How To Guide On Choosing
The Best Printer For You

Obviously we're a consumer nation and you have the power to influence these big corporations who are running the world right now through what you chose to, or not to, purchase.”

- Daryl Hannah.

Types of Printers

In this day and age, there are many different types of machines, all accomplishing the same task different ways. The industry is all but ran with 3 major types of printing:

• Solid Ink Printers
• Laser Printers
• Inkjet Printers

Each printing method has its pros and cons. No printing method is a clear winner as they all provide excellent features. Which one is best for you though?

Solid Ink Printers

Solid ink is an extremely eco friendly go green product. Reducing the carbon footprint as there is no printer cartridge. Solid ink instead is very reminiscent of a crayon. The ink is melted and dispersed through tubes in a print head. The ink is sprayed onto the paper. The difference is that solid ink never absorbs into the paper like traditional inks do. Instead, acting as more of a wax that coats the paper, offering great vivid colors and prints in general. Perhaps the only negative of this system is that you cannot highlight or make marks on the page, due to the “wax” like ink. High introductory costs are also a downside but the solid ink sticks are a great means of high output with great color reproduction.

Xerox ColorCube solid ink sticks

Laser Printers

Laser printers are some of the best machines you can get. Utilizing printer toner cartridges, you get a little bit of everything. With toner cartridges, you’re getting maximum output at the smallest cost. Thousands of pages can be printed off all for under a penny a page. Color toner has had its breakthroughs for a more rich and vibrant reproduction of color images. Introductory pricing ranges based on the features you’d like. Prices fluctuate anywhere from $70 for a basic printer to $6000 for a business workstation.
Brother TN450 toner cartridge

Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers offer the lowest introductory price of all printer types, with printers usually running under the hundred-dollar mark. Using a dyed water as the source of the ink, printer ink cartridges are exceptionally expensive on a per page relative cost to toner.Ê With Inkjet printers you’re always getting the best quality for pictures and text. The most precise and true to life colors are found with ink printing.
HP 564XL ink cartridges

Cost Breakdown

Perhaps the most important factor in the shop for a new printer equation is the cost of ownership. This was briefly covered earlier, but we’ll retread shallow water to further explain the costs both initial and recurring. With the three types of printers, you have two different price points: the up front costs (the printer), and the recurring costs (ink/toner).

For initial costs, here are the rankings

1. Inkjet printers
2. Laser printers
3. Solid Ink.

Typically, your entry level price can be anywhere from $70-200 for a laser printer, $30-100 for an inkjet, and Xerox Solid ink machines can be purchased starting at around $300. Recurring costs are a little different, with printer toner cartridges nudging out the competition for lowest cost per page printing. While inkjet cartridges are not extremely expensive their low output yield is not as high as either toner or solid ink. That brings us to Solid ink, the newest technology among the three. Solid ink, while having a high amount of prints per ink stick, is expensive.Ê Average cost per page is lower than inkjet printers but higher than toner.

Average Cost per page breakdown:

*Toner is represented by item CBTN750, Solid ink is represented by item CX8500C3, and inkjet by item RCN684 as of 9/1/2013*

Features

You’re at the store looking at some printers getting ready to make your first purchase and be an official printer owner. Ask yourself, what it is you need the printer to do? ÊAll of these different features and options can be overwhelming. What happened to the day and age where everything was simpler? Confusion sets in as you go to look for a printer when some have options such as: auto duplexing, Wi-Fi enabled apps, cloud print, and more.Ê Purchasing a printer is more than just which one prints the fastest. Printers are an investment and one that can have a drastic impact on businesses as well as consumers.Ê Starting with features, importance is stressed to know which features are included. If needing multiple people to print to one device, a Wi-Fi printer would be best. If looking to save on energy and waste, Auto Duplexing may be right for you.Ê Does this printer support add on ports and trays? If so, be sure to shop for a printer with expandable trays, this is a great way to further maximize the printer’s output. What computer operating system are you using: Mac, Windows, Linux, Android or iPhone? In today’s time, it is more common to see Mac support as well as support for mobile devices, such as cell phones and iPads. Is standard paper the normal for you or will you need photo paper? Photo paper is great for ink printers but absorbs more ink so you get fewer prints. When selecting a printer the most important part is getting what you need out of it.

Below we have a helpful guide to assist you with selecting options that are needed in a printer. For a printable version click here.

Closing Statement

As more than just a simple purchase, printing is an investment which goes beyond the cost of the printer itself. An informed decision is a smart investment. You wouldn’t go buy a car without knowing anything about what you’re getting and what features you want the car to have. As the industry propels forward you’ll be ready for the change with a greater understanding of what to look for. Through all of the options available there, is a printer that fits everyone’s needs.