Computer Printers

Computer Printers have evolved over the years into more than just a device that prints out a piece of paper with text. A computer printer can now used for everything from legal documents, to high quality photos, to t-shirt prints. Printers have also become more of a document center, called multi-function printers (MFP), able to print, copy, scan, and sometimes fax. So what should you look for when buying a printer...

What are you planning to use your printer for? Here are a few uses you might have for computer printers...

• If you are a small business, or run a business from your home, and do a lot of document printing, perhaps you should look at a laser printer. Laser printers have become much more affordable within the last couple years, and print text pages at high speed.
• If you print a lot of photos, then perhaps you should look into a photo printer. Photo printers are smaller than a normal printer and are made specifically for printing high quality color photos.
• If you just need an everyday printer, then look into an inkjet printer. They are the most common type, and also the cheapest printers you can get.
• Looking for an all in one document center? There are many computer printers out there that will combine printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. Getting this all in one device will save space and money.

Printer resolution is measured in dpi, or dots per inch. This is a measure for bubblejet printers and it tells you how many ink dots it can fit within an inch. The same rule used for computer monitors applies here, the higher the resolution, the better image quality you will get. If you are looking to print mainly text documents or low grade images, then a printer with 600dpi will do just fine. However if you want high quality photos, then you may want to look at a printer with 1200dpi or higher.

Are you getting a printer for your home or small business network? If you want the ability to print from any computer on the network, then you will need to ensure that your printer has an ethernet port. If you are purchasing a computer printer for home use on a single computer, then you don't need to worry about this. Most printers will come with USB connections, so make sure you have an open USB port on your computer.

Computer printers now come with many built in connections. Camera docks, memory card slots, and USB connections are common. If you are looking at a photo printer, make sure that your camera can interface to it, either through the memory card slot, the dock, or the USB port.

If you need a fast printer, make sure to keep an eye on the print speed. Laser printers are much faster than bubblejet, but the inexpensive ones will only print black and white.

Output type is another consideration. If you need color, bubble jet printers may be the way to go. Color laser is expensive, usually over $400.00 for a quality printer. If you only need black and white, then a laser printer may be the way to go.

Printers are available that are very reasonably priced. However, the supplies for printers can be quite expensive. Ink cartridges, laser toner cartridges, and high quality paper can be costly. When you are looking at a printer, make sure to look at the cost of the printer supplies.

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