Table of Contents

Basic Printer Considerations

Recommended Printer Brands:

No brand is more or less reliable than others. These are the typical Brands we work with.

• HP - Most common for simple, inkjet, day to day printing.
• Brother - Good for black and white laser printing.
• Epson - If high quality printing is required.
• HP and Brother - Both offer COLOR laser printers that we recommend.

Absolute Requirement:

The printer MUST come with a usable display that can be read and touched to check status. Please note the small display at the upper left of the top printer. There is no such display on the bottom printer.

YES. See the display in the upper left?

NO! There is no usable display.

Type of printers

• Inkjet: Most common. Simple home printing.
• Black Laser: Fast, high volume B&W printing. Uses toner.
• Color Laser: Fast, high volume color printing. Very expensive. Users toner.

Features

• Multi-function: Most printers offer printing, scanning, copying and faxing. Confirm.
• Photo Printing: Some printers come with a photo paper tray. Avoid if not required.
• Automatic Document Loader: Top device for high volume scanning. Optional
• Paper Capacity: If printing more than 20 pages per day, get maximum capacity.
• Tank printers. Instead of cartridges, they use ink tanks. Only for high volume printing.

Things to know:

• Never use third party toner or inkjet
• Never re-use paper.
• Pet owners should cover their printer to avoid hair clogging the printer.
• Most consumer printers cannot print legal paper, just standard 8.5 x 11.

Detailed Printer Considerations

• Color: Not the color of the plastic. Decide if you need to print in "black and white" or color.
• Display: Make sure the printer has a usable touch display for easier operation. This is a must.
• Capacity: If high volume is needed, we recommend a paper tray that holds 250 sheets or more.
• Document Feeder. If high volume, multi-page scanning is needed, purchase one with a top document feeder. 
• Connectivity: USB and Wireless is a minimum. If possible, buy one with an ethernet connection also.
• Single Sheet Feeder: Comes in handy if custom forms or colored paper is used. Can still be done without one.
• Envelopes: Envelopes can be tricky for a printer. If needed, make sure the printer accomodates envelopes.
• Phone and Tablet: Can you print from a phone? For iPhones users, make sure it comes with "AirPrint" capabilities.
• Very Very Important: **You must run inkjet printers at least once a week or they dry out**.

When browsing for printers, used these as a bit of a checklist. 

More Information

Color or black and white

The most important decision is the need for color printing, or not. If color is required, you need to decide between an inkjet or a color laser printer. For most light duty home users, inkjet is the way to go. A color laser is used by businesses or high volume users. Lasers print faster and are cheaper to operate on a per page basis, but their initial cost is higher.

The most important thing to remember when owning an inkjet printer is that a page must be run at least once a week or else the ink and/or the print heads will dry out. This may result in the need to replace the cartridges, printheads, or the entire printer. Always keep the printers plugged in and turned on. They will sleep when not in use and hopefully perform self-maintenance when needed. 

Display

The display is the tiny screen on the printer that allows you to operate it and see error messages. Always, always, always, whenever possible, purchase a printer with a display. A display on a simple laser, B&W, workhorse type of printer with no scanner or fax is not needed. 

The printer at the top of this article has a very usable display. This printer, on the other hand, has nothing and is miserable to work with. I do a lot of "what lights are on and what are they doing?" investigating to decipher what's going on.

The only instance we recommend something like this is where physical size is an issue and you're moving it around. Sometimes it's the only thing available and you need something right now. Otherwise, try to get one with a usable display. 

Connections

Most printers today have wireless capabilities and all have a USB connector. Full featured, office type printers have a network jack, which is the most reliable while keeping the versatility of wireless. We have found that consumer focused printers tend not to have a network jack available. 

Recommended Printers

• There have been major supply desruptions. Availability varies.
• Specifications and prices can change daily. Always confirm before ordering.
• We can assist in the ordering process. Contact Us for more information

Contact us for more information

Service Rates