There are a wide variety of laser printers and inkjet printers on the market, with each one offering a lot of different features. It can be hard to figure out which one to purchase. We are here to help, here are some tips on how-to choose a desktop printer for your space.
Desktop printers can just be that, or they can be so much more. When looking at printers, think about how you want to use it. Do you just want to hit a button and your document prints? Or, do you want additional functionalities like faxing documents, scanning documents, and making copies? Are you writing a book and need to print a lot of paper? There are very basic printers that only print. Other printers can have multiple functionalities such as scanning, copying and faxing. Printer speed and capability can vary between printers too. So it is important to know how you exactly want your printer to function.
Think about cost – how much do you want to spend on your printer? Printers can cost as little as eighteen dollars and can go upwards to a couple of thousand. Cost depends on brand, quality, technology, and the method of ink (inkjet vs. laser). Don’t forget to consider the cost of ink as well. Some printers won’t print if one color is out – even if you don’t need to use that color. So, upkeep for ink can be costly.
It is important to do your research. After you figure out what you need and want in a printer start comparing printers online. You can compare them on cost, bells and whistles, life expectancy, speed, paper capacity, etc. Once you narrow it down to your top two or three start looking at the reviews.
You want to see if the printer has a good rating. Typically good ratings mean either four to five stars (out of five). Take time to read all of the individual reviews people have left about the quality, performance, problems, etc. Don’t just read the higher rated reviews – read all of them: the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you do notice a trend for example that a part goes faulty after a year – is that a deal breaker for you? If printer maintenance is not something that you want to have to deal with, you may want to consider a different printer on your short list.
Comparison shopping, reading about each individual printer – both manufacturer information and customer reviews is important in deciding which one will work out for you in your space.
