How to choose a printer
We independently test the products and technologies that we recommend.
1. Printer purpose depending on printing technology
The choice of a printer should start with the printing technology, since it determines the main purpose of the device, quality, speed and cost of the print. Maintenance and repairability are also important and will depend on the choice, but more on them later. The most popular technologies for many years have been inkjet and laser, which have proven their effectiveness in certain areas. They have been joined by a couple more successful solutions - sublimation and LED printing. The latter is similar to laser, so it will be considered in the article as one type. You can get acquainted in detail with the operating principle of each technology in the corresponding article, and we, in turn, will outline the main pros and cons of each type to facilitate the choice for specific tasks:
| Printing technology | Pros | Cons | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inkjet | High quality black and white and color printing. | High cost per print; Slow color print speed; Vulnerable to moisture and ultraviolet radiation; Low cartridge life; Requires constant use. |
Printing small quantities at home or in the office; Photo printing; Commercial use (mugs, t-shirts, magnets). |
| Laser (LED) | Equally high speed of color and monochrome printing; Low cost per print; Resistant to moisture and ultraviolet radiation; Large cartridge resource; Not afraid of long periods of downtime. |
Not suitable for photo printing | Large volume printing; Printing of certificates, diplomas, letters of thanks, presentation materials. |
| Sublimation | High quality photo printing. | Slow print speed; Low cartridge life; Limited format (from A8 to A5). |
Photo printing from mobile gadgets and other devices "on the go". |
2. Important characteristics when choosing
Each printer has its own features and important characteristics that you need to pay attention to first. This will allow you to save on the purchase and get the optimal functionality for certain tasks:
Colour or monochrome
Everything is simple here - if you need to print only text documents, your choice is a monochrome laser printer. If you plan to print color materials, then a color one. But keep in mind that the cost of such equipment will be significantly higher. For example, a monochrome HP LaserJet M110W can be purchased for around $130, and for a color HP Color Laser 150NW you will have to pay from $400. And these are budget options!
Print format
Another important parameter that greatly influences pricing. Most printers are oriented towards the A4 standard, which is used both at home and in offices. But for certain tasks (printing building plans, evacuation plans, land plot projects, stands, presentation and advertising materials), the A3 format is better suited. A separate category includes pocket printers, which are designed to print photos from A8 to A5.
Print speed
This parameter may be important for commercial use. Here everything depends on the selected technology, format and color. If we talk about a laser printer for the office, then a good indicator would be 30 - 40 ppm, and when used jointly by several employees or departments, it is better to consider options over 40 ppm. For home use, 20 ppm will be enough. Inkjet printers are not distinguished by high speed, so getting about 20 black and white sheets per minute is a fairly good level. Printing in color takes even more time, but this contributes to high image quality. It is worth noting that the speed of monochrome and color printing of a laser (LED) printer is equally high and does not depend on the selected paper format, and for the inkjet type, the indicators differ significantly.
Print resolution
Displays the level of detail of the final sample and also depends on the technology. For inkjet printers, the optimal resolution is 4800x1200 dpi, and for laser printers 1200x1200 dpi, although for ordinary document printing 600x600 dpi is enough.
Printing method
The most popular way to print from a computer is a direct connection via a USB cable, but for shared access across an apartment, office or entire enterprise, it is better to choose models with a LAN network port. You can often find an additional USB input for printing materials from external drives. Given the rapid development of mobile gadgets and wireless communications, it is important to provide the ability to send for printing "over the air", even if you do not need it now. The technical implementation of such an exchange can be different. A popular Wi-Fi module is used to connect to a central router, but manufacturers are increasingly resorting to a more advanced Wi-Fi Direct method ( AirPrint for interaction with Apple equipment), which provides a direct connection to the source (smartphone, tablet, laptop, cameras, video recorders). Less common are Bluetooth connections and NFC.
3. Useful functionality
Having decided on the technology, color and format, you can move on to additional functions that make connecting, setting up and operating the printer comfortable, allowing you to adapt it to the needs of the office, studio, home:
Built-in continuous ink supply system (CISS)
Suitable for inkjet printers, significantly increases the resource, eliminates the need for regular refilling or purchasing new cartridges.
Double-sided printing (duplex)
Allows you to automate the printing process on both sides of the sheet due to an additional module in the printer design. This significantly reduces time, eliminates the need for manual control by the user and ensures paper savings.
Display
The presence of a screen provides visual control of parameters, which is especially important when printing documents from USB drives. The system can also notify users of errors and printer status using certain codes. The display can be monochrome or color, and professional models even have a touch screen.
Built-in storage
This functionality is found mainly in network printers for the convenience of data exchange or storage and printing of frequently used files (price lists, questionnaires, forms, application forms) directly from the equipment control panel.
4. Consumables and maintenance
When choosing a printer, it is important to pay attention to subsequent maintenance and the cost of consumables. Manufacturers often lure with a low price, which will quickly cease to be an advantage when buying new cartridges, toner and other spare parts.
In general, it is worth noting that inkjet printers, if used correctly, require virtually no maintenance, and with a CISS, provide a resource of several thousand pages. Ink for refilling can be purchased at a bargain price - about $10 for a set of 4 colors. Without a CISS, you will have to buy new cartridges every 200 - 300 pages. And this is approximately $50 for black and color.
You can contact the service center for an upgrade that will allow you to refill branded cartridges yourself.
It is worth noting that the overall life cycle of inkjet printers is not very long, and their repairability is low, so after 3-5 years (depending on the intensity of printing) you will need to purchase a new printer.
Laser (LED) printers, on the contrary, are long-livers, which can last more than 10 years. Their design is technically more complex, but the division into separate functional blocks ensures ease of repair. And there are enough components for them (both original and compatible) on the market.
Particular attention should be paid to cartridges, as they contain all the important components. An original laser cartridge can cost about $40, and for a color printer this amount will have to be multiplied by 4 - far from a budget pleasure. But they can be refilled and restored in service centers. Compatible components are half the price, but are usually disposable and cannot be serviced/restored.
The cost of toner for refilling one cartridge is about $2, but only a few can do it themselves at home.
Sublimation printers are often represented by portable models for photo printing, and the technology itself requires specific consumables and dyes, which are more expensive than standard photo paper. The cost of cartridges is also high and can reach $50.
In general, laser printers are more cost-effective than inkjet or sublimation printers, and LED technology allows for cheaper production without losing quality. Despite the higher cost of components, they wear out more slowly, so repairs are rarely required, and the printers themselves last for decades. The large resource of cartridges and the cheapness of toner guarantee the minimum cost of each printed page.
5. Conclusions
Laser, inkjet, LED, sublimation, color, black and white, double-sided - it's easy to get confused with such a variety, but we'll try to point you in the right direction with practical advice:
| Printer type | Purpose | Printing cost | Cost of service | Durability | Maintainability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inkjet monochrome | For home and office; Daily printing of documents in small volumes. |
Average | Average | Average | Low |
| Inkjet color | For home, office, photo studio, business; Daily printing of documents and photo materials in small volumes; Printing on cups, T-shirts (with additional equipment). |
Tall | Average | Average | Low |
| Laser (LED) monochrome | For home and office; Printing documents in large volumes with varying frequency. |
Low | Tall | Tall | Tall |
| Laser (LED) color | For office; Printing of documents and photographic materials in large volumes with varying frequency; |
Average | Tall | Tall | Tall |
| Sublimation Pocket (Portable) | For home, travel; Print photos on the go. |
Tall | Tall | Average | Low |
Articles, reviews, useful tips
All materials
