By: Gene Rodriguez, III
Computer printers give you the ability to take information from the screen and bring it into the real world. The right computer printer will help create scrapbooks, business reports and photo albums with equal grace. Picking the right computer printer is a matter of matching your needs and budget with the hundreds of models available.
Types of Computer Printers
Although all printers have the same goal-creating paper outputs of digital information-not all of them choose the same mechanism for achieving that goal. The major types of computer printer available are:
- Inkjet: Inkjet printers use a water-based ink that is sprayed onto the page in tiny droplets. While inkjets are the most popular printers fro home use, the cost of replacing ink cartridges can drive up per-page costs. Inkjets are a good choice for light to medium home use and can deliver good quality image prints, making them ideal for photos.
- Laser: Computer laser printers use toner fused to paper to create the printed image. Laser printers are more expensive than inkjets, but have lower per-page costs, about two cents per page compared with eight or more cents for inkjets. Laser printers are the printer of choice for business use, but they can also be useful for homes with medium- to high-volume text-printing needs. Text output from a laser printer is very sharp, but laser prints of photos don't look nearly as good as inkjet prints.
- Multifunction: Inkjet and laser printers are both available in multifunction models that combine fax, copying and scanning abilities with the printer. If you have a need for this extra capability, the increase in price can actually turn into a bargain, since you won't need to buy separate machines for faxing or scanning.
- Photo: Photo printers are specialized devices designed to print high-quality, small-format images. Photo printers typically print 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 prints using special paper. These printers can often print directly from your camera's memory card. If you print a lot of photos, this limited function printer could save you money over conventional photo processing.
- Mobile: Portable computer printers are small, light and designed to handle the rigors of travel. Mobile printers are typically battery powered and feature wireless connections that allow you to travel without cords. Although the ink and paper capacities of mobile printers are smaller than typical printers, the weight and size savings are substantial.
Important Computer Printer Features
After you've decided on a type of printer, you'll want to focus on the features each model provides. Here are a few things to consider:
- Consumables: Your printer will require ink or toner that needs to be replaced on a regular basis. The cost and capacity of printer cartridges will give you an idea of the cost per page. As you compare printers, look for a printer with the lowest cost per page.
- Speed: All printers are rated for speed. Be sure to compare text and image speeds separately. Also, pay attention to black-and-white versus color speeds. Color and images will slow all printers down, compared with black-and-white text documents.
- Capacity: Nothing is more tedious than running out of paper in the middle of a print run. Larger capacity paper trays mean fewer reloads.
- Resolution: High-resolution printer output leads to crisp images and graphics. You should consider 600 x 600 dots per inch to be a minimum.
- Connections: Simply put: The more, the better. Printers can accept information in a variety of ways, including printer cables, wireless connections and memory cards. The more connection types a printer has, the more flexible it can be. Considering that a wireless, network-capable printer can work with every computer in your home the extra cost is usually worth it.
