Concerning the price, it is also necessary to take into account the cost of printing each page depending on the price of the printing system used by the printer, because, although this can represent a significant cost long term investment it doesn’t really make up for it, a section we’ll talk about later.
Color or black and white
Another aspect that you should also take into account when buying a printer is the printing needs, that is, whether you need to print only in black and white or if, on the contrary, in addition to print documents, you also want to print photographs or documents containing images and graphics.
Inkjet printers can print in color and black and white, while laser printers can be monochrome or color. If you opt for a monochrome laser model, you will not be able to print in black and white and not in color.
paper size
Not all printers on the market are compatible with all paper formats. Most home and office models are compatible with A4 paper size. However, not all models allow you to adjust the paper width to print photos, limiting your printing options.
If your needs involve printing in a larger format, A3 for example, the number of options available on the market is very limited and, moreover, their price is much higher than that of printers with traditional A4 format.
Duplex printing
If we need to print a lot, whether for study or work reasons, if we want save on paper (it never hurts to take care of the environment), one thing to consider is the automatic two-sided printing feature. This function is responsible for reinserting the paper into the carriage once it has printed one side to print the other following the order established in the document without the user having to intervene at any time.
Connectivity
All printers available on the market include a port USB-B with which it connects to a USB-A port on the computer which sends it the information to print, thus limiting its location near the computer. As technology has evolved, printers have significantly improved connectivity options by adding dual-band Wi-Fi support, allowing you to print documents or photos from any device, including including mobile phones.
Additionally, some models, particularly those intended for office environments, also include a RJ-45 port to use an Ethernet cable and thus be available via the internal network avoiding the limitations of the Wi-Fi connectivity.
Print resolution (DPI)
When we print documents, unless they contain very detailed images or graphics, any print resolution is valid. But, if we also want or need to print color photographs with photographic paper, it is advisable to look for a model that includes a print resolution (DPI) high. Do not confuse printing resolution with scanning resolution, the latter being the one which allows documents to be scanned with more or less detail and is not involved in printing.
Cartridges with or without head
It has always been said that printer manufacturers don’t make money by selling them, but rather by selling print cartridges. This may be one of the reasons why the price of consumables from some manufacturers is so high, forcing many users to opt for the compatible cartridges not original. The price of cartridges for HP and Canon printers is very similar and is not really cheap, since these include the print head, which is an advantage if we do not print for months, because, in changing the cartridge, the printer will work. once again like the first day.
The price of Epson printer cartridges is much cheaper, because they do not include the printhead. This represents a short-term economic advantage since we print every week, even if it is a single sheet, but it represents a long-term problem if our printing needs are sporadic, since the ink will dry in the print head. and touch it, go to a technical service to clean it.
Print Speed (PPM)
The printing speed of printers mainly depends on the print quality. At the time of the print documents We can use the draft resolution without any problem, even if they are documents that we want to present in a job or in front of a client. If we increase the graphic quality of printing in a document, we will hardly notice higher quality. Where we will notice is the time required for the printer to print each sheet, a much longer time than in Draft quality.
All printers on the market indicate the number of pages per minute (PPM) capable of always printing at normal quality. This number varies if, in addition to using black, we also use colored ink, thus reducing the number of pages it can print per minute.
Additional functions
Most inkjet printers on the market include a scanner function to analysis documents and is also used to make photocopies of any document. However, many laser printers do not include this function, so if your needs are only covered by a laser printer, we should consider purchasing a multifunction model.
Other models include a leaf feeder which allows you to scan multiple sheets automatically without having to be in front of the printer, a very useful feature that is not available in the most economical models, both inkjet models and multifunction laser models.
Types of printers
We can find many types of printers on the market, but not all of them are designed for home use.
Inkjet
If we talk about inkjet printers, we are talking about the best known and most used printers in the world because they are the most economical models for home use without many pretensions but which allow us to print photographs very high quality.
Within inkjet printers, there are two types. Those who work with single cartridges and those who use ink tanks that we must complete. This last type of printer allows you to print a greater number of pages compared to the capacity offered by printers working with cartridges.
He printing cost per sheet in printers with ink tanks is lower than in printers with cartridges, therefore, providing greater printing capacity at a lower price, their price is higher than that of printers working with cartridges.
When choosing one model or another, we must analyze what our printing needs are. If the number is very high, the best option is a printer with ink tanks because, in just over a year, we will have amortized the higher price paid compared to printers working with cartridges. But if we print sporadically, the best option is to buy a cartridge printer with head included.
Laser
While inkjet printers are intended for home use, laser printers are designed for work environments where this is necessary. print many documents in a short time.
In the market we can find monochrome laser printers and color laser printers. Monochrome laser printers are ideal for printing many black and white pages in a very short time and are available at very affordable prices.
The ace color laser printers They also focus on office environments, being much larger and much more expensive than monochrome printers. However, the color print quality is much lower than what can be found in inkjet printers, showing a very coarse grain finish.
In both cases, instead of using ink in liquid form, powder cartridges (toner) are used, cartridges that are much larger than inkjet cartridges and therefore offer a longer lifespan. , that is why it is the best option in offices because, in addition, its printing cost is the lowest of all.
Matrix
This type of printer is the oldest that can be found on the market and is designed to print on continuous paperbut it can also be used to print in A4 format (although this type of paper is not currently used), although its quality leaves much to be desired, since its main function is not quality, but rather printing of documents on continuous paper in much less time than any printer.
Its operation is very similar to that of typewriters where a printhead It impacts the ink ribbon to reflect the content on the paper. Although they are the oldest on the market, you can still find a large number of models of this type of printer in any specialized store and even on Amazon.
Thermal
The ace thermal printers They use the same printing system as fax, applying heat to a certain type of heat-sensitive paper to reflect the information you want to display, so they do not use any type of ink or toner. As the fax machine has become part of the more recent history of communications, this type of printer has evolved into smaller formats and its main use currently is printing receipts in businesses.
Best Inkjet Printers
One of the options with the best quality-price ratio if we are looking for an inkjet printer with cartridges we find it in the HP Envy 6020ea multifunction scanner printer with photocopy function, Wi-Fi and USB connectivity, with a printing speed of up to 20 pages per minute in black and white and 17 ppm in color.
If we are looking for an inkjet printer that works ink tanksmultifunction printer Eco Tank ET-2870 from Epson is one of the best options on the market, a printer with a compact design with 4 independent color tanks, a scanner and photocopy function as well as Wi-Fi, USB and Ethernet connectivity.
Best laser printers
One of the best options available on the market if you are looking for a laser printer is found in the model OfficeJet Pro 9010e of HP, a black and white laser printer multifunction with a tray for automatic document scanning and a printing speed of up to 32 pages per minute. It has Wi-Fi, Ethernet and USB connectivity and includes fax and photocopy functionality.
Model HP LaserJet Pro M255dw is one of color laser printers the most recommended currently available on the market, a printer that automatically prints double-sided in A4 format, touch screen, USB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, with a printing speed of up to 21 ppm in color and black and white. It includes 256MB of memory and lets you scan documents directly to the cloud with just one touch.
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