Printer Buying Guide: Choosing the Right Printer
The cheapest printer on the shelf is rarely the cheapest printer to own — running costs, print volume and what you actually need it to do matter far more over time than the upfront price. Here's how to think through the decision.
Inkjet vs laser
Inkjet printers are usually cheaper to buy and handle photos and colour graphics well, making them a good fit for home use or light, occasional printing. Laser printers cost more upfront but print text faster, handle higher volumes without fuss, and typically work out cheaper per page for text-heavy office printing — the natural choice for a business printing invoices, documents and reports regularly.
Single-function vs multifunction
A single-function printer only prints. A multifunction printer (MFP) adds scanning and copying — and often faxing — from one machine. Unless you're certain you'll never need to scan or copy anything, a multifunction printer is usually worth the modest extra cost, especially for a home office where a separate scanner isn't practical.
Estimate your real print volume
Be honest about how much you actually print in a month. Occasional home printing (a handful of pages a week) doesn't need the same machine as an office printing hundreds of pages a day. Manufacturers publish a "duty cycle" — the maximum volume a printer is built to handle reliably — and a printer run consistently near or over its duty cycle wears out faster and breaks down more often.
Running costs matter more than the sticker price
A cheap printer with expensive, low-yield cartridges can cost far more over a year than a pricier printer with efficient, widely-available ink or toner. Before buying, it's worth checking what replacement cartridges cost and how many pages they're rated for (their "yield") — that number, divided into the cartridge price, gives you a genuine cost-per-page comparison between models.
Wireless and network printing
For a shared home or office printer, Wi-Fi or network connectivity means anyone on the network can print without plugging in a cable, and mobile printing (from a phone or tablet) is worth checking for if that matters to how you work.
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