A Basic Guide to Buy a Good Printer for Your Home or Office

Buying a computer printer can be overwhelming at times, especially if you are buying it for the first time. The tech specs, prices, pros, and cons, and other things will make it difficult to choose a good printer that serves your purpose. To make matters worse, the vendors who put up computer printers for sale will show you each and every model, thus confusing you even more. By the way, choosing a good vendor is also one of the challenges.

So I thought about writing this layman’s guide for all prospective printer buyers. It will allow you to differentiate between the various types of printers. Basically, printers fall into two categories based on their place of usage i.e. home or office. Some of them will work well for both home and office. Let’s start exploring the different types of printers based on the above-mentioned categories:

Office Printers

Laser Printers

Xerox developed the laser printer in the 1960s when the idea of using a laser to draw images onto a copier drum was first considered. They are still widely used in big companies as they are more efficient than inkjet printers.

Advantages:

• More cost-effective than inkjet printers
• Increases productivity
• High print speed
• Higher paper capacity
• Often expandable with paper trays, finishers, etc.

Disadvantages:

• May require short ‘warm-up times’
• Larger footprint
• High voltage usage leads to small carbon emissions

LED Printers

LED printers are similar to laser printers but use a light-emitting diode rather than a laser to create images on the print drum or belt. Due to their fewer moving parts, these printers are often considered more efficient and reliable than laser printers.

Advantages:

• Reliable and efficient
• Cheaper to manufacture than laser printers
• Often include free warranty extensions

Disadvantages: None

Solid Ink Printers

Solid ink printers utilize a unique ink technology that saves space and money on packaging. They melt solid ink sticks during the printing process, which can help produce more vibrant tones.

Advantages:

• Eco-friendly
• More vibrant tones
• Manufactured from non-toxic vegetable oils
• Compact design
• Consumables require less storage

Disadvantages:

• Requires warm-up and cool-down time
• Prints cannot be laminated

Business Inkjet Printers

These printers utilize inkjet technology on a large scale to accommodate the needs of a busy office. Inkjet printers are known to be reliable and robust in nature.

Advantages:

• Can produce highly detailed and photo-realistic prints
• Lower warm-up time
• Small footprint i.e. occupies little space.

Disadvantages:

• Higher cost-per-page than most laser printers
• Wet prints
• Less reliable than laser printers

Home Office Printers

3D

It is one of the most exciting developments in printing technology. 3D printing is becoming more affordable for professional and domestic users. Modern 3D printers are capable of producing 3D objects and items using high-quality resin.

Advantages:

• Limitless possibilities
• Capacity for full customization

Disadvantages:

• High initial costs
• High resin costs

All-in-One Inkjets

This type of printer combines the technology of inkjet printing with the functionality of a multifunction printer. All-in-one inkjet printers can easily serve a busy office while retaining the high-quality prints that inkjet is known for.

Advantages:

• High quality printed output
• Cost-efficient and compact alternative to buying numerous machines
• Power-efficient

Disadvantages:

• Wet prints
• High running costs

Multifunction

Also known as all-in-one printers, multifunction printers can perform printing, copying, scanning, and faxing tasks. For example, you can attach these printers to computer scanners and scan important documents easily. Furthermore, you can complete multiple tasks simultaneously within an office or domestic environment, without requiring more than one unit.

Advantages:

• Saves the cost, power consumption, and space of multiple devices
• Performs numerous tasks simultaneously

Disadvantages: Can restrict usage time available for larger workgroups.

A3

A3 printers are well-suited to business and domestic settings which require larger scale prints. They can produce different sized prints and have numerous input trays, thus streamlining the overall process. You can buy them with both laser and inkjet technology.

Advantages:

• Larger print size
• A wider range of options
• Allows you to bring outsource print-runs back in-house

Disadvantages:

• Higher initial cost
• Larger footprint

Dot Matrix

They are the oldest type of printers and still available on the market. Images and text are drawn out in tiny dots when a print head strikes an ink-soaked cloth against the paper in the required pattern or formation. I have kept this last so that you don’t but it. There are better options available if you increase your budget slightly.

Advantages:

• Low initial unit costs
• Low running and maintenance costs
• Can perform in hot and dirty conditions

Disadvantages:

• Low resolution printed output
• Noisy

Summing it Up

As you can see, every computer printer has its own set of pros and cons. Ultimately, it all depends on your requirements and budget. Investing more in a quality product is always better than investing less in a bad product. Keep in mind these features and aspects whenever you buy any printer. Happy printing!