Are you thinking of buying a printer? In that case, you have to assess different aspects, from the printing speed to the dpi or the renewal of the ink. We tell you everything you need to know to get your choice right.
While it is true that the paper is being relegated to the past thanks to digital formats, sometimes we still need to print some documents, such as official notifications, vouchers, transport tickets, classwork or photographs, to give some examples.
Printer type
When buying a printer, the most practical to choose the model that suits you best is to apply filters based on the most general concepts until you reach the most specific ones. The first important decision has to do with the type of printing: inkjet or laser. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
Injection, laser … or LED
The printers inkjet are cheap and offer good quality when printing documents. You also get the best results with the photos if you calibrate it well and use photo paper. In this aspect, they are superior to laser printers.
As for their weak points, the main one is that they are slower than laser printers. Also, they consume more ink, although being cheaper, replenishing it is cheaper.
Print quality
Regardless of the type of printer you choose (inkjet or ink), the print quality is measured in dpi or dpi, that is, dots per inch. The higher this value, the more definition, and detail the impression will show. For example, the most basic models print at 1200 dpi (horizontal resolution). The most professional exceed 4,000 dpi. Be careful because many brands gain this information by searching the rescaled ones. Make sure it’s real resolution.
Of course, the resolution does not influence only the resolution. Also other aspects such as color fidelity, black and gray ranges, etc. Check reviews of the printers that interest you.
Black and white or color?
You must also decide if you want a color printer, or black and white. If you are only going to print text documents, or it is a home printer for simple tasks such as printing letters, drawings for children, school projects, etc., it can be worth with a black and white. Nowadays prices have matched a lot, but as always what you have to value is the price of ink. A color printer requires at least three color cartridges and one black.
Multifunction printers
Most printers, except the cheapest ones, include a scanner, capable of photocopying (i.e., scanning and printing in one action). It used to be an essential complement, for example, to scan documents and convert them to PDF, and thus send them online. Nowadays this function can be carried out by the smartphone. Some apps photograph a document and convert it to PDF, photo, etc. Scanning the printer usually offers better results (for example when entering the document) and more resolution, but today it is not essential as a few years ago.
The ink dilemma
As we said at the beginning, the main expense you have to assume when buying a printer is ink, so you must value the cost of the spare parts.
As we have commented, in the case of color inkjet printers, which use cartridges, most use four colors: magenta, yellow, cyan (blue) and black (what is known as CMYB).
Prices and variants
When you have located two or three printers that interest you, go to stores like Amazon or PC Components and see how much an official cartridge costs. In their specifications, they indicate how many pages each cartridge prints (in practice it is usually a smaller number). Depending on what you plan to print, make calculations and check what you would spend with one or the other in a year.
Keep in mind that many brands offer discounts when buying cartridge packs. They also have a high capacity or XL versions, which are thicker and contain more ink. They are more expensive but it compensates if you are going to print a lot. But you have to be careful because if you spend a lot of time between prints, the ink can dry you.