How to Choose Printer

The paperless revolution has turned our world upside down but there are still times where only hardcopy will do. Today, printers are present in various shapes and sizes and are used for various purposes. Getting an image from your pc screen to a great looking document means buying the right printer for the job.

Following are the tips for choosing the right printer 

1. The first step is to determine for what purpose you will need a printer. Will it be for home use, or for small business or for high end business use?

1. You should check your operating system and see if the printer supports your operating system (e.g. Lexmark printers don't support Linux).

1. Printer preference should be on following points of view: photos, graphics and text. In general, the best-quality text printing is offered by laser printers, and ink jet printers offer the best-quality photos and graphics printing. If you don't need color and need mainly text, a black and white laser printer may be a good choice.

1. You should plan the budget and choose the printer according to the budget.

1. Consider the following factors and your needs :
• The first factor that you should consider is the resolution. If you want it for printing graphics and photos then you should go for a higher end model with higher resolution.
• If you are interested in photography and want to print high resolution images then specialty color printers that have photo lab quality are suitable for you.
• Speed is another factor to be considered. Pages per minute a printer can print should be checked if you are printing large number of documents. And if you’re printing in large numbers then you should go for a laser printer as it is much more economical then.
• The most important factor to be considered is the cost of print cartridge replacement. Various printers are sold at subsidized rates as the cost of replacing cartridges is so high that the manufacturers earn back the money from the operating cost. Also check the ink holding capacity of a printer; it should be enough so that you don’t have to change it too often.
• It’ll be easier for you to update the drivers if the printer site provides driver updates online, so one should check the internet that whether the printer site provides driver updates on the internet and also does it give tech support information?
• If you’re planning to print on non-standard paper or blueprints then you should check whether the printer allows printing on various types of media without jamming.
• Some printers are not readily compatible with operating systems like Linux and their drivers are hard to find and some only connect through computers via USB ports, so the compatibility should be checked. Also check whether the printer needs to have built in slots for memory sticks and digital camera cards.
• While purchasing a printer, you should also consider the warranty period. It should be of at least 180 days.

All the above factors taken into consideration will help you bring the right printer home. Now that you know how to choose Printer, you can make a good purchase as per your needs, whether it is those lexmark printers or any other brand you like.