The printer has become an indispensable device for putting digital documents and photos on paper but choosing between the different models offered on the market is not easy. Classic, inkjet, laser or multifunction: here are all our tips for an optimal purchase.
Printer types
The old printer has jammed: the time has come, postponed for some time, to buy a new printer that can satisfy your different needs. Making the choice may not be easy: is a classic inkjet better or is it more convenient to focus on a laser printer? Does it make more sense to buy a traditional printer or maybe it’s time to get a multifunction model ? There are so many questions to answer but we must start from an assumption that is always valid, namely that the perfect printer does not exist and everything depends on the needs you have and the type of use you intend to make of the device.
It will therefore be necessary to evaluate technical characteristics and prices , understand whether functions such as scanning , the possibility of photocopying a document or sending a fax and the idea of being able to directly print photographs are right for us. Where to start?
There are mainly two types of printers on the market: laser or inkjet . Once the choice has been made, there will be a second division between traditional printers and multifunction printers and, among these, those that prefer colors to simple black and white . Let’s see them in detail.
Laser or inkjet?
One of the first choices to make is between laser printers (i.e. with toner) or inkjet printers (with ink cartridges). There are black and white and color laser printers; they generally cost a little more than inkjet ones, as does the toner which however lasts much longer than a cartridge.
If you have to make many prints of text only (or black and white images) the most convenient choice is certainly to opt for a black and white laser printer.
If you print color texts and images instead, it is better to choose an inkjet printer.
Multifunction printer
Multifunction printers, available in both inkjet and laser, include in a single device, a printer, a scanner and sometimes even a fax . The uses are different and for different needs: printing, photocopying documents, scanning and faxing both documents and photos.
Some models also support photographic printing and generally, especially the inkjet models, have affordable prices like those of traditional so-called “pure” printers.
Black and white or colour
In pure economic terms, the importance of color printing is a factor that must be carefully evaluated as well as the printing needs: if the printer is used exclusively for black and white documents, it will be a good idea to purchase a laser model that guarantees very high quality and an important economic advantage. If, however, the printing requirement requires the use of colours, it will be more appropriate to focus on the inkjet model. Is your passion photography? In this case you will need to move towards a photographic inkjet printer, taking into consideration that the more colors a printer has, the higher the costs.
Other factors
The other factors to evaluate in order to purchase a new printer are the frequency with which you print and the most appropriate way to save both paper and ink. Let’s see how.
Do you print a little or a lot?
When talking about inkjet printers, you must also add the cost of the cartridge to the price of the device (which in the long term, especially for frequent use, becomes predominant). It goes without saying, therefore, that determining which model is right for you depends on how much you use it. If you use the printer very few times, then a model with a low price could be right for you, regardless of the cost and consumption of the cartridges.
If, however, you print a lot, you could opt for more expensive models that save you money on prints: for example, some models have a very low cost per page (1 cent for black and white prints or 13 cents for color sheets). However, those who cannot resist the desire to print photos at home, with some models it only costs you (so to speak) 44 cents per photo; but you must then add the cost of the photo paper. It should also be said that Inkjet printers also use a lot of ink for cleaning cycles which are more intensive the more infrequent the printer is used.
It is not uncommon to see printers that use more than 50% of the ink in a cartridge to clean the nozzles , which is essential in inkjets because the liquid ink tends to dry out, clogging them. When a nozzle is permanently clogged, the print head must be replaced, but in home printers this costs so much that it is better to replace the printer directly. Lasers, on the other hand, use powder ink and can remain turned off for months without problems. For this reason, the advantage of a laser goes beyond the lower cost per page in texts.
It is necessary to carefully evaluate how important it is to print in color because, especially for photos, in-store and online printing services are competitive in terms of cost, thus making home printing of color images useless.
Save paper, ink and electricity
The costs of a printer, however, are not calculated only in terms of ink. There are behaviors that also allow us to save paper and electricity and help us make our prints more “ecological”. Any examples?
- Whenever possible, we print double-sided sheets or even two pages per sheet
- To send and receive a fax we choose an online service
- Let’s not leave the printer on standby , but let’s remember to turn it off completely when we don’t use it for long periods
- For disposal (also of cartridges) we go to the ecological stand or contact the retailer where we buy the new one: although unfortunately not yet mandatory by law, many shopkeepers still take care of the collection.
Where to buy the printer online?
After providing all the necessary information, all that remains is to understand where you can buy the printer online and at the best price. In our each posts are all the suggestions.