How to Choose the Best Office Printer

Figuring out what kind of printer is best for your office can be a tough decision. There are many factors you need to consider though it all boils down to what fits your needs. Will you require piles of brochures every week or only a few meeting documents daily? Deciding what machine to buy can get overwhelming so let this guide help you.

Choosing Between Inkjet and Laser

First, you need to think about what kind of printer you want. Both inkjet and laser printers perform well and have their own unique features.

1. Inkjet – An inkjet printer is an affordable machine that is capable of producing high quality prints at a standard resolution of 300 dpi. One of the main advantages of an inkjet printer is that its ink does not smudge easily. Buy ink cartridges that are CMYK so they can be replaced individually and you can save money.
2. Laser – A laser printer is great for printing large amounts of documents with high resolution at a short amount of time. Their ink cartridges and toners cost a little more but they have a much faster and efficient printing performance compared to inkjets.

To sum it up: if you are looking for high resolution and high quality colour photos, the inkjet printer is for you. But if you need fast and high volume document printing, the laser printer is the better choice.

Will You Need a Single-Function or Multifunction Printer?

If you just need to print documents, a single-function printer will do just fine. If you have a need to scan or photocopy items, a multi-functional printer will be good to have around. You won’t have to bring in a separate machine which can use up space. Some multi-functional printers can even create images of documents and send them via-email. With a single machine to juggle all printing, scanning, photocopying, and even sending, the office workflow would be more organised and efficient.

Consider the Features

Take time to think what else you will want in relation to printing. What special features do you want your printer to perform? Resolution, speed, and other features are important to look into when choosing a printer. If you need fast printing, high quality output, or affordability, you should make sure that these factors match up to your product options.

1. Speed – Having a speedy printer can save you time. Speed will determine the number of pages printed per minute (ppm). For printing pictures, you can also read it as images per minute (ipm). This is essential to know especially when you are printing a large number of documents.
2. Resolution – When printing, good resolution is a necessity if you want to print quality documents, pictures, and graphics. A printing resolution is measured through dots per inch (DPI). The standard resolution for a printer is 300dpi, the higher the resolution the better the quality.
3. Printout sizes – If you need to print posters, cards, or blueprints, choose the printer that can print various media types. Make sure that the document sizes you need fit the specs of the printer you plan to buy.
4. Wireless or WIFI – These printers are easy to install, but one of the things you will have to consider is how your printer will connect to your computers. Wired printers are a cheap option but a bit of a hassle to set up. Wireless printers are slightly more expensive but give users an easy experience where you can connect to the printer from any device.
5. Size – Make sure that the size of your printer fits well inside your office. While you’re still out shopping, envision where you will put it and determine if there is enough space in your office for it.

How Much Will You Need to Spend?

The final thing to consider is your budget. You shouldn’t be looking at just the sale price of the printers but also future expenses. This means you should also think about maintenance, ink or toner refills, papers, and other resources. Your allocated budget should look into all of these.