Printer Reviews – What kind of a printer should I buy?

It is that time of year again, that demands the answer to the questions, what should I do with last years printer? Is it worth repairing, or should I buy a new laser printer, a new inkjet printer or a new colour laser printer? It is back to school, college, university or work, and the same questions remain, so hopefully, this will help you decide what to do!

“What kind of a printer should I buy?” If I had a dollar for every time I was asked that question in the run of a month, it would likely purchase all my groceries! Well that being said, I understand the confusion in purchasing a printer. Regardless of whether it is for home or business, it can be a daunting task. Just the sheer number of printers available is one thing BUT the options they all offer is another. Plus you have to consider your operating system and whether it is compatible with the new printer!

Here are two interesting videos that may help your decision.

The Epson ET4750 has replaced the ET4550 checkout Amazon for the best price.

So here I will try and filter what you should look for when purchasing a printer/or printer copier fax.

1. The first thing to determine is what it is going to be used for (ie. text only, school projects, brochures, photographs,  and approximately how many pages a week or month are you going to print) Is the printer going to be used for production of any type? Will you require a fax? Will you require a copier? I had a customer that was doing her thesis on a monochrome laser printer that she paid less than a 100.00 for and wondered why it got so hot while she was printing 750 pages x 3 copies, and why her toner was empty. The machine was not meant to work that hard. (wrong machine for the job)

2. The second is do you NEED or do you WANT color? Sometimes a want is just that, and you never use what you think you wanted. Sometimes it is good just to sit down and figure out the cost of color. I did our daughters wedding invitations on a Canon color inkjet machine a couple of years ago, (it was a fun project) but it was not really cost effective. I figured with the cost of the ink and photo paper, London Drugs would have been cheaper. So like I said figure out what you need the printer for, and remember that sometimes our wants are just that, wants.

3. So now you have determined whether you need just a printer or a printer and copier, and determined how much printing per month, and if you need color. So let us filter machines. The industry standard is HP and Lexmark for Laser Printers (there are other don’t get me wrong here) I had a customer call and she was going to purchase a Xerox machine (which she did) but when she needed toner on the weekend she was out of luck because she had to order it thru Xerox, she called me wondering if I had stock…I personally like a Brother Laser Printer (just finished installing a Brother Printer Copier on my mom’s laptop). Great machine for her (wireless and network monochrome laser for less than 100.00) Fantastic deal for her all her needs. Toner cost is 60.00 and prints 2100 pages. For an office environment the more you pay for the initial printer, the less you pay for toner cartridges. I currently have a used Lexmark T650dtn printer for sale it comes with 2 trays, duplex, and network for $625.00 (includes full toner). The compatible toner cartridge I sell is $199.00 and will print in excess of 25,000 pages. So for a production machine it would be very cost effective.

So my suggestion to everyone pick a printer you think you like or want and then check the cost of the consumables (ink or toner cartridges) for that  particular machine. There awhile ago Future Shop had a color laser printer for $79.00 and it came with starter cartridges that did 250 pages each. The cost of each cartridge was $179.00, so you do that 4 times and was the printer really worth $716.00 to you after a month of use? Only you can answer that.

4. I will list in order my favorite printer brands for your office environment

HP

Lexmark

Brother

all other brands

5. For the home (laser printers)

Brother

HP

Samsung

INK JET PRINTERS

Canon

Brother

HP

Epson (the best choice for photos) but you have to be willing to pay the price for cartridges

Happy Shopping, and if you need any assistance or would like any questions answered, please call Anounce Printer Repair, our technician fixes them all.

250-474-1901

This is brought to you from the beautiful city of Victoria BC