What To Consider When Choosing a Printer

Nowadays, it’s no longer enough to consider print quality (resolution, color, speed) when choosing a printer for your home or business. The rising cost of operating a printer means that buyers need to look at other factors, such as power-saving features and memory, before making the purchase. The Energy Star program has come up with a checklist of things to think about when looking for a printer. Here are some of the items that you must look out for.

1) Cost saving features. Most printers now come with features that help users save energy, paper, and ink. For example, newer models now have sleep modes and automatic shut off features. These put the printer in a state where it does not use much power after a pre-set period of inactivity. Most printers also allow you to print on both sides of the paper and choose the print quality and can let you see how much ink or toner is left in the cartridge.

2) Your printing needs. If you work in a graphics-intensive environment, you will need a printer that can print in color. Inkjet printers come with four colors of ink that generate millions of colors. Some printers use cartridges that have all four colors, which could be an issue if you use one or two colors more than the others. Look for a printer that allows you to replace color cartridges one by one. If color quality is not an issue, consider getting a laser printer instead.

3) Print memory. Printers are like computers in that they also need memory to store the files that they are printing. If you print files that contain images or if you have multiple users on the local network, you’ll need a printer with a high memory capacity to accommodate all of that demand for space.