official work or children's homework, their utility is growing by the day. Though basic technology for printers hasn't changed significantly in the past few years, manufacturers have been launching devices on the pretext of adding new features. In effect, there are only two kinds of printers—inkjet and laser. However, given the sheer variety of options available, it can be difficult to choose one that suits your needs and budget.
Understand your needs
Printers are categorised, priced and optimised for different purposes. So, while some print good photographs, others are better suited to documents. Home printers are designed differently from the office ones since the printing volume is much higher in the latter. So, to ease your selection, be clear about the reason for which you want the printer.
Printer connections
There are various ways to send data to a printer, with most using a standard USB cable connection to do so from a computer. However, if you want a lot of photographs, there are those that directly accept memory cards from a camera or smartphone. In such a case, pick a printer with PictBridge. Some printers come with a small display, which can help you preview the photograph or edit before printing. Others are equipped with Wi-Fi. This means that once you connect it to your home Wi-Fi, you can print from any computer connected to the same network.
Ink/toner replacement
Home printers, which are used for printing low volumes, are not too expensive as they are a one-time purchase. The primary cost is that of ink or toner for inkjet and laser printers, respectively. Before buying one, check the price and yield (pages per cartridge) of cartridges and toner since this will be a recurring cost. Expensive ink cartridges that need to be changed frequently will cost a lot more than a new printer.
Inket vs Laser
While both types of printers have their benefits, it all boils down to your needs and budget. Inkjets provide richer colour and are cheap, while laser printers score in terms of speed and low cost per page. If you want one mainly to print photos, an inkjet printer is the best choice. If you are looking for high volume document printing, a monochrome (black only) laser printer is advisable. For home use, an all-in-one inkjet is more convenient since you can also use it for scanning or photocopying. For a small office, a laser all-in-one will keep running costs low and offer maximum usage.
Inkjets are usually slower and most can only store 50-100 sheets at a time. They also face calibration issues, jammed nozzles or ink leakage from cartridges. Besides, cartridges have a finite life because ink dries up even if they aren't used. Laser printers typically don't reproduce photos as well as inkjets and are more expensive—an entry-level monochrome laser printer costs at least three times a basic inkjet printer. They are also bigger, heavier and consume more power.
Right printers for home and office
For home (Less than Rs 10,000)
The printer-copier-scanner is the only one in this price range to offer Wi-Fi connectivity and airprint support (wireless printing using iOS devices). It has a small display for notifications and can print at a speed of five colour images per minute.
High-volume document printing: Samsung ML-1866W
Price: Rs 7,000
A monochrome laser printer, it has a built-in Wi-Fi option and can print 18 pages per minute. The toner is good for over 1,000 prints and has a duty cycle of roughly 5,000 pages per month.
For small/medium offices (Less than Rs 25,000)
Photo printer: HP Officejet 7000
Price: Rs 20,999
This photo printer supports up to A3 size sheets with a speed of 32 pages per minute for colour prints. It has Ethernet connectivity to span a network and uses low-cost ink cartridges to reduce the cost per print.
All-in-one: Brother DCP 7065DN
Price: Rs 14,999
It's a multifunction monochrome laser printer, which uses low-cost toner cartridges and comes with Ethernet connectivity. It can print 27 pages per minute, has auto duplex print support (printing automatically on both sides of a sheet) and a 35-page multi-page auto document scan/copy function.
High-volume document printing: HP Pro P1606dn
Price: Rs 17,999
The monochrome laser printer has a compact design, Ethernet connectivity and can print 25 pages per minute. A single toner cartridge can print up to 2,100 pages and the dual paper input trays can hold over 100 pages each, making it suitable for office use.