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                              Before you buy a Printer.

On this page you can:

• Learn the critical points, technologies  and key features of printers.

• Read the essential free buyers guide about all types of Printers Including: Inkjet Printers, Photo Printers, or Color Laser Printers and Network Printers.

Every Printer model is different and has its own unique features and specifications. Learning about these different characteristics will help you when you are shopping for a new printer.

We have compiled a list of key principles that you should know about!

Before you fall into the shopping zone and investing money, you can have some idea of what features you can expect from a new printer.

Important things to think about when buying any type of printer:

        Print Technologies: This is the first major choice you have to make when choosing a printer. Beside the two well known technologies, the ink jet and laser, there are many new emerging applied sciences such as: LED (light-emitting diode), direct thermal, thermal transfer or dye-sublimation models. Inkjets are usually a less expensive purchase than lasers and are able to deliver impressive color output, but can cost more to maintain. Lasers are faster and considerably cheaper to operate but cost more to buy. For personal use, go for the inkjet, but for office needs, buy a laser.

         Color or Monochrome: If you'll need a printer that can handle even larger amounts of black&white text printing jobs and deliver it in a fraction of the time that Inkjets do, the monochrome laser printer will be your ultimate choice. The Laser printers generally have more features and options than their inkjet cousins and offer high-quality print, using a similar method as a photocopier.

 Monochrome laser printers are faster, bring much better text quality and are less expensive to maintain than ink-jet printers. Once again, if you intend to print lots of black&white documents buy a monochrome laser, for moderate color printing jobs go for the Inkjet printer, but for a larger amount of color prints for an office, you should consider purchasing a color laser.

Color laser printers are not cheap but if you plan to print a lot of colorful pages, this type of printer will be the wiser choice for your personal or business needs.

         Print quality: Many additional factors will influence the quality of your prints, such as the type of printing technology you will use, the quality of the printing materials and the capabilities of the printing machine itself. An abundant number of todays printers can print photos that surpass the quality of many professional photofinishers from a photo lab.

         Print Durability: We all are expecting to print our documents and memorabilia with accurate color and true photo gradations, but producing long-lasting prints are also an important aspect. A few things may have an influence on print life.

Along with the type of printer and paper used to create the print, the quality and type of Ink also will weigh in the process. While with Dye based ink you should be able to output prints with lives typically between 1-3 decades, from pigment-based inks you may expect print lives close to a hundred years or more.

      You can read a lot more about Ink cartridges and also on Printer Papers.

         Print speed: It is the second crucial element in your buying decision.

It is usually measured in pages per minute (ppm). To define both the quality and speed of your future printer, do a little experimenting before you buy it if possible, by printing a test page in the store and review the outcome for yourself. The complexity, color density, size of the document, quality of the paper used and the placement of the ink dots are also influences on the required time of the printing job. In the real world, printing a single 8x10 color photograph on an inkjet may take anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes.

A word of caution, though: Manufacturers' claims about their printer speeds rarely take into account printer warm-up delays or the time it takes for your PC to communicate with the printer.

Speed, operating costs and available features are three factors to consider when making your purchase. Since laser printers are all based on the same imaging technology, speed--not quality--sets them apart. Naturally, the faster the printer, the higher the price.

This means clicking on your print icon won't necessarily translate into instant printing. Timesaving features to look for: a printer with an instant-on fuser, and a job-status feature that can monitor printing jobs from your computer so you know when they're completed.

      Read more on Printer speed capabilities for lasers and Inkjets.

         Printer resolution: Resolution also plays an important role in the quality of your final printouts.

The 300 dpi printing resolution is considered adequate for most office text documents but many of todays inkjet printers now offer up to 4800 x 1200 resolutions.     Find out more about printer resolution!

         Cost Per Page: The actual purchase price of the unit usually represents only five percent of the total lifetime cost of the printer. One laser printed page costs about 7 times less than one Inkjet printed page. This is the combination of the cost of the toner/drum or ink and papers, etc, divided by the number of pages that can be created. See article about The true Cost of printing, Cost per page of printers.

         Paper Handling: The paper handling specifies the method(s) used to move paper through the printer. Every major printer manufacturer applies unique technology in their printing devices according to how it moves the paper and other media through the device. Try to inquire about the access points in the paper path, (Front, top or back-loading) which allows you to clear paper- jams easily. The term paper path refers to the route a page takes as it goes through the printer. Another strong feature is a faster first printout time, made possible by the short paper path. Some high-end printers offer multiple paper paths but the best is to look for a model with straight-through paper path that allows the printer to print on the paper without bending it. This is especially useful for heavier papers. Inquire if the printer can handle envelopes, card stock or other odd papers you may want to use, and how much paper the printer can hold at one time. Or check the user guide that came with your printer for detailed instructions about printing on envelopes. Think about whether you will need duplexing capabilities. Two-sided printing, also known as duplex printing or duplexing, can decrease paper usage up to 50%.

