How To Buy A Printer For Your Home In 2021

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Choosing the best printer for your home can sometimes be a task more difficult than you might expect. There are a variety of printing methods to choose from, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. On top of that, printers also come in a variety of sizes and builts, ranging from space-friendly devices to bulky machines. So to help you out, here’s a quick guide on how to buy a printer for your home this 2021.

Want To Check Out Our Top Choices For The Best Printers? Click Here To Read Our Most Recommended Printers For Home Use In 2021.

The Purpose Of Your Printer

As I have just previously mentioned, printers come in a wide range of types, uses, as well as the technology used to produce such pages. Gone are the days when printers were merely used for printing. Nowadays, printers can also copy, scan, and fax among other things.

One of the best advancements made in this modern era is the invention of wireless connectivity with our printers. What a relief to be free from those pesky cords, right? Now you have an array of connectivity options to choose from to make printing even more convenient and easy for you.

However, finding the right kind of printer for you will solely depend on your criteria, requirements, and preferences. What you think might be a good printer might not do the job for some. So in order to do know which printer works best for you, you must first answer this question: what’s the main purpose of your printer?

At the end of the day, I’m sure that the majority of you undoubtedly want a machine that you can use to its full potential without squandering your investment. After all, printers don’t come cheap, and buying the wrong one might cost you more than you’d expect.

As a result, it’s critical that you remember what you want your printer to do for you. Are you primarily interested in having it print text on a sheet of paper for you? Or do you want a printer that can also print and scan high-quality photos and graphics?

In any case, your options in the market are endless and it’s easy to get lost and confused. But listing down a set of requirements and what you plan on mainly doing with the printer might help narrow down your options.

Know The Different Types Of Printers

The market is filled with several kinds of printers that offer all types of purposes and advanced features to catch your eye. Some are designed specifically for casual use, some are made with photographers in mind, while others are geared towards multitaskers. Furthermore, the numerous resolution and speed requirements can often be confusing as well.

So to clear out things for you, I’ve provided a list below of the most common types of printers you’ll encounter in the market. Hopefully, this gives you an idea of which printer is best suited for you.

Home Printers

Mixing home printers with home office printers is something you should avoid. They may sound similar because both printers are commonly found in homes, but their capabilities are often vastly different. Though if your work isn’t too demanding with printing out documents then perhaps, home printers could also suffice.

Despite the fact that home printers, like home office printers, are essentially inkjet printers, they are primarily geared for low-volume printing. They’re slow and, because of the high cost of ink, they’re usually quite expensive to print with. If you’re on a tight budget, this printer might not be the best option.

It’s also worth noting that home printers don’t print text and images as well as professional printers. Almost all of these home printers, on the other hand, are multifunction or “all-in-one” printers. They can scan, copy, and fax in addition to printing.

Home Office Printers

Inkjet printers designed for low- to mid-volume printing make up the bulk of home-office printers. The majority of them are likely to be multifunction printers, which offer consumers a great lot of flexibility. They can also print text and images on top of photographs.

Home office printers come in a variety of paper capacities, ranging from 100 to 500 sheets (though this is usually seen in higher-end models). The majority of these printers are also appropriate for use in so-called “micro workplaces,” which have fewer than five to ten employees.

Aside from that, many of these home office printers are also acceptable for use in residential settings, particularly if you’re a student who will be printing a large number of documents for school on a regular basis or an employee who’s currently working from home.

Looking For A Versatile All-In-One Printer For Your Home Office? Check Out Our Review Of The Brother MFC-J995DW Here.

Office/Business Printers

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Business printers, unlike residential and home office printers, are available in a range of configurations. They can range in size from small single-function printers for low-volume printing to enormous floor-standing units that can handle the printing needs of a whole office department.

The bulk of these corporate printers use laser-type technology for printing, but inkjets are gaining popularity as well. Furthermore, the bulk of corporate printers are multifunction machines. Many people still prefer to print in black and white and prefer to create text and graphics over photos.

The speed and paper capacity of a printer are the most crucial elements for many enterprises and workplaces. The printer’s price is also a factor to consider. However, the lower the per-page printing expenses are, the more expensive the printer is to purchase. So purchasing a higher-end model, may save your company money in the long run when it comes to printing.

