Printers

When it comes to choosing the right printer for your computer, it helps if you know what the various types of printers are capable of and what features you can expect.



For computers in the home, most people will probably need an inkjet printer. These produce a combination of black and colour copies from a series of between two to four ink cartridges. Cartridge prices vary depending on the printer model, but there are lots of deals for printer accessories online.

If you do a lot of scanning or faxing, you could purchase an all-in-one printer that will let you print, scan, copy, fax and produce photo-quality pictures, all from the same machine. Some of these include automatic document feeders like you see on standard photocopiers.

The advantage of the all-in-one system is that you no longer need a separate scanner, copier or fax machine. It frees up space and helps you stay organised. The disadvantage is that you use a lot of ink for copying and printing from the same source, so replacement cartridges might be needed more often.

When you buy a printer you should check its processor speed and memory size. Just like your computer, a higher processor speed and larger memory capacity will mean faster printing, possibly in the background while you continue working. Also remember that a higher colour resolution (for example, 4800 x 1200) will produce better results.

Nowadays most printers connect to the computer through USB ports. If you are replacing a printer that is connected via a PS/2 socket on the back of your computer, check that you have a spare USB port before going ahead.

Many printers come with the ability to print directly from your digital camera via memory card slots or through an extra USB port on the printer itself. If you do not have a computer but still want to be able to produce your own photos, you can buy stand-alone photo printers that print lab quality pictures straight from the camera. The best of the computer printers are also capable of borderless photo printing, which means you get rid of that white border and your pictures look more professional.

At the higher end of the market are laser printers. Black laser printers are incredibly fast, producing crisp, clear copies in seconds. Colour laser printers offer the same benefits but are still quite expensive. Replacement cartridges for laser printers also tend to be costly.

For some great information on printers see Computer Printers.

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