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Modern day printers are packed with features such as the ability to print wirelessly, scan to email or print direct from your camera. There’s no point paying for features you won’t use so think carefully about the kind of printer most suitable for you and the features you need before you make a purchase. There are two main types of printing technology, inkjet and laser. For printing photographs, photo printers or inkjet printers produce better results than a laser printer, however if you are printing documents with a number of pages on a regular basis then a laser printer may be more suited to your needs. Laser printers are generally more expensive than inkjet and are often bigger, so make sure you have plenty of desk space, but if you will be using your printer on a regular basis the a laser printer should be more economical to use. Next, consider what features, if any, do you want your printer to perform. A standalone printer, whether it is inkjet or laser, will just print documents or photos; however an all-in-one (multi-function) printer has other built in features such as a scanner, photocopier and sometimes even a built-in fax machine. All-in-ones tend to appeal to those who may have limited office space, and rather than have to find space for a printer, photocopier and scanner one device can perform all functions. It is worth considering that multi-function printers do tend to be larger and more expensive than the standalone version. In the developing world of wireless technology wireless printers are now a cost effective option, especially if you have more than one computer using the same printer.

 

Below are a few examples of the different printers currently on the market (this is not a definitive list and is only meant as an example of what is available):

 

Inkjet Printers:

A simple, relatively compact ink-jet colour printer, used for moderate amounts of ink-jet printing, best suited for home or small office use. These small inkjet printers will cost you anywhere between £15 to about £40.

 

These portable printers allow you to print directly from your camera without the need for a PC (you are still able to use the printer in conjunction with a PC). Specialised photo printers retail from around £70 to anything up to £200.

 

LaserJet printers are used more often in small to medium sized offices that print A4 colour and black and white documents on a frequent basis. This specific printer contains features such as high speed laser printing and direct from USB printing. Depending on the quality of the printer and the features you require they can cost from £80 for a basic colour LaserJet to more than £700 for a high quality, high speed duplex colour LaserJet. 

 

These all-in-one printers are capable of printing, scanning, faxing and copying. They are very useful for larger office use as they are able to do the work of several machines in a more financially and spatially economic fashion. Features include duplex colour & b/w printing, copying and faxing, printing direct from USB, wireless printing (which enables you to print without having to plug the printer into your computer), network printing and scanning direct to email. These smaller all-in-ones can cost from as little as £100 (for smaller, simpler models) up to as much as £3,000 for the larger network printers.