What Printer Do You Need For the Most Bang for Your Buck?

Buying a printer can be a fairly minor expense- although you'll make up for it later in ink costs- or it can be a hefty expenditure, depending on what you need and how you intend to use it. The first thing you need to do before you hit the store (online or brick and mortar) is decide what your printer will be used for most often, so you can make the most economical choice for your needs.

Work or Play?

Decision number one? Is your printer mainly for work use or purely for home use? If you need a workhorse that will be expected to handle a large amount of documents on a regular basis, you want to check out a laser printer. Laser printers cost more than most inkjet printers do, but if your primary purpose is printing text, a laser printer will operate at a fraction of the cost of an inkjet printer, because you will be purchasing ink toner rather than liquid ink cartridges. Ink is expensive- some comparisons on an ounce per ounce basis include Dom Perignon and Chanel # 5 and ink toner is much cheaper than liquid.

If your main computer need is general household use- some documents, occasional pictures, website content with graphics, then an inkjet printer might be your best bet. They are usually relatively cheap- often less than $50- and if you don't print a high volume, ink costs shouldn't be too prohibitive.

If your primary purpose for your printer is photo printing, then an inkjet photo printer is the only option that will keep you happy. Inkjet photo printers are the gold standard for photo printing- and liquid ink is the only way to get true photo quality from a home printing option. The liquid ink gives a deeper resolution to your photos than ink toner possibly can, resulting in more beautiful, longer lasting photos you will cherish and share. Photo printers are usually much smaller than other printers, with preference settings that make it easy to print out photos in a variety of popular sizes.

The best printer for you is the one that will print what you need at the highest quality for the lowest cost. High volume documents? Laser printer. Photos galore? Inkjet Photo Printer every time. Little bit of everything, but not a whole lot of anything- go with a standard inkjet printer and you'll have what you need. Deciding what you will be using your printer for most often is the first step in making the best choice.