What To Look For When Buying A Printer

There are many, many printer types and models on the market today. Before going to your local store or online retailer (by the way online stores have many bargains that you can only get if you buy online–) you should give some serious consideration to what your new printer will be primarily used for. For example; some printers are better at printing photos, and some are better for text documents, the newest printers do it all in one. Hewlett Packard has an all in one that scans, copies, and prints. Others have faxes onboard, so check out all of your options, give some serious thought and decide what you will actually use. This way you will be prepared ahead of time and you will not make an impulse buy or let them pushy salespeople talk you into a printer with features you don’t need. You will know what to look for when buying a printer.

Home Printer Buying Guide

After you determine how you are going to use your new printer you should spend some time researching printers online. There are lots of websites that have compiled hundreds of printer reviews. (PCworld.com) On our computer accessories page you can find links for different printer sites. Look around and check out the different specs and get a feel for what is available in your price range and with the options you want.

You may want to check the printer speed (pages per minute). A good average is around 20+ pages per minute in black and white. More importantly in my opinion is the resolution. Especially if you plan to print photos you need high resolution. Most of todays inkjet printers print pictures at a quality to match getting your photos done at the store if you use good quality (10mil or better) photo paper.

My best advise? Read what other consumers had to say about their printers. Amazon, Epinions, and Inkcartridgesworld are great sites to check out as they collect user feedback on many printers. This way you will gain great insight into problems others have had with all different printers. You will want to stay away from printers that use excessive ink, have frequent paper jams, or the ink refils just cost too much.

Yes you should always check the price of the ink refills before deciding on your new printer. Most people replace their ink cartridges around every 3-4 months, depending on usage of course. I would say $20. per refill is a good average price, but be careful because they go much higher. Some even cost more than the printer itself, not good. It is really good when the first ink cartridges are included with the printer.