What To Consider When Trying To Buy A Cheap Printer

2010-04-22

Buying a printer is no longer a simple task, what with the wide range of printers available. The final choice depends on the price if you are looking for a cheap printer. But there are other considerations when you make this budget buy. The cost of printing is ultimately determined by the cost of the printer cartridge types that you use, the printer ink quality and the printer ink life.

Before you get into the nitty-gritty of buying a new printer, first decide on the functions that you expect from your printer and the costs you are prepared to bear for this result. The volume of work to be done on the printer will determine the required speed of the printer. If the documents you are printing will make their way to clients who need to be impressed, print quality could make a determining factor. If you are planning to print out digital images, you will need to look at a different type of printer than the conventional one.

The two main types of printers available are the inkjet printer and the laser printer. If your printing work requires a lot of text and business documents, the laser printer is a better option. You can even print color charts with a color laser printer. Speeds on laser printers are good and can save a lot of time if the number of pages to be printed is huge. Inkjet printers can give you top quality prints if the correct paper and printer cartridge types that use color are used. The speed of printing on inkjet printers is slower than laser printers and is therefore suitable for home use and in offices where the volume of documents to be printed is not great.

If costs are compared, laser printers are heavier on the pocket than inkjet printers. But this is only considering the capital costs. If running costs are considered, inkjet cartridges may prove to be costlier as the number of prints per cartridge is limited. And the cost of printer cartridges is a tad high and may quite often be a hefty percentage of the cost of a new printer. There is a tendency nowadays to go in for refilled cartridges, but if this is not done properly and printer ink quality is not good, it can affect the printer head and thus negate any savings in cost. The number of prints given by laser printer toner cartridges runs into the thousands, especially if they are monochrome; this may ultimately mean lesser cost per print compared to inkjet cartridges. Printer ink life in inkjet cartridges is also limited and can dry up if not continuously used.