How to choose a good office printer

When choosing a good office printer there are many factors to consider before making a decision. These factors include price, brand, print speed and print quality. The first factor to consider is:

- Technology:

You must first decide if you want an inkjet or laser printer. Laser printers use a toner cartridge/drum assembly and are generally better for high volume printing. Inkjet printers use an ink tank cartridge and offer models at a lower cost if you need to print in color. Laser printers produce a better quality black text compared to most inkjet printers, but some inkjet models produce a quality black text that is close to that of the laser printer. Color laser printers can be quite expensive, but laser printers are much faster than inkjet. Comparing prices among laser and inkjet printers is the best option. Canon laser printers and Hewlett-Packard printers can be found at very similar prices.

- Amount of use:

Another factor to consider is the expected amount of use. Users anticipating a small amount of use might want to consider an inkjet printer to help avoid the cost of replacing the more expensive laser printers ink, toner and parts. But it is possible to find a low end entry-level laser printer with a 2,000 page starter toner capacity. Then there may not be a need for a color toner change for quite some time, and both inkjet and laser printer many times come with a warranty. Some warranties offered are better than others, so keep that in mind.

-Resolution:

Resolution is another factor to consider when choosing a good office printer. The overall quality of your documents is determined by the printer's resolution. Resolution refers to the number of dots per inch that appear on the page as a horizontal and vertical measurement, for example 600x600 dots-per-inch or dpi. For most projects, a resolution of 600x600 dpi is adequate.

-Speed:

Speed is another factor that should be taken into consideration. Lasers printers generally are faster than inkjet printers. The range of speed for a laser printer that is acceptable is around 6 to 10 pages per minute. While the acceptable range of speed for an inkjet printer is 4 to 6 pages per minute, but some inkjet models perform at a higher rate of speed. Use the printer's performance specifications as a guideline.

- Color:

Color may be another factor to consider, especially if you expect to use color in a lot of your printing. The amount of color should be considered mainly because of the cost. The cost of color ink replacement can be expensive with both the laser and the inkjet printers, but laser printers tend to be more expensive. But a laser printer produces a better quality color document than most of the inkjet models available. Be sure to check out prices of replacement ink, toner, and parts of both the inkjet and the laser printers.

The overall needs of your office may be one last factor to consider when choosing a good office printer. Many printer models, both inkjet and laser, can do several other tasks than just printing. There are models available that have the ability to fax, copy, and scan documents. If your office regularly performs these types of tasks, you may want to consider a printer that has these capabilities. With all the printers on the market today, make sure to choose a brand/manufacturer with a good reputation. It is also best to select a model that is generally easy to operate. A model that requires you to have a degree in rocket science to understand how to properly use all it's features will not be good choice for your office.