When it comes to buying a printer, you could well find yourself surprised by the amount of choice you have. Printer technology has come a long way since the old dot matrix models (even though these are still around); allowing for faster print times, great colour reproduction, networking and multifunctional elements.

So to sort your laser from your inkjet and your duplex from your Wi-Fi, here are my top 10 tips on buying a printer:

1. Determine a Budget…and Stick to it!

Printers come in all shapes and sizes. They have a dazzling array of features, making them better suited for some environments than others. With all of this technology available, understandably the prices can differ. So before you get started on your hunt for the perfect printer, you need to have a budget set. This will ensure you don’t end up spending more on functions you don’t really need.

2. Determine the Main Purpose of Your Printer

If you are looking to do bulk prints regularly and don’t want to have excessive expense or hang around too long, then a laser printer or gel sprint (from Ricoh) would be your best bet. For smaller, infrequent printing jobs with no time parameters, go for an inkjet. If you want to integrate copier and scanning functionality, go for a multifunction model.

Maybe you will be just printing out high quality images or photographs. In this instance, only a good quality photographic printer will do.

3. How Many Users Will Need the Printer?

If you have a busy office and need a printer to service dozens of work stations, you will need to get a printer that has network capabilities. If the hardwire option of networking doesn’t appeal to you, perhaps you should consider a Wi-Fi printer. These wireless models use internet connectivity to send jobs from a number of different devices.

If it is for a single computer, whether at home or an office, you won’t need to worry about spending extra on network options.

4. Consider Future Requirements

It’s all well and good getting a printer that is perfect for your requirements here and now, but what happens a few months down the line when this changes? For example, you might find that you buy a mono printer to save a little money then, weeks later, you find that you need a regular batch of colour prints – suddenly you have to outsource or upgrade.

Printers only have a certain lifetime, but you need to make sure that you are able to get the very most out of it during that period. So allowing for future growth is not always a bad strategy.

5. Which Features Are Essential?

There are some features on a printer that we would all like, although the thought of paying additional cash for the privilege sews a few seeds of doubt. So it is important that you determine what is absolutely necessary for your home or business printing needs.

If you are likely to do a lot of major projects where double sided printing will be a major benefit, then you will need a printer with a duplex printing option. Perhaps your printing output is usually around 300 pages a day, in this instance you will want a printer that has a tray that is big enough to handle these demands without continuously having to replace the paper.

6. Research Models that Match Your Criteria

Don’t just go with the first printer that you find. Having determined how much you are looking to spend and what you need, it is important to find a few different alternatives to choose from. Weigh up the pros and cons of each, do a little research online and decide which one will work best for you.

7. Choose Your Brand

Not necessarily the most important, but you have to find a brand that is established and has a reputation for developing models of a certain standard. It’s all well and good saving some money by going with another brand, but if their consumables are exorbitant or customer services aren’t up to scratch, you could find yourself with all kinds of long-term headaches.

8. Find a Reputable Reseller

Whether shopping on the high street or online, you need to buy from a business that enjoys a reputation for providing great products and after care services. It might be slightly more cost-effective to go elsewhere, but if you don’t get a warranty or can’t deal with anybody if anything goes wrong, you could be on a hiding to nothing.

Look for reviews and talk with other people who have bought products from them in the past; this should give you a clear indication if it is worth going elsewhere or not.

9. Consider Long-Term Expenditure

Pennies saved today might cost you pounds tomorrow. Consumables vary in price and quality across the full range of printers that are available. So don’t just research how much it costs, or who makes it, ensure you know what toner/ink it uses and how much maintenance could end up costing you. Small differences in price can really add up over time, especially if you are printing in bulk.

10. Check the Small Print

Particularly if you are buying online, you need to know what guarantees the seller offers and what method of delivery they utilise. You need to be sure that you will be receiving exactly what you thought you would be getting, not a printer that is full of costly extras or something that is out of stock for weeks.

Author Bio: Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For a wide range of printers and products by brand, he recommends Printware Ltd, a leading provider of Brother Printers.

Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: Buying a Printer,Printers,Laser Printers,Inkjet Printers,Printer Guide,Multifunction Printer,Wi-Fi Printer