So you want an office printer to do all of your marketing materials, business cards, letter heads, and documents with.
The good news is that printers have never been more affordable.
Of course, the bad news is you have a decision to make: using laser jets or ink jet printers.
The key difference between both printer is the type of material needed to print a document: whether it be toner or ink.
Toner is actually just powder that is melted onto the document you are using, while ink is something you might be more familiar with.
The laser printers use toner, which can be effective but costly, while ink jets use the standard inks.
The speed of each printer type is another key point.
The ink jet printer will take longer time, on average, to complete a document.
That isn't to say that the ink jet printers aren't incredibly fast- because they most definitely are! The laser jet printer is ideal for massive business operations, where hundreds of documents are being printed at once, while ink jets are for home office and personal use where speed is concerned.
Laser printers are standard when text quality is necessary to be of the highest quality.
Laser printers are highly accurate in displaying different text fonts, styles, and so forth.
If this is a deal breaker, know that some high end ink jet printers also have similar quality for a much higher price.
They will also take a longer time to print to achieve the same quality.
You may purchase a color laser printer, but know that they are incredibly expensive.
In addition, they are of less quality than what an ink jet printer can produce.
Expect to pay $1,000 or more for a basic color laser printer, and also expect to get mediocre results.
It's a tough decision to make if you are running a small business and can't afford to simply purchase both types of printers.
Picking between the two is quite the hassle, but you have to research every printer model in your price range before making a decision.
Retailers can be tough on what you return: you might not be able to return a printer that has been used.
If anything, you should go to a tech store that allows you to test several different printers to see which one has the results you need, at a price you can pay.
Closing Comments Printers come in many varieties these days.
You can buy simple printers, or even those that have many functions such as scanning and faxing built in.
Expect to spend a couple hours at least looking through different models to pick the right one.