for a cost per page fee.

One cost assessment technique is to estimate how much printing you will do in a given period, load your calculations with a percentage of ink coverage (if you are printing all full gloss and high resolution photographs, for example, you might load the cost per page by a factor of 8-10), factor in the machine cost and make a comparison of what you will spend in a year, including the cost of the printer.

Other things you might consider

How paper travels through a printer can affect your whole printer experience. The closest you can get to a ’straight through’ paper path, the more trouble-free your printer will be. If all your printing is only on plain white bond paper, then paper path will possibly not be a major consideration. But if you’re printing on photographic stock, thick paper, envelopes, transparent film or other materials, then be sure the print path is compatible with your requirements. How you connect to your computer might also be a consideration, especially if you work with large files where connection speed is a consideration. Most printers today offer relatively high-speed USB interfaces. But you might want to consider wireless connections or networking capabilities.

When choosing a Laser printer, on-board RAM (read only memory) might be a consideration. A printer with a standard 64 Megabytes of RAM will be slow to print a quantity of documents that are larger in size than the printer’s memory. If large documents are a consideration, make sure you can upgrade the printer’s memory. The printer driver provides the software interface to your printer, offering you on-screen control over copies, page size, orientation, resolution, text smoothing and paper thickness and type. Many drivers now include advanced features and enable you to create your own custom-setting profiles for quick selection. Moreover a good driver provides complete printer management from on-screen, including paper jams and job queue management. Ink-jet drivers often provide graphical indications of remaining ink levels for each colour.

Search using Myshopping.com.au

Consider any bundled software offerings when you’re choosing a printer, for this can mean a significant bonus in value-added software. Bundled applications might include greeting card, poster, and banner creators, and photo editing programs. With computing becoming a major component of education, software for kids that provide a user-friendly way to create word processing and graphics documents can be a major bonus. Space may be an issue in your office, in which case you should consider the amount of space the printer will need to operate efficiently. This is often more than just its footprint. You need to also consider access to paper trays and airflow around the machine. While basic printer configurations may be fine for your immediate needs, take a look at the options available and their costs for each unit before you buy. You may see future applications. This is easy to do using Myshopping.com.au where you can simply compare types of technology, prices, vendors and the options each one offers.

There are many factors to consider when making a decision on which CD printer to purchase for your business. This article will touch on a few of the basics like choosing the right printer manufacturer, cost of CD printers, inkjet or thermal, productivity, speed and durability. Part 2 of this article will dig in deeper on the basic criteria listed above as well as on more advanced points like print quality, color matching, unique printing on each disc, total cost of ownership, used DVD / CD printers and buying from a reputable dealer.

For the purposes of this article I’m focusing on just DVD / CD printers, not duplicators with printers that can print and/or copy CDs and DVDs at the same time. I will save that topic for a future article.

The goal of this article is to give you a basis for making the best decision when purchasing a CD printer so you get it right the first time. In this economy, you can’t afford to make the mistake of buying the wrong printer for your CDs and DVDs. Spending money on the wrong CD / DVD printer for your needs and wasting time figuring it out is both frustrating and a misuse of your company’s resources.

The research for this article was acquired over 13 years of selling, using, testing, supporting, and repairing CD and DVD printers. My experience is with mid-level and high-end professional disc printers, so these tips may not be relevant for potential purchasers of entry-level hand feed on-disc printers that sell for $300 or less. Sub $300 disc printers clearly have a niche, but for professional CD printing needs they tend to have high consumable costs, poor technical support, slow print speeds and in many cases poor print quality.

Tip #1 – Start with the Big 3 Manufacturers

Rimage, Microboards and Primera have been in the CD printer and duplicator manufacturing business since it’s infancy. In my estimation they have over an 80% market share of the CD / DVD printers sold in the world. The “Big 3″ are the leaders in their respective print technologies and offer the most stability in the disc printer marketplace. These three manufacturers are in a better position to be in business and support you than their less stable competitors in the coming months and years. They also have proven technical support and post-warranty support that is superior to the other manufacturers in the CD / DVD duplication and printing market.

