Tips for buying a printer
Useful pointers for choosing a printer to suit your needs
Published: June 6, 2006By Cindy Waxer
Remember when buying a printer meant choosing between a putty-colored dot-matrix clunker and its counterpart in gunmetal grey? Nowadays, The Matrix is a movie starring Keanu Reeves and printers come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes with varying print quality, output speeds, and price tags.
Just ask Laura Dallal. She's been searching for nearly two months for a printer that will produce high-quality photos of her three children as well as print out spreadsheets and reports. "I've put less thought into buying a car!" laughs the lawyer and mother.
Fortunately, there are ways to weed out models that don't fit your needs. Consider these factors when shopping around for a new printer.
Model type
There are two main printer categories: inkjet and laser. An inkjet printer holds ink cartridges while a laser printer relies on electrostatic charges to transfer toner to paper.
Known for their speed and text quality, laser printers can cost upwards of a thousand dollars. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, are far more family-friendly, can print photos at almost true photographic quality, and can be purchased for as little as $100 without sacrificing quality.
Dan Gookin, author of Buying A Computer for Dummies (IDG Books Worldwide, 1998), says the average lifespan of a printer can be four years, but they tend to last longer, especially laser printers. A delicate touch and maintenance measures such as keeping a printer out of direct sunlight and using a dry cloth to wipe away dust build-up can add years to a machine's existence.
Print quality
An inkjet printer's resolution is determined by the number of dots of ink it can spray on a square inch of paper. As a general rule, high resolution is important for sharp graphics and text. A printout should feature crisp edges and solid areas of black and color. Before you open your wallet, ask a salesperson to print out a test page of text and images on a variety of paper from low-grade to photographic inkjet paper.
After all, says Dallal: "Once you put all that effort into taking that perfect picture, you want a printer that's going to be able to produce a high-quality resolution. Otherwise, it's a waste of time."
Speed
Don't be swayed by manufacturers' promises of printing at breakneck speed. Ultimately, a printer's speed hinges on the output quality you require.
"You have to consider what you want to do with a printer," advises Mark Shanahan, category manager of imaging hardware at the corporate office for Staples Business Depot. "Are you going to want to print photos, make calendars, or create gift cards?"
That's why it's crucial to test a printer's speed for both the highest-quality output and for day-to-day printing. Check a printer's ppm (page per minute) rate to find out how fast it prints.
When it comes to printing photographs, expect greater quality from photo printers than from their all-purpose counterparts. Multifunctional machines might be able to churn out graphic images, spreadsheets, and book reports at record rates, but photo printers are built to deliver high-quality detailed images. Assess your needs before being swayed by ppm figures.
Price
Don't bank on saving dollars by sacrificing color for a monochrome printer. These days, a high-quality inkjet printer can be purchased for as little as $100.
In fact, an inkjet printer is only as expensive as the cost of replacing its cartridges. Sift through as many online product reviews as you can to get an idea of how often you'll need to change a particular model's ink cartridge. Web sites such as ZDNet, Epinions.com, and Amazon offer editorial reviews and consumer feedback.
Gookin warns of hidden costs. He recommends selecting printers with separate color cartridges "so that if your eight-year-old is in his blue phase and everything he prints out is blue, you're not paying $50 for a whole new color cartridge when you still have plenty of yellow and red ink available." Black ink cartridges tend to cost more since they generally contain more ink and are larger than color cartridges.
Today's popular four-color inkjet printers often hold two cartridges—one black and one with color inks including cyan, magenta, and yellow. However, printers capable of holding four separate cartridges, each one containing a unique color, are your best bet. They allow you to replace cartridges individually and therefore more affordably.
Gookin also suggests keeping an eye out for bargains. These days, retailers are overstocked with high-tech merchandise and are often willing to offer rebates or negotiate a discounted rate to win your business.
Published: June 6, 2006By Cindy Waxer
Remember when buying a printer meant choosing between a putty-colored dot-matrix clunker and its counterpart in gunmetal grey? Nowadays, The Matrix is a movie starring Keanu Reeves and printers come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes with varying print quality, output speeds, and price tags.
Just ask Laura Dallal. She's been searching for nearly two months for a printer that will produce high-quality photos of her three children as well as print out spreadsheets and reports. "I've put less thought into buying a car!" laughs the lawyer and mother.
Fortunately, there are ways to weed out models that don't fit your needs. Consider these factors when shopping around for a new printer.
Model type
There are two main printer categories: inkjet and laser. An inkjet printer holds ink cartridges while a laser printer relies on electrostatic charges to transfer toner to paper.
Known for their speed and text quality, laser printers can cost upwards of a thousand dollars. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, are far more family-friendly, can print photos at almost true photographic quality, and can be purchased for as little as $100 without sacrificing quality.
Dan Gookin, author of Buying A Computer for Dummies (IDG Books Worldwide, 1998), says the average lifespan of a printer can be four years, but they tend to last longer, especially laser printers. A delicate touch and maintenance measures such as keeping a printer out of direct sunlight and using a dry cloth to wipe away dust build-up can add years to a machine's existence.
Print quality
An inkjet printer's resolution is determined by the number of dots of ink it can spray on a square inch of paper. As a general rule, high resolution is important for sharp graphics and text. A printout should feature crisp edges and solid areas of black and color. Before you open your wallet, ask a salesperson to print out a test page of text and images on a variety of paper from low-grade to photographic inkjet paper.
After all, says Dallal: "Once you put all that effort into taking that perfect picture, you want a printer that's going to be able to produce a high-quality resolution. Otherwise, it's a waste of time."
Speed
Don't be swayed by manufacturers' promises of printing at breakneck speed. Ultimately, a printer's speed hinges on the output quality you require.
"You have to consider what you want to do with a printer," advises Mark Shanahan, category manager of imaging hardware at the corporate office for Staples Business Depot. "Are you going to want to print photos, make calendars, or create gift cards?"
That's why it's crucial to test a printer's speed for both the highest-quality output and for day-to-day printing. Check a printer's ppm (page per minute) rate to find out how fast it prints.
When it comes to printing photographs, expect greater quality from photo printers than from their all-purpose counterparts. Multifunctional machines might be able to churn out graphic images, spreadsheets, and book reports at record rates, but photo printers are built to deliver high-quality detailed images. Assess your needs before being swayed by ppm figures.
Price
Don't bank on saving dollars by sacrificing color for a monochrome printer. These days, a high-quality inkjet printer can be purchased for as little as $100.
In fact, an inkjet printer is only as expensive as the cost of replacing its cartridges. Sift through as many online product reviews as you can to get an idea of how often you'll need to change a particular model's ink cartridge. Web sites such as ZDNet, Epinions.com, and Amazon offer editorial reviews and consumer feedback.
Gookin warns of hidden costs. He recommends selecting printers with separate color cartridges "so that if your eight-year-old is in his blue phase and everything he prints out is blue, you're not paying $50 for a whole new color cartridge when you still have plenty of yellow and red ink available." Black ink cartridges tend to cost more since they generally contain more ink and are larger than color cartridges.
Today's popular four-color inkjet printers often hold two cartridges—one black and one with color inks including cyan, magenta, and yellow. However, printers capable of holding four separate cartridges, each one containing a unique color, are your best bet. They allow you to replace cartridges individually and therefore more affordably.
Gookin also suggests keeping an eye out for bargains. These days, retailers are overstocked with high-tech merchandise and are often willing to offer rebates or negotiate a discounted rate to win your business.
posted by Kintu at
8:41 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home