Everyone needs a printer these days. Everyone should have a printer, for your house, your business, or your dorm room-and maybe all three. With many options, choosing the printer right for your needs can be a tricky business? Let’s take a look at the options available for you:
Primarily Business Use
If you plan on a buying a printer for your small business, or maybe you’ve been tasked with purchasing a printer for your large company, a multifunction all-in-one printer is your best bet. These combination devices can usually print, copy, scan and fax. They start at about $100 for smaller ones (like my Canon MX310) and can run into hundreds of dollars for larger workhorses capable of hundreds of pages in just minutes. Large corporations will want to look into network laser printers.
On the Go
For travelers, the best option is a lightweight, battery operated portable printer. They’re generally superlight and supercompact and may plug into car chargers. They usually weigh less than 5 lbs and may even allow printing via cell phone.
Primarily Home-based
Home users demand a variety of functions out of their printers, but probably not very demanding tasks. Responsibilities might include development of home photography or the printing of a report for school. That’s why a printer for home use needs to be inexpensive and dependable. I would suggest a personal Inkjet printer. Inkjets are a little slower than their more recent siblings, the laswerjets, but they will be well up to the tasks presented by a home user. $50-$100 is a normal price for an Inkjet printer and generally $10-$40 (depends on exact needs) will buy an ink replacement cartridge. I really like inkcartridges.com for great deals on cheap ink cartridges.
College Students, Aspiring Novelists
With more intense usage of the printer, such as that demanded by college students writing final essays or an author cranking out hundreds of pages a day, an Inkjet becomes too slow and expensive to be a reasonable choice. Here, a good choice is a Laserjet printer. The printer itself will cost more, but the savings in ink will eventually add up (important for both college students AND authors). $200 is a reasonable price for a Laserjet printer.