So your printer just broke down, and you’re tired of having it repaired. Or maybe it’s old, and you know it’s time for a new one.
You can buy a cheap one that just gets you by, or you can get the deluxe powerhouse version that prints 20-50 pages per minute. How do you know which one you really need?
Here are some tips for making that decision:
First Decision: Do You Need a Laser or Inkjet?
Laser printers print up to 50 pages per minute of black and white text. They work well for printing high-quality color pages as well. If you have at least a small office, you’ll want to consider purchasing a laser printer.
Inkjets are a more affordable way of printing and generally print around half the speed of laser printers. They’re great for very small offices that print 500 pages or less each week.
Do You Need an All-In-One or Single Function Printer?
If your whole office is just you and another person, and that’s all the bigger you want to get, an all-in-one printer will do the job. You’ll be able to print, scan, copy, and usually fax.
Single-function printers print only, and they’re generally much better at it than all-in-one printers. If you’re going to print at least a couple hundred pages per week, you should go with a single-function printer.
Should You Buy a Photo Printer?
If you’re going to print high-resolution images on a regular basis, you might want to consider purchasing one. If you only need to do this on an infrequent basis (once per month or less), you’re fine just going to the local drugstore.
Just know that if you purchase your own, they are pricey up-front and to maintain over the long haul. You’ll want to be an established business and have fairly consistent printing demands over the long haul if you’re going to buy one.
Do You Need a Business-Ready Printer?
If you run a very small business (2-4 employees or so), you’ll do just fine with an inexpensive all-in-one or single-function printer. However, if you plan on crossing that 500-page-per-week barrier, a business-ready printer makes more sense.
They vary widely based on what your business needs, and generally have all the features of all-in-one printers (print, scan, copy, and fax). However, they also have those essential business features like automatic duplexing (double-sided printing), and a feeder that lets you scan more than one page at a time. Their ink is generally designed to be fairly inexpensive, and they’re network-ready so everyone can print on them.
The inkjets are generally much cheaper, costing around $200 or so for a decent quality model. Laser printers can cost $1,000 or more.
Do You Need a New Printer?
If you’re experiencing printer problems and need an expensive printer repair, these are the considerations to keep in mind before purchasing your next one. You can go through the whole process yourself, or you can also let an outsourced IT solution do the work for you. Great Lakes now sells both new and refurbished printers and toner. Fill out our form at the link below to get more info and be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card.