As the demand for computers and laptops increase, many people have come to appreciate the place of home printers in their day to day work. This has seen an increase in the number of printers purchased exclusively for home use, more than any other time in history. The same increase is also evident in the number and models of printers available from different manufacturers and therefore knowing how to choose the best will go a long way in helping you in your projects.
It is however worth noting that the available printers can only be categorized as LaserJet or inkjet. These different printers however come in varying features and prices and choosing one that is suitable for your work is important for effectiveness. Below are some valuable tips for choosing the right printer for your home:
Consider your printing needs
Different printers available are manufactured to cater for different printing needs and therefore come in different prices and categories. It will be important to therefore choose a printer that best provides you with the effective services that meet your needs. Some printers are purposely manufactured to provide users with quality documents, something that might not be the case when it comes to photographs. It is therefore important to ask yourself whether you will be printing photographs or documents most of the time and therefore choose a device that best suits your printing needs. You should also consider the volume of your work and the speed with which you intend to print the documents in question. Seek to understand for example, how many pages a particular printer can do per minute.
Consider the cost of running the printer
For home printing, you might not need a heavy duty machine and it is easy to find something suitable at an inexpensive price. Once your get your printer of choice, the cost incurred mostly will be that of replacing the toner or ink for the laser or inkjet printers. It is good to choose a printer whose cartridge can be refilled rather than replacing, as this will help you cut on the operating cost by refill ink cartridges. The recurring cost should be as low as possible since your machine is not for commercial purposes. Consider the cost of ink cartridges and avoid a printer that requires a lot of money to replace the cartridges.
What printout size do you want?
Another important factor to consider when buying a printer involves the printout size. Consider whether all your printing will be on standard-size paper or on bigger papers and buy a printer that offers you the necessary space without causing your papers to jam. You should also be able to decide whether you will be using blueprints, heavy card stocks or transparencies among others in your printing. Once you have settled these questions, choosing a printer will be easy.
Check the printer features
In line with the purpose for which you want to use your printer, it will be important to consider the features offered by the specific printer you want. Some printers have various features such as fax, scanner and copier and instead of buying separate machines for these purposes, buying a printer combining all these features will help you save more. A multi-functional device is far much better than a single functioning unit.
Different people have different printing needs and it will be important to consider your specific case as an individual to see how best to make your purchase. Once you have decided, you will be amazed at the number of models available.
This article is contributed by Gerald.
How to Choose the Right Printer for your Home Printing
