BUYING GUIDE FOR PRINTERS
Before purchasing a printer for your office, you must make several selections. It makes no difference how well your paper reads, how colorful and clear your graphics are, or how detailed your photographs are if your printer can’t consistently reproduce your work the way you want it.
Choosing the appropriate printer is difficult in today’s market when there are hundreds of options. All printers, at the end of the day, execute the same basic functions. What features are you looking for, and how much money are you ready to spend on quality?
Over time, printers have gotten less expensive and more feature-rich.
You can get a basic inkjet for under 40,000 naira or spend 160,000 naira on a model that has additional features.
Whatever your requirements, there is a printer that can meet them. Our printer buying guide will assist you in sorting through the alternatives to select the right machine for you.
- How to buy an Inkjet Printer
If you frequently print a mix of text, graphics, and images, an inkjet printer is the best option. In comparison to laser printers, they can print nearly anything, and they excel at photographs in particular.
Keep in mind, however, that inkjet printers have lower brand reliability and owner satisfaction ratings. These rankings are based on information collected from CR’s member questionnaires.
Most inkjet printers print black-and-white text at five to 18 pages per minute, while color images take significantly longer. For a single high-quality 8×10 image, the models we tested took anything from 1.5 to 4 minutes or more.
If you’re a photographer, graphic designer, or just a creative in general, an inkjet printer is ideal because it can print practically anything!
Images, cards, and black-and-white files, among other things
The principle of an inkjet printer is to spray tiny droplets of ink directly onto paper, resulting in the ideal picture or design you require. Unlike laser printers, inkjet prints can accept a wide range of paper sizes.
Inkjet printers, on the other hand, print at a slower rate, between 3 to 13 pages per minute.
- How to choose a printer for small business
Whether you print a few documents here and there or a lot of marketing materials, your small business will almost certainly need a printer. However, depending on your habits, the printer you require will vary.
So, while selecting a printer for your small business, what should you look for? For any business, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, there are a few key factors to consider, ranging from the budget to the features and output. As a result, diligent shopping is essential.
- Calculate the Volume of Printing You’ll Need
Before you buy a printer, think about your existing printing habits and what you expect to print in your office regularly. If you only need hard copies of documents for your records on a regular basis, your requirements will be very different from those of a company that sends out printed direct mail items regularly.
- Avoid the cheapest models
Even though it’s always wonderful to save money, hardware purchases for your business shouldn’t be made on a shoestring budget. These low-cost devices frequently require additional repairs or must be replaced soon, and they do not provide the quality that may be had by paying a little more.
- Add up all of the expenses
While creating a budget, it’s critical to consider all costs, not just the one-time purchase. Before deciding on a model, learn about ink, toner, repairs, power requirements, and anything else that could affect your overall costs.
- Seek advice from a professional
Consider outsourcing this part of the process if digging through the possibilities and learning about printer specs doesn’t appeal to you, or if you’re overwhelmed by the alternatives and don’t know where to start. An IT consulting business can assist you in identifying your company’s unique requirements and matching you with the printer and other hardware and software devices required to achieve those requirements.
- Things to consider when buying a printer
Have you been considering buying a new big format inkjet printer but don’t know where to start?
Are you searching to replace something you already have? Do you need some pointers on what to look for?
Here are things to consider:
- Picture Quality: Your image quality needs may vary depending on your target market.
Here are a few things to think about:
Resolution– Fine art reproduction and photography would benefit from printers that can achieve a minimum of 1200dpi print resolution. Most printers have multiple resolution settings, so look for one that has a wide variety of print resolution options (an example would be 360dpi-2880dpi, covering various modes in between).
Ink Droplet Size– Because droplet size is usually defined in picoliters, search for a printer that can produce droplets between 4 and 12pl. A lower number indicates a smaller droplet, which corresponds to a crisper image.
- Printer Size and Speed: The printer size will be determined by the image sizes you desire to supply.
Determine which sizes are the most popular, and you’ll have a terrific place to start. If you need to produce a specific amount of output each day or week, speed is a crucial factor to consider. Keep in mind that quicker print speeds usually imply a reduction in image resolution, so look for printers that can print at quicker speeds without sacrificing image quality.
- Usability: It’s easy to get wrapped up in features and specs and overlook the importance of usability. Having an easy-to-use printer reduces frustration and troubleshooting. Production can be seamless if there is less guesswork with the printer and its settings if there will be more than one user.
- Support: When purchasing a printer, product support is frequently disregarded. It can be a frustrating process trying to get a product to perform properly. Find out what is supported before purchasing a printer.
- Questions to ask when buying a printer
Printers are popular devices. Its two most prevalent variants are inkjet and laser printers. At work, large laser printers are common, whereas, at home, tiny Inkjet printers are common. However, before betting on either, it’s a good idea to learn about the differences between them.
Let’s take a look at the questions you should ask yourself before purchasing a printer for your house or business.
- Are you familiar with the distinctions between inkjet and laser printers?
- Is it more common for you to print in color or black and white?
- What is the maximum number of pages you need to print at one time?
- How quickly would you like to print?
- What is the maximum number of prints you can obtain from your cartridge?
- How much does a page of printing cost?
- What is the price of a printer?
- Best advice on buying a printer
Starting a new company venture can be difficult, especially when it comes to selecting the appropriate office equipment.
To make the best decision, you must have a thorough awareness of your company’s specific needs, budgetary constraints, and even accessible office space.
Because printer requirements vary by business, we developed a list of helpful recommendations for entrepreneurs wanting to purchase a new printer for their company to help you get off to a good start.
- Assess your printing requirements
The first step is to think about the nature of your business to guarantee that the printer you select will be able to handle the demands of everyday operations. Choose a network-equipped model for businesses with three or more employees that need constant access to the printer. This allows many users to connect at the same time. You can also buy an all-in-one printer that does more than just print and allows you to scan documents and send and receive faxes.
Predict how a printer will be utilized in the office; for example, a high-quality display model may not be required for mainly administrative printing.
- Don’t overlook the expense of maintenance and operation
Many individuals underestimate the long-term costs of owning a printer, but it’s critical to have a basic idea of what to expect in order to make an informed selection. Take the time to learn how simple it is to set up and use the printer, as well as how often you will need to replace inks and how much each replacement will cost, which will be determined by how much printing you will likely perform.
It’s critical for small businesses that don’t have a full-time technician or IT department to select a solution that is straightforward and simple to maintain.
It’s also a good idea to see whether the retailer provides any free or paid IT support services to assist you with any technical issues that may emerge.
- Think about the type of printing you’ll be undertaking
The amount and sort of printing you will be performing will also influence whatever printer you choose. High-volume printing necessitates more ink refills and greater long-term printing costs, but high-quality printing necessitates a printer capable of creating high-resolution prints. However, you must ensure that the printer you select does not sacrifice quality in the name of being able to print huge volumes.
- Examine your working environment
The last thing you want is to be stuck with a printer that takes up far too much room in a small office, making it impossible for employees to move around. Before you go out and get a printer, plan out your workspace and how you want everything to be set up. This will assist you in selecting an appropriate-sized printer and ensuring that you do not have any regrets after purchasing your printer.
Conclusion
Printers are one of the most often asked-about electronic items. They now provide a plethora of options, each with its own set of features and functions. A consumer model printer, if cared for properly, can endure for many years. That’s why you should choose one that you can picture yourself using for the rest of your computer’s life or perhaps longer.
