5 Things To Know When Buying A New Printer

Posted by admin

July 19, 2009

by Frank Bolsom

Computers are used more than ever in offices around the world, but that doesn’t mean that printing documents has become unnecessary. Printers and printing supplies are now in high demand, since frequent printing means frequent printer servicing. This applies to both home and business use.

Modern printers boast a plethora of functions. Printers can read digital memory cards and print high resolution photos. Some multi-function printers can print, scan, and fax. It is important to consider your options before deciding on which is best for you to purchase.

First is the long-term cost of the printer. You can buy a very good color printer for well under $100 these days but the catch is most of these inexpensive models have costly ink cartridges.

Find out the price of ink replacement on any low priced printers before making a purchase. Consider options like generic cartridges and refilling cartridges.

Many printers are sold with ink straight out of the box, but the cartridges might be smaller than normal. It is important to think about this when deciding which printer is for you.

If the starter ink cartridges that come with the printer are only going to last for forty or fifty pages, a low price might not really be so low after all since you’ll need to buy new ink so quickly.

Black and white printing is more common than color printing, so check on the price of the black print cartridge. On some printer models, larger black cartridges are available and buying those could help save money over the life of the printer.

It’s also important to have in mind what your personal printing needs are. For example, if you plan to print your own photos from a digital camera, you should consider the variety of digital photo printers available on the market.

Photo printers, however, usually produce more costs than most inkjet printers. Find one that matches your needs. A laser printer costs even less to operate than the average inkjet.

Something else to be considered is if extra features such as scanning, copying, and faxing are for you. While such features are nice, they often go unused by owners, and might not be necessary.

And consider the cost for these other features as well. Do you really want to make photocopies at home that could cost $0.50 to $1.00 per page when you can get them for 5 to 10 cents at the local copy store?

About the Author:

Tired of paying through the nose for your printer ink? There are less expensive alternatives, and in spite of what the printer manufacturers tell you, they work just as well. Visit the Inketeria.com website for reviews of the best sources for cheap printer ink.

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