How To Choose A Printer
Desktop printers these days offer almost everything you could possibly want. There are many hundreds to choose from, ranging in price from just around $25.00 to well over $1,000. How do you decide which one is right for you?
Well, the first thing you’ve got to do is to ask yourself what you’re going to be using it for. Are you going to be primarily printing documents or pictures? Do you need it to also serve as a scanner and a fax machine? Is speed an issue? In short, how specific are your needs?
Working At Home?
If you operate a small business from home and you use your printer for everything from printing up invoices to family pictures taken at Disney World, you need something versatile. A good color ink jet printer will suit you just fine, and you can pick up a decent one for around $100. For a more reliable and durable model, however, plan on spending about twice that much.
Are You The Next Stephen King?
If you’re working on your next novel then you’re probably not too concerned with color and graphics when it comes to your printing. You’re more concerned with speed and quality. A printer that could quickly print on both sides and collate would be ideal.
You want a laser printer. Yes, they’re more expensive than most, beginning around $200.00, but their speed and quality make them well worth it. You can buy color laser printers, but monochrome would suit you just fine.
Your Printer Rules Your Home Office
Maybe you need your printer to do more than just print. You’ve got faxes to send and receive, copies that need to be run, and documents that need to be scanned and digitized. Nothing will do the job for you but a multifunction printer, also known as an all-in-one.
Multifunction printers are mostly color inkjet printers with a whole lot of extras. Not only do they save you tons of space, recently they’ve dropped considerably in price. These days you can get an awesome one for just around $200.00.
Oh, and by the way, they do print documents and pictures also.
Pictures, Pictures, Gimme More Pictures . . .
If you feel naked on the weekends without a camera close at hand, then just any old inkjet or laser printer will certainly not do for you. You definitely don’t care about faxing or copying. You want one thing from your printer. Quality pictures.
What you’re looking for is—surprise!—a photo printer.
With many photo printers, you can plug your camera directly into the printer itself. Plan on spending about $100, but for about twice that you can add a CD drive and save your pictures directly to disc.