When you are buying a new laptop or computer, you always want to be sure you have all the necessary peripherals for your work. While printers aren’t as used as they once were, they still are an important piece of technology to have, especially if you are working in business or accounting. That being said, how do you know that you are getting the right printer for you? With so many options out there, it can be confusing to find out what you actually need for your work. Here are some important features that you should look for when buying a new printer.
What Are You Connecting the Printer To
The first thing you are going to want to check when choosing a new printer is what you are planning on connecting it to. Believe it or not, some printers work better with regular Windows computers while others are built for Mac computers. Diving further in, there are printers that are specialized for Chromebooks as well. You can check out this URL to get an understanding of how this matters when you are looking for a printer. The last thing you want to do is buy a printer that is not going to work with your new purchase. There are things like adaptors out there, but those can sometimes be expensive and you might even lose some functionality when connecting it. Always ensure that the printer you are going to be buying will work with your laptop or Chromebook.
The Ink
The ink that your printer is going to be used to print is something that you should consider when looking at a printer. Typically speaking there are three major ink configurations that your printer will have. The most standard is a two ink cartridge set up with one being an all-in-one color and the other being black. The next setup is four ink cartridges with three of them being cyan, magenta, and yellow.
Finally, you can elect to use inkwells instead of cartridges and these are refillable wells inside of the printer. In the long run, using an inkwell printer will save you money as you don’t have to worry about filling up as much on ink, however, they can be a little tedious to use if they are not for a commercial purpose. Consider the ink that you are going to be using when buying a printer.
Also, another tip: If you have purchased the wrong ink cartridges, you can sell ink cartridges for cash using any quantity of ink or toner as long as the product is packaged in the original retail box and in good condition!
Laser Printers
If the ink isn’t your thing, you don’t have to worry. Instead, you can elect to go with a laser printer. These use toner instead of ink and will produce much crisper images and sharper edges. Keep in mind that these laser printers are going to be more expensive than your standard ink printer and the toner also does run out fairly quickly. If you want to ensure that everything is crisp when you print and you are okay with spending a little more money, you might want to consider looking into a laser printer.
Print Speed
If you are going to be doing a lot of printing, you don’t want to be sitting around for several minutes waiting for one sheet to come out. If that is the case, you should be looking at a printer with a high amount of pages per minute or PPM. Keep in mind that PPM is an average time as it does depend on what you are printing. Generally, you will see a PPM for texts and images. Use this information to help guide your choice and to ensure that you are not wasting your time standing by a printer waiting for everything to come out.
Budget
If you are buying this for your own personal use and a company is not helping to cover the costs, you are going to have to look at the budget as it is important. While it is not a direct feature on the printer, it is something that has to be taken into consideration. If you are just going to be doing standard printing, you don’t have to aim for a ton of quality of life upgrades. Instead, you can stick to a basic printer that will print and accomplish easy daily tasks.
These are just a few important features that you have to consider when it comes time to buy a printer. Take a look at the market and see what is there and what fits your needs. At the end of the day, I should be buying something that works for you and that is also affordable. You don’t want to break the bank buying a printer. What features are you looking for in a printer?