The cheapest per-page pricing is found in bulk-ink machines, and ink subscription programs are now readily available to assist the cost of ink and toner.

Additionally, most commercial printers in the market have security features too. These include password-protected printing, and some even have extra special features, such as an encrypted hard drive or an ID card reader, to ensure that your files and documents are adequately safeguarded.

Photo Printers

Photographers, both professional and amateur, are the target market for this type of printer. Although photo printers can print both text and images, their primary purpose is to print high-quality photographs.

Some are wide-format printers with massive frames capable of handling large-format paper, and several can also print from rolls. To provide you with accurate and realistic colors, they need up to a dozen ink cartridges. You can end up paying a lot more per page because of the amount of ink they use and the high-quality paper they use to produce the finest results.

There is also a type of printer known as “small-format photo printers” that might be classified as a dedicated photo printer. This type of specialty printer is made to print just images for their owners. Wallet-size prints to 5 by 7-inch prints are available. Keep in mind, however, that certain models can only print in one size.

The majority of these dedicated printers are also small and light, and they either come with a battery or may be used with one that you must purchase separately.

Looking For A Printer That Can Produce Great Photos? Check Out Our Review Of The HP OfficeJet Pro 8035e Here.

Specialty Printers

“Specialty printers” include dedicated and near-dedicated photo printers that can only offer one specific type of printing to its user. Label printers also fall under this category. However, even among specialty printers, 3D printers are a unique case and are beyond the scope of this discussion.

Label printers can print labels on both paper and plastic. Some come with label-making software or apps that may be linked to your computer or smartphone. Others are standalone devices with a small built-in keyboard for designing and printing your own labels. These stand-alone label printer manufacturers usually have a large selection of label colors and types to pick from.

Even if you merely intend to only print photographs or labels, there may be instances when you require more from your printer. So, before you make any hurried decisions, I strongly advise that you first comprehend the full scope of your printing requirements.

Check Out Our Top Picks For The Best Wireless Printers For Home Use In 2021 Here.

Inkjet Vs. Laser

Despite the fact that the capabilities of the two most used printing technologies are constantly overlapping, there are still major differences between laser and inkjet printers.

For starters, inkjet printers employ dye or pigment-based ink. They’re a great option for customers who require a lot of high-quality graphics printed. Inkjet printers are preferred by home users, as well as home, school, and small business users who print image-heavy documents.

On the other hand, Laser printers employ toner to print text and graphics. They’re usually bigger than inkjet printers and print more quickly. Due to its business-focused features, such as optional trays for greater capacity, huge replacement supply yields, and superior security features, laser printers are frequently chosen by larger enterprises and busy offices with high print volumes.

Simply put, most laser printers and/or LED printers (which are identical to laser printers but use LEDs as a light source) produce higher-quality text than most inkjet printers. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, virtually always produce better-quality images than laser printers.

It’s important to remember, however, that both technologies have evolved greatly in recent years, and you may discover that certain printers meet or surpass your expectations. Not to add, you might be shocked to find out which is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Printing Speed & Capacity

If you’re unaware, printers usually have a recommended monthly duty cycle and a maximum monthly duty cycle. These cycles are both the recommended amount of pages you can print and the maximum limit in a month.

You don’t have to worry about how much a printer can print if you simply print a few pages every day. If you print frequently enough that the duty cycle is important, it’s best to keep an eye on the specifications of a printer’s monthly duty cycle. Calculate how much you print by keeping track of how often and in what quantities you buy paper. Then choose a printer that can do at least that much printing to play it safe.

When it comes to printing speed, printers usually indicate how many pages per minute (ppm) they can produce. Doesn’t it appear to be fairly simple? Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy. Some manufacturers test utilizing basic text documents at the lowest-quality print settings (draft mode) on plain paper to come up with the fastest possible speeds, which will obviously offer the manufacturers the best possible result.

To really find out if a printer’s claims on its printing speed are true, it’s best to test it out for yourself.

Conclusion

We have finally reached the conclusion of our buyer’s guide on how to buy a printer this 2021. I hope this gave you some helpful insight on which kind of printer you should go for and make a wise purchasing decision.

Did this article help you out? Have you already bought a printer for yourself? Let me know in the comments section below your experiences or if you have any questions or suggestions to share. I would love to hear all your thoughts!