Information on a Printer for a Computer
Choosing the Right Printer for Your Needs

When you are looking for information on a printer for a computer, one of the best ways to determine what type of printer you should purchase is to read current printer reviews.

Printer Reviews - A great way to get information on a printer for a computer:

Insight and practical experience from companies or other people who have been in a similar situation can prove to be very helpful to you before you make your purchase.

When you are reading printer reviews, they will refer to statistics, data and comparisons that are very particular to the printer world so as a result, you should read the reviews with care.


What to consider when reviewing information on a printer for a computer:

But no matter how many reviews you read and how much information you consume, there is a core group of things you should consider before you spend you money:

• Review the size, shape, and capabilities of the various printers on the market. They can range from small and portable combo units that offer printer/copier/scanner/fax capabilities the size of a small table or filing cabinet.



• Decide what you need a printer for and whether your need an inkjet or a laser printer. More information about these two options is listed below.



• Choose an inkjet if you don’t print very often, or if you're going to print color pictures decide if you want a laser or inkjet color printer. Inkjet printers are less expensive, but can cost more per printed page because of the expensive consumable inks that are required. The better inkjet printers have resolutions of up to 4800 by 1200 dots per inch. Inkjet printers are great for printing graphics and photos, although slower than a laser printer.



• Select a laser printer if you print predominately text-based pages and you want fast, permanent printing. These printers cost more up front, but less in the long run due to the consumables being cheaper. Prices for monochrome lasers have dropped to under $200, making them a viable alternative to ink jets for personal use. Their color counterpart is more expensive, but a good quality one starts in the $500 range.



• Check the cost of the supplies for the printer you want to buy as well as how many pages each ink cartridge is rated to print. A cartridge costing $20 may not be a bargain against one that costs $35 if the cheaper ink/toner cartridge only prints 1/3 the number of pages the more expensive one does.



• You should buy a brand name to ensure that you'll get service, software, support and supplies in the future should anything go wrong. Canon (Cannon), Dell, Epson, HP and Lexmark are the most well known printer brands.



• Confirm that your computer's operating system supports the kind of printer you intending on getting. Printer drivers come with the printer, but you can also generally download them from the manufacturer's Web site.



• Most printers are measured by how many dots they generate per square inch on a page. The higher the number is, the sharper the image will appear. You should select a printer with a high number if you are looking for a high quality print resolution.

My experienced information on a printer for a computer:

In most cases, a cheap computer scanner printer will do everything you want it to do and more. I have a Dell A920 Inkjet which does scan/fax/copy and print. It comes with the printer driver and software that lets you edit the scanned copy/image prior to printing. It uses 2 cartridges, one black and one color, and does a great job for home use. You can get it for $80 or less.

I’ve also used an HP Laser 3500 printer; also color that uses 4 toner cartridges; black, cyan (blue), magenta (red) and yellow. The printer is less than $700; and each cartridge is around $130 for black (6000 pages) and color (4000 pages each) so you wouldn’t be changing them very often. The new printer comes with starter cartridges to get you going too; this is a great printer for home or office if you need higher quality than an inkjet can offer.

Whether you go for a cheap computer scanner printer or need a more expensive laser printer, the important thing is to read all the information on a printer for a computer that you can find before you make the final decision!





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