If you have a need to print a lot of pages at one time, you might consider additional or larger paper trays that are often sold as accessories. Does your organisation require the ability to print on both sides of a page of paper automatically (duplexing)? Do you need special paper handling options such as envelopes, transparencies or non-standard paper sizes? Do you need an automatic document feeder that will allow you to fax or copy multiple pages at a time?

Do we need multiple types of printers to best meet our printing needs? There is a very good chance that your organisation has a need for multiple printers. For example, you might determine that you need a Colour Laser printer for printing presentations and brochures, as well as a Black-and-White Multifunction printer that can also act as a fax, copier and scanner.

Which printer technology best meets your needs?

The two primary categories of printers are Inkjet and Laser. There are other technologies on the market, such as dye-sublimation, but we will ignore these since they are very specialised and a very small percentage of the market. There are many varieties of printers within the two core categories, Inkjet and Laser. Generally, Inkjet printers have a lower initial cost, are slower and perform better in printing high-quality photos. Laser printers generally have a higher initial cost, but they are fast, they perform great in printing text, and they have a low cost per page.

Inkjet

Basic - Can print several sizes of documents in colour or black-and-white, but have a very limited feature set.

All-In-One - In addition to colour printing, this category also offers the ability to copy and scan documents, and often have a stand-alone fax capability.

Specialty

Portable - This category of printers is very compact and meant for the business traveler.

Snapshot Photo - This group of printers focuses primarily on printing 4"x6" photos, but many of them can print text and full-size pages as well.

Laser

Black-and-White - These come in a range of sizes and speeds. They are best for those that primarily print text and have no need for colour printing. Personal Lasers are typically smaller, slower, and less expensive. Workgroup Lasers have network connections, faster speeds, and more memory.

Colour - Similar to the Black-and-White Lasers, Colour Lasers can be purchased for personal use or workgroup use over a network. Sizes, speeds, and quality can vary greatly. Multifunction - This category is similar to the All-In-One Inkjet category in that these printers feature the ability to copy and scan documents, and often have the ability to act as a stand-alone fax machine. There are both colour and black-and-white offerings in this category. There is a wide range of paper handling options in this category as well.

The total cost of printing

Printers range in price from low-end Inkjets under £30 to high-end Colour Laser printers in the thousands.

The shock of the initial acquisition price has caused many buyers to purchase a printer that does not meet their needs. When considering which printer to purchase, it is important to consider the lifetime cost of the printer and weigh that against how long you intend to use the printer, how many pages you will print, the quality of documents you need to produce, and of course your budget. A common mistake that is made is not accurately assessing all of the costs associated with a printer. These costs can be broken down into three main categories - acquisition costs, consumables costs, and service costs.

Acquisition costs

This is the most easily determined group of costs since most companies list pricing on a website, catalog, or in a retail store

• Purchase price - The base price of the printer without upgraded warranties, accessories or consumables
• Printer cable - Does it come with the printer or will it need to be purchased as an accessory?
• Other paper handling options - Do you need to add a larger paper drawer or an automatic document feeder to the printer?
• Memory upgrades - For network printers, expanding the memory can allow the printer to handle large or complex jobs faster.
• Wireless cards - Some printers have a wireless card pre-installed, others have the option to add one, and some are not capable of operating on a wireless network.
• Warranty price and term - Getting a solid warranty up front can significantly offset the third category of costs - Service Costs
• New vs. Refurbished - Purchasing a refurbished printer can save you 10% - 50% off of the price of a new printer. This could allow you to purchase a better printer, an extended warranty, or additional accessories or consumables within your budget.
• Consumables Costs - Depending on the length of time you plan to use a printer, consumables costs can far outweigh the acquisition costs of a printer.
• Ink and/or Toner - The cost and quality of ink and toner can vary greatly. Off-brand, remanufactured or refilled ink cartridges can often cost more in the long-run because they are not of good quality. For large organisations, standardization of the printer fleet helps to manage ink and toner supplies inventory. The more brands, models and types of printers your organisation utilizes, the more you may spend on ink and toner due to the difficulty of managing your consumables inventory.
• Paper - The paper you utilise should vary depending on the type of printer you are using as well as the type of document you are printing. Paper quality should coincide with printer quality in order to optimize the document output.
• Service Costs - This category of costs is the toughest to understand because it is difficult to predict when service will be needed. A simple way to help eliminate the risk of printer downtime is to purchase a warranty for the period of time you plan to utilize a given printer. You should consider what is covered under the warranty, for instance if service will be provided on-site or if you would have to return the product to have it serviced (this can create the potential for greater down time).

Another important consideration impacting service costs is the standardization of printers within/across your organisation. The more brands, models and types of printers an organisation owns, the greater the potential for higher service costs. Standardization of the printer fleet within large organisations also helps to lower service costs for those that choose to operate printers that are not under warranty.

Important Printer Specs and Features Explained

Once you have decided how your organisation will use its printers, which types of printers you need, and how much you can spend on the total cost of printing, you can really begin to compare the technical specifications to make sure you are getting exactly what you need in your printer. This is not a comprehensive list of specs, but it includes some of the most important specs you should consider:

Paper Handling

Which paper types (standard paper, photo/glossy paper, coated paper, card stock, envelopes, transparencies, labels, banners, and iron on transfers) can be used and how many pages of paper can be loaded at one time? Many manufacturers offer additional paper trays to increase paper capacity, automatic document feeders for copying and scanning multiple pages at one time, and specialty paper trays designed for envelopes or transparencies.

Connections

Used to connect printers directly to a computer, to a network, or to peripherals such as digital cameras.

• USB - Almost all printers now have the USB 2.0 (Universal Serial Bus) connector to connect directly to a PC. Parallel - Becoming less common, this is the large 25-pin cable used to connect directly to a PC.
• Network - Ethernet Port for connecting a printer to a network.
• Telephone - Telephone line connects to a modem for standalone faxing.
• PictBridge - This is a standard image transfer technology that allows you to connect a digital camera to a printer directly with a USB cable.
• Memory Card Slots - Many photo printers have built-in memory card slots that allow users to plug different camera memory cards directly into the printer.
• Wireless Card - Will vary by model and manufacturer, but is used to connect a printer to a wireless network - allows any computer on the wireless network to print to the printer.

Dimensions

Description of the size of the printer in width, depth and height. Will this printer fit where it needs to (on a desk, on a stand, etc.)?

Print Speed

How many pages per minute (PPM) a printer can produce. This number can vary greatly depending on how the manufacturer tests the product (e.g. draft quality text or high quality text and images).

Duplex Printing

The ability some printers have to automatically print on both sides of paper without the user manually turning the paper over after printing one side.

Memory

Standard memory describes the amount of memory a printer is normally outfitted with. Maximum memory describes the maximum amount of memory that the printer can be upgraded to as an option. This spec is most important for network printers that are used heavily. The more memory, the better a printer is able to handle a large quantity of complex print jobs.

Processor

The faster the processor speed, the quicker the printer will be able to handle files. Generally speaking, processor speed is most important for workgoup/network printers.

Resolution

The number of dots of ink per square inch. In theory, the higher the resolution, the better the printout will look. This specification can vary greatly among manufacturers.