Tip #2 – Cost of the CD / DVD printer – Inkjet or Thermal

Costs vary widely, but the main defining points are the type of print engine technology employed in the printer – inkjet or thermal transfer, and whether or not the CD printing system is manual or automated. Inkjet based CD / DVD printers are less expensive than thermal transfer CD printers. A good automated inkjet printer costs $2500, while a good color thermal transfer CD printer costs $8500 or more. Disc capacity and software features also play a role in cost. Part 2 of this article will dive in deeper on the pros and cons of inkjet and thermal based printers.

Tip #3 – Automated or Manual?

Choosing between a printer that you manually hand feed the CDs or DVDs, or picking a automated CD printer with a robotic arm or mechanism that moves and prints the discs for you is a big decision in regards to upfront costs, labor, and productivity. Good hand-fed manual disc printers start at $699, whereas an entry-level automated CD printer with a 20-disc capacity costs about $999. Larger and faster automated systems that hold as many as 300-discs can cost up to $9500. So how do you decide which is best for you?

First, estimate the number of discs you will need to print per week, per month and per year. Factor in any growth in that number quarter over quarter or year over year. I have found that many organizations under-estimate their usage projections because they fail to take into account that other departments or employees will need the services of the new CD printer as well. Second, determine if you will have intense peak periods of CD or DVD production. Many organizations need to produce discs only 1 once a week or month, but need all 100 or 500 in a few hours or just one day. Third, determine what is the value of your time. Do you have the time to put each disc in the printer by hand, or is your time or that of your employee better spent doing something else?

Tip #4 – Speed

A question I get over and over again is how many discs per hour or day can a CD printer print? The speed at which a CD or DVD is printed depends on a few factors. (1) Print coverage, (2) the resolution chosen in the printer driver, and (3) the actual printer itself. For example, an inkjet printer that prints a CD label with a small color logo, just a few lines of text, with the print driver set at a lower resolution, can print 200 CD’s per hour. That same printer may only have a print throughput of 50 CD’s an hour with a full color edge-to-edge graphic and the print driver set to the highest resolution.

To a lesser degree the same holds true for thermal CD printers. The Rimage Prism thermal CD printer will have greater throughput with less print coverage, but will not suffer as drastic a drop off in throughput while printing a graphic with more print coverage like inkjet printers do. Interestingly, the Rimage Everest thermal printer has the same disc per hour throughput with one line of text in the graphic label as another artwork featuring 100% print coverage. The Rimage Everest III and Everest 600 printers will each print about 65 discs per hour regardless of print coverage.

Tip # 5 – CD Printer Durability

Generally disc printers that are made out of plastic are less durable than those made out of metal. Most inkjet printers that I have used and tested over the years are made mostly of plastic components whereas most of the thermal printers are made from metal parts. That being said we have had good success and our customers have had success with Primera and Microboards inkjet printers with an average useful in-service life of 3-5 years depending on how the users treat them. We have some Rimage Prism thermal printers in our CD / DVD production room that are well into their 10th year of service. As a footnote, these thermal and inkjet CD printers have had scheduled cleanings and parts replacement over the years.

In Conclusion

Begin your DVD CD printer research with the three major manufacturers – Rimage, Microboards, and Primera. Forecast your daily, monthly and yearly CD and DVD printing needs and determine whether a manual or automated printer makes more sense. Look at both inkjet and thermal options, while keeping in mind your budget and how long you would like the CD printer to last. If you do not have the budget for the CD printer that best fits your needs, try looking for a good used printer or you may find that outsourcing your CD and DVD duplication and printing to a professional service company makes more business sense.