         Multifunction alternatives: If you need a color inkjet machine that can perform more than just the common printing tasks, the multifunction printers conveniently combine the color printing alternatives with advanced fax performance, scanning and copying, all into one unit.  Multifunction printers provide all or most of these capabilities at an affordable price for small businesses or home offices.

      Read more on Multifunction Inkjet Printers and Multifunction Laser Printers.

         Workgroup options: A number of printers are capable of working in a network and serve multiple users. The network laser printers are the most expensive laser models on the market. You can transform this unit into a real office workhorse that will manage high-volume printing jobs and deliver it quickly. The Network Laser Printers are incredible tools for busy offices or businesses where the printer needs to serve multiple users or workgroups, as you can save both space and money. A network printer either, has its own built-in network port card or it is interrelated with a printer on the network. A few inkjets can also be shared using Windows 95, Windows NT Or Windows XP.

      Read more on Network Laser Printers

         Consumables: With ink jets, you simply replace the familiar black or multicolor ink tanks or cartridges. Some Inkjet printers use one cartridge with three-ink colors but the best configuration is the separate ink cartridges for each different colors. Your printers manual will tell you what type of replacement cartridge to buy. In addition, there is the printer paper, which also adds up to the overall cost during the printers lifetime. While laser printers usually use normal-weight paper, inkjets require special coated paper for some printing jobs in order to deliver the best quality photo print.

      Read more about The best printer papers and Inkjet cartridges and refill kits.

         Duty Cycle: Represents the number of pages a printer can handle per month without breaking down. To prevent breakdowns, buy a printer with a monthly duty cycle, which exceeds a few times the number of pages that you intend to print per month.

         Connectivity: The parallel port is more common yet but the advanced USB connection is becoming increasingly popular. Most of todays Inkjet printers usually support both. Networkable printers usually connect directly to the network via an Ethernet port. Read more on connectivity options for printers.

         Printer Memory: All Printers usually have a certain amount of buffer memory that allows the data coming from the printer to be stored before it will be transformed to the paper. Common memory sizes are ranging from 32MB, 64MB; to 128MB.                    You can find more on printer memory.

         Printer drivers: Printer driver can indicate the remaining ink levels for each color, and an onscreen low-ink warning alerts you before a cartridge runs out of ink. Maintain the control for resolution, text smoothing and accurately controls the size and precise position of each drop on the page.

         Borderless Printing Capabilities: An abundant number of newer Inkjet Printer can produce borderless printouts, and print edge to edge on the paper so you dont have to trim off the white borders from your printed picture.

         Printer Software: printer manufacturers include bundled software for their printing machines that is only compatible with the particular unit. Some application software includes other separate programs, which may let you edit and apply effects to graphic images. Usually either the printer drivers or the application software is compatible with both Windows and Macintosh Operating Systems. However, be aware that just a few will support Windows 95, so probably you will need Windows 98 or higher.

         Warranty: Printers generally come with at least a one-year warranty. Make sure that the product comes with a next-day replacement warranty. This means if the printer manufacturer is not able to fix your printer, a replacement unit will be sent the next business day. Many companies purchase a maintenance contract to minimize expensive downtime and even more expensive service calls, while some manufacturers also offer extended warranties at an extra cost.

         Reliability: Reliability and life expectancy information mainly refers to the expected working life of the printer. A printers working life is greatly influenced by factors such as regular maintenance, working environment and the used media quality.

         Price: The cost difference between Ink jet and laser printers used to be measured in thousands of dollars; now it is measured in hundreds. But if manufacturers can manage to break the $1000 barrier by driving down materials costs or finding new manufacturing efficiencies, the laser printers could become more ubiquitous than anyone has imagined. The price has dropped in recent years so inkjet printers range anywhere from $55 for an entry level ink jet to $850 for higher-end models, making even color inkjet printing an affordable alternative. The price tag on monochrome lasers usually state a bit more than that on their inkjet brothers, begin around $250 and go up from there up to $1,000 for a high-end office printer. The price that you have to pay for color lasers are a much more higher than that of their monochrome cousins. It begins around $650 and goes up from there to above than $4,900 for high-end office color or network laser printer, but their capabilities will pay off for the price difference.

         Environment: Storage temperature and operating temperature are the two main environmental conditions for printers and their consumables. Relative humidity can often be allowed to range from 10% to 80% during storage but it must be limited from 30% to 80% during operation. Humidity may also affect print quality.

      Read more about printers energy consumption and your environment.

  Whether you are searching the market for your first brand new Printer, or just want to upgrade to a better one, we strongly recommend you to educate yourself before you buy any type of printer. You will find great a range of information at 1printer-supply.com

      Check out our all-inclusive Inkjet Printers-Color Inkjet Printers Guide!

      See our Comprehensive Laser Printers- Color Laser Printers Guide!

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