Choosing the best printer for your home or business can be quite tricky if you don’t know which factors to take into account or which specifications you should look at.
Making the right choice will not only ensure you get the best quality prints for your needs, but it can also help you cut printing costs in the long run. You might be chuffed that you picked up a printer at a really good price, but when it comes to replacing the cartridges, it can be very costly!
Here are a few pointers to take into account when considering which printer to buy for your business or home office.
How much do you print?
Have a look at how much you print on average per month. At the end of the day you want to keep your average cost of print per page as low as possible. Most printers you can get an indication of what the average cost per page will be. Also find out how many pages per minute a printer can print. You don’t want to wait forever for your documents to be printed, especially if it is in a printing cue on a communal printer.
Individual printers vs Centralised communal printer
It might be convenient for each employee to have their own printer, but it can be quite costly when it comes to maintenance and ink costs compared to a higher-duty printer that are usually multi-functional as well. You can also better keep track of how much each individual employee prints. It can also discourage people from doing their personal printing at work.
Black & White vs Full Colour
What do you use your printer most for? Is it for printing information or graphic rich documents? If you only use your printer to print documents for administration with little or no graphics, there is almost no reason why you should purchase a colour printer. If you are a designer, have graphic rich documents or want to print your family photos regularly, purchasing a colour printer is the way to go.
Laser vs Inkjet
In today’s day and age laser and inkjet printers are pretty much on par when it comes to speed and quality. There are a few key points to take into account when choosing between the two:
- The initial cost of an inkjet printer is usually quite cheap, but more costly to operate. If you don’t have high printing volumes, it can be a more cost effective option.
- Laser printers are better for printing documents, while inkjet printers tend to be better for full colour prints and photos.
- If you have high printing volumes, you will save considerably with a laser printer when it comes to the average cost per page.
- Inkjet printers are usually smaller and take up less space. Something to consider when you have a home office and don’t print that much.
Multifunctional vs Single Function
Even though you still get single function printers, more and more printer manufacturers are moving towards multi-functional printers for even entry level printers. A multifunction printer allows you to print, scan, fax, email and copy documents. For a business office, it is essential to be able to scan a document when you don’t have a digital copy and want to quickly mail it to a colleague or client. Even if you just want to get a printer for your home office, it can be more cost effective and will take up far less space than purchasing a printer and scanner / copier separately. You can also save on printing costs this way if you can just scan in a document to save the digital copy, than printing it.
What does other users say?
What you read on a manufacturer’s website might not always give you the best insight into a printer’s performance and durability. Once you have shortlisted your printer options, read up on what other users say about it by visiting tech blogs and customer reviews. It also helps if you make use of a reliable, tech savvy company like Introstat, that would be able to best analyse your printing needs and advise what would be the best printer to fulfil it.
After Purchase Service
It’s all good and well that you have now decided on which printer you want to purchase, but the final factor you must take into account, and almost the most important one, is what after purchase service the brand of printer offers and the cost of replacements parts. Your printer might be heavenly when it works, but might turn hellish if anything goes wrong or your printer needs to be serviced!
Introstat offers a wide range of printers and printing consumables that will suit your every need, no matter how much or little you print. We even offer Managed Print Services which at a contracted monthly cost will include your print consumables and service. Contact Us today to for us to access your printing requirements and to discuss the best printing solutions for you.