Printers are essential peripherals, performing a critical role as they render electronic information into tangible records or material output. You’re simply not using your computer to its fullest potential if you are unable to print reports, presentations, letters, photos, or whatever it is you need to output. Choosing a printer can be confusing, however, in today’s competitive, ever-changing landscape. This buying guide rounds out some of the more important criteria to consider before you make that all-important purchase decision.Printing TechnologiesThis is the biggest decision to make before anything else. Your choice should be based on how you work and the kind of output you will be expecting from the printer. Inkjet: Inkjet printers can deliver stunning color, so this is the way to go if you are mostly concerned with printing photos. Inkjets can be used for printing text, but the print speed is too slow if the primary purpose of the printer is document printing. To obtain more photo-realism, choose inkjets with an expanded range of colors that includes light cyan and light magenta in addition to the standard four-color CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). The extra colors deliver more subtle color gradations in blue skies and skin tones. And if you print a great deal of black-and-white photos, consider photo printers with more than one variation of black ink or with gray inks. Many photo printers use color inks to produce a composite black, resulting in a muddy tint. A second black-ink cartridge and different shades of gray help maintain a neutral tone, with the gray ink allowing for subtle shading and thus improving the quality of black-and-white photos. Dye-sublimation: Dye-sub printers can print continuous tones and a superior range of colors that laser printers are unable to, making them ideal for more demanding graphic applications or color printing. Dye-sub prints are also less prone to fading and distortion over time than dye-based ink prints. In addition, many consumer-based dye-sublimation printers can print directly from digital cameras and also accept memory cards. They are, however, more limited in the range and size of printing media that can be used usually letter-size paper or smaller. Laser: Laser printers are the perfect choice if you need to print large amounts of text documents. They print faster than inkjets and have a lower cost of operation over the long-term even though they may cost more to buy initially. There are trade-offs, however. Monochrome laser printers produce crisp black-and-white text but cannot be used for color printing. Color lasers deliver excellent text and graphics but are much more expensive and can be costly to maintain.Printer UsageSome printers are good for general printing, while others are better at specialized tasks or combine several functions into one machine. Photo: If you take lots of pictures, consider getting a photo printer. Photo printers can be in the form of photo inkjets which can print both photos and text; snapshot photo printers for outputting small 4×6-inch prints; or professional photo printers for large, tabloid-size photos and often including network connections to enable printer sharing. Most consumer and professional photo printers use inkjet technology, while most snapshot photo printers that print 4×6-inch prints rely on dye-sublimation technology. Regardless of the type or technology that is used, the most important thing to look for in a photo printer is photorealistic quality. Everything else is secondary. General Purpose: As the name implies, general purpose printers can be used for printing almost anything, including text and photos. Choose a general printer with a laser format if you print more text than photos; and choose an inkjet format if you print more photos than text. Multifunction: Multifunction printers (MFPs) combine in one device several functions such as printing, scanning, faxing, and copying. MFPs cost less than buying separate stand-alone devices and cut down on the hassle of setting up individual machines. If you are strapped for budget or space, consider these all-in-one devices. Take note, however, that a malfunction with one component takes down the whole device, and individual components may not be upgradeable. MFPs are available with either laser printers to emphasize speedy text printing and the occasional graphics output; or they are available with inkjet printers for vibrant photo printing.Environment and ApplicationsWhen deciding on a printer, think about where and how you plan to use it. The home user will have different printing needs from that of the office worker, photographer, or traveler. General/Basic home use: Versatile, affordable printers are the best choices here, and inkjets usually satisfy the printing needs of most home users looking to output photos from their digital camera or for other light printing needs. Ink cartridges can be expensive, so look for inkjets with separate cartridges for each color. This way, you need not throw out entire cartridges simply because one color has been used up ahead of the others but replace only the ones that run out. Home office: An MFP may be a great device to have in your home office, especially if it comes with an automatic document feeder that can process multipage documents unattended. Extra onboard memory increases efficiency and allows for processing of larger graphics and documents