Return to Magazine Articles Page Return to Home Page
HouseCall Computer Services
Choosing the Right Printer
Printing has become such a fundamental aspect of the digital experience that it is now possible to get printers that will perform a variety of useful tasks, like copying, faxing, and photo printing, without ever being connected to a computer. But how do I sort through the myriad of model choices and pick the right printer for me? The answer to that question depends on several factors, including the types of printing you plan to do, the printer’s built-in extra features, and how much you can afford to spend.
Basic Inkjet Printing
The least expensive, most compact and simplest printers are the basic inkjet models. If you expect to be doing very little computer printing, and your print jobs are likely to include a mix of plain text and images on plain paper, even the least expensive inkjet printers should be just fine for your purposes. People who shop for a printer strictly by price, however, can be in for a bit of a shock when it comes time to buy ink cartridges, as inexpensive inkjet printers sometimes sell for less than their replacement cartridges.
Photo-Quality Printing
If you want to print your own digital photos in addition to basic printing functions, consider spending a bit more for a higher resolution photo-quality inkjet printer that has a dedicated photo paper tray and a built-in camera card reader for directly transferring the images from the camera to the computer. If you already have a regular printer and just want a stand-alone printer for directly printing the photos from your digital camera, a dedicated snapshot printer can make that task very simple, especially if you get one that is made to work with and perhaps even include a docking station for your specific model camera.
Laser Printers
If you do mostly black and white printing and don’t really care about color, consider a basic monochrome laser printer. The cost of laser printers has come down quite a bit in the last couple of years and, despite the fact that laser toner cartridges cost more than their inkjet counterparts, toner lasts a lot longer, which allows for a much lower cost per printed page than with inkjet. Color is possible with some laser models, but the cost of the printer and toner is significantly higher, and lasers won’t really do photo-quality printing.
All-in-Ones
To add scanning and copying functions to either an inkjet or laser printer, consider an all-in-one model, which is a scanner and printer combined in a single unit. All-in-ones don’t cost much more than stand-alone printers anymore and are certainly less expensive than buying both a printer and scanner separately, without compromising scan and print quality or resolution. All of the all-in-one models will scan and make copies in addition to printing. Additional features to consider would include built-in fax, document feeder, photo quality printing, dedicated photo paper tray, large capacity ink cartridges, or laser printing.
Brands and Models
Recommendations for brands and models to consider would vary depending on the type of printer you need. Consumer Reports frequently updates their articles comparing differently models in each of the categories discussed above, but I suggest going beyond the objective reviews and specifications listed in such buyer’s guides and try to find actual consumer reviews of models you might be interested in (at Amazon.com, etc.) and even go look at the machines in person to see if you like them. Consumer Reports, for example, has Canon models listed as the top 4 all-in-ones, and yet I have found at least one of the models they list as one of their "Best Buy's" to be almost incomprehensible and totally infuriating to use. To complicate matters, models evolve pretty quickly, so by the time there is enough history behind a model to have something of a track record, it is replaced by a new model.
The four big brand names of basic and photo-quality inkjet printers and all-in-ones are Hewlett Packard (HP), Canon, Epson, and Lexmark (Dell printers are just re-badged Lexmark’s). For cost-effective laser printers, also consider Brother. If you want a dedicated snapshot printer, make sure you are getting one that will work seamlessly when connected directly to your camera (Canon, Kodak, etc.). When buying one for a computer, make sure you also get the appropriate cable (USB, etc.) for connecting it.