5 Tips for Choosing Office Printers
Having a reliable printer is a critical part of any modern office. Between reports, receipts, and even emails, the volume of things that need to be printed daily is staggering! Since so many depend on these machines for their work, there are a surprising amount of options out there for new printers.
Depending on the needs of a business, finding a printer that is the best suited for you can be a challenge. Before deciding on which printer is the best choice, here are a few tips to consider to find the best device to fit your exact office needs. Read on to learn the top five tips for choosing office printers.
Laser vs. Inkjet Printers
Printers come in two distinct varieties: laser and inkjet. Deciding between these two styles is an important first step! Laser-based devices are faster at printing materials and are favored in offices that have a high volume of items that need to be printed daily. With laser printers, the ink is melted into the paper, which allows the ink colors to be more resistant to running.
However, laser printers are also typically much more expensive than inkjet varieties, and therefore can be cost prohibitive for smaller offices with stricter budgets. Aside from being more reasonably priced, inkjets have a better selection of colors and are good for printing photos without sacrificing quality.
Combine Devices with an “All-in-One”
Another way to save money when choosing a new printer is to decide whether to get a straight printer or a device that is combined with others for an “all-in-one” machine. Duplex printers are a great way to save on paper, as they will print on both sides of a page, cutting down on time needed to manually feed pages back in.
Other printers are combined with a scanner and/or fax machine, which allows for scanning and sending documents instantly without the need for additional machines, thus saving time and equipment costs.
Selecting Printers by Ink Type
Once you figure out which style of printer is right for you, it’s important to focus on what kind of documents are going to be printed. Then, you can narrow down your printer selection to the type of ink they use. Ink prices can vary widely, so shopping around for the cheapest ink cartridges is a challenge in and of itself. Printers that utilize dye-based inks are more cost effective but tend to fade over time. Pigment0based inks are more suited when documents are needed for archival purposes.
When a printer is needed for frequently printing out photos, then looking at specialized printers is a good idea. These devices utilize inks that include more than the standard four inks and produce crisper photos, using finer color graduations.
Regular Documents vs. Poster Size
Finding a printer that utilizes the right kind of paper to fit an office’s needs is also important. Glossy paper is ideal when printing photos, while thicker paper beats the standard sheets when more formal documents need to be printed.
It’s also important to keep in mind paper size when selecting a new printer. The majority of devices will only print in smaller sizes such as A4 paper. For larger documents, such as posters, you’ll need a large format printer.
Printers with Extra Features
The last thing to keep in mind before deciding on a printer is what kind of extra features might benefit your office. In today’s age of connectivity, it’s important to have a printer that is just as connected!
Whether the printer is connected via an Ethernet cable or Wi-FI router, choosing a printer with built-in connectivity is extremely convenient for all employees. That connectivity can also come from having a built-in card reader. With a reader, it’s easy to print documents and photos directly without needing additional software.
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Do you have a printer that you love? Comment below with why it’s your favorite!
Guest Post By: Carolyn Clark
For the last five years, Carolyn Clarke has been covering the latest in technology advancements for small business owners. When not focusing on new digital trends, she is an avid hiker and spends much of her time enjoying nature trails.
I like how you say that a good way to choose a printer is to consider one that has more capabilities. It would make sense to find one that can handle other things that your office deals with as well. In addition to this, you would want to consider the work load put on a printer and make sure that it is not too great.
I agree 100%, Gloria! The workload on a printer can definitely help determine the best model to purchase for your office.
My friend and I have a printing business, and there have been different printing machines in our shop. So far, the best one we’ve been relying on is the Brother Digital Color All In One Printer with Wireless Networking for its nice-sized producer of B&W and color documents, yet compact enough to fit in most spaces. It also has updated technology for cloud scanning, website syncing, and fast faxing. Great find
That’s a great recommendation! Thanks for the review 🙂
Thanks for finally writing about 5 Tips for Choosing Office Printers – Finding the Right Fit <Loved it!
Glad you found it helpful! If you ever have any post requests, feel free to submit them using out contact form 🙂
You made a lot of great points about how to choose the best printer for your business. It is good to know that laser-based printers are great for offices that need printing frequently because they are faster. I think it would be smart to look into the reputation of the supplier you are purchasing the printer from beforehand to make sure they provide quality equipment.
This is the best guide for choosing the best office printers, I have ever seen. Very simple and to the point! I highly recommend this guide to beginners who are going to purchase a printer for the first time. Keep it up.