with ease. And if scanning and photocopying are important to you, get an MFP with a higher resolution. Photography: Photo printers are the obvious choice if printing photos is your main thing. Choose either the smaller, snapshot photo printer that produces 4×6-inch prints; or choose larger-sized, professional photo printers that are capable of delivering tabloid-size 11×17-inch prints even up to full-bleed 13×19-inch prints that include a border to allow room for registration marks. Text printing: If printing large amounts of text is what you’ll be doing most, monochrome standard laser printers are your best bet as they can turn out page after page of crisp text fairly rapidly. These printers are ideal for printing black-and-white text and simple graphics, so you may need to get a separate inkjet or photo printer in order to print color photos unless you wish to invest in the more expensive color lasers that can print both black-and-white and color documents. Small network: A workgroup laser printer can be what you need if your home office or small office is built around a network. Workgroup lasers pack faster print speeds and have more memory to handle multiple print jobs. They also offer more advanced handling capabilities such as larger trays, and may offer duplex (double-sided) printing, sorting, and stapling. More expensive than standard laser printers, the majority of workgroup lasers are monochrome designed for printing text and simple graphics. Traveler: For the businessperson on the go and looking to print, portable printers provide the solution with their compact size (small enough to fit into a briefcase), light weight (less than 5 lbs.), and handy power (operates on batteries or with a car charger). Newer models can print wirelessly making it a non-issue if you forget your USB cable at home. Some portables offer great extras such as a sheet feeder for automatic page feeding, are able to handle transparencies and envelopes, and even support an optional scanner cartridge that replaces the ink cartridge and turns the printer into a scanner. Portable printers are more expensive and print more slowly than standard printers, but convenience is what you’re paying for.PC-free printingWith something called PictBridge support, photo printers do not need to be connected to PCs to be able to print photos. PictBridge is a standard adopted by manufacturers of printers and digital cameras for PC-free printing, allowing photos to be printed straight from the digital camera to the printer by simply connecting them through a USB cable as long as the printer and digital camera are compatible. A variation to this idea is the ability for printers to read memory cards directly from a digital camera or other image-storing device by simply inserting the cards into designated printer slots.Once the camera is connected to or the card is inserted into the printer, photos can be reviewed in a number of ways, depending on the printer model. Some may feature a built-in LCD screen that allows shots to be reviewed, edits to be made, and the ones to be printed chosen directly from the screen. Other models may let you create an index sheet similar to a contact sheet in film printing so you can mark the ones you choose for printing and rescan the sheet. Other printer models let you decide which shots you want to print straight from the digital camera. Many types of memory cards are available on the market today, so make sure the printer accepts the kind used by your camera for you to enjoy card-direct printing of photos.Paper HandlingPaper is obviously an important issue in printing. Here are some important tips on paper handling for printers: When buying a printer, make sure that it’s equipped to accommodate all the paper sizes and types that you’ll be using. If you need to print on heavy stock, for instance, make sure the printer can handle the heaviest paper you use. For this purpose, a printer’s paper path can give an indication of how it handles paper: Inkjets generally use straight-through paper paths, while lasers use S-shaped or U-shaped paths. Generally speaking, the straighter the path, the thicker the media that can be used. However, the curved paths typical of laser printers also makes it possible to have more flexible configurations for input and output trays. Using the correct type of paper will also make a difference to your printing. Inkjets can print on a variety of matte or glossy photo paper, but make sure you choose the right kind of paper for your printer to obtain optimal print results. For example, matte papers are suitable for both pigment and dye-based inks, while luster finishes are generally more suitable for dye-based inks. In terms of size, most inkjets and lasers can handle printing of letter and legal sizes. If you need to print larger prints, however, consider a printer that can handle sizes like 11 by 17 inches. You may also consider getting a printer with multiple paper drawers if you’ll be switching between different paper sizes on a regular basis. For a laser printer, multiple output trays, duplexing (double-sided printing), collating, and automatic stapling can be additional useful features. If you plan to use third-party paper, make sure it works well with your printer. Before you buy a large quantity of third-party paper, try a few samples by printing the same photos on both the printer manufacturer’s paper and the third-party paper, and then compare the results.Printer Specs and Key FeaturesPrinters feature various specifications, so navigating the spec sheet intelligently requires familiarity with what each specification entails according to the printing technology involved or for the type of usage planned for the printer. Resolution: For laser printers, 300 dpi is adequate if all you need is to print black-and-white text, but choose at least 1200 dpi for photorealistic grayscale or color printing. For inkjets, choose one featuring 1200-dpi or higher resolution with a droplet size of 4 picoliters or smaller for sharp, clean output. With photo printers, resolution varies according to technology: Output at 300 dpi by photo printers using dye-sublimation technology is comparable to photo printers using inkjet technology outputting at 1200 dpi or higher. Speed: Speed ratings vary greatly, and the print speeds cited by manufacturers usually refer to printing in draft mode or at the lowest resolution. For laser printers, a more accurate way of measuring actual print speed is to time just how long it takes from the minute you hit “Print” to the time that it takes the printer to warm up, spool the job into the print queue, and for the printed output to finally come out. For inkjets, print speed is not one of its stronger suits; so don’t be overly concerned with this spec. Memory: Extra memory will come in handy for laser printers to enable them to handle large graphics and documents more easily. Check the maximum upgradeable memory allowed for your printer, if it features a hard drive with similarly upgradeable memory, and if the printer can use generic memory or needs the manufacturer’s brand. In the case of inkjets, memory is built-in and not upgradeable, but this is not an issue inasmuch as processing occurs on the side of the computer so there’s no need for large amounts of installed RAM to begin with on inkjets. Connectivity: Most printers today no longer support the older parallel connection but feature instead USB 1.1 or Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) either of which should work fine with USB computers. For printers to be used on a network, it will need to have an Ethernet port to enable printer sharing. For more flexible printing options, you may want to look for printers with infrared input/output ports that allow wireless printing from notebooks or other devices with infrared ports. And if high-speed or long-distance printing is what you need, consider printers with a FireWire port.Consumables and cost per pageThe purchase price of the printer is just the beginning of its overall cost because over time, the hidden cost of ink or toner, paper, and parts will add up. These “hidden costs” are the consumables; dividing the total cost of consumables by the number of pages that can be produced from the consumables gives you the cost per page. Laser printers offer the lowest cost per page, using relatively inexpensive toner and normal-weight, uncoated paper. On the other hand, cost per page for inkjets can be four or five times as much, depending on how much ink you use and the cost of the paper normally more expensive, coated, glossy paper for higher-quality color output. The tank configuration for inkjets should also be taken into consideration. Inkjets with a single cartridge for the colored inks will incur higher replacement costs because the cartridge must be replaced as soon as one color runs out even if the cartridge still contains plenty of ink for the other colors. To save costs, get an inkjet with separate cartridges for black and each individual color.Print QualityAll the specs and fancy features in your printer won’t mean a thing if you don’t have good, solid print quality whether of text or photos to back it up. Text: Text should be smooth and crisp. At the smallest font sizes, the individual letters should be clearly readable, and they should not bleed into one another. Medium-size fonts should have no fuzzy edges, and the largest fonts especially bold ones should be filled with solid black, not a muddy brown or bluish tone. You should also be able to see well-formed and well-rounded counters (the openings) in letterforms; if you don’t, it’s usually a sign of the printer laying down too much ink. (Remember, however, that inkjet printers will display some wicking on plain, 20-lb. paper, as the ink bleeds along the paper fibers.) Graphics: For color printing, look for gradients or areas where a color goes from dark to light. Color should transition smoothly, and you should not see any color banding, where distinct bands progress from dark to light. On a test page, you will likely see a gradient bar that goes from black to white through a series of progressively darker gray shades; the transition from shade to shade should be smooth without a noticeable line. Also, look for a nice balance of colors in color-graphic printing something that’s not overly saturated nor flat and washed out. Photo: A good photo print should like the original photo. Colors should be accurate and balanced, vivid but not oversaturated. Good detail should be present in all areas, with no jagged lines or pixels or any other visual artifacts. Good contrast should exist between shadow and highlight areas not muddy or flat and without color. You may not always be able to tell the difference from one great print to another, but almost everyone can recognize a bad print when they see one. Trust what you see.