The Complete Printer Buying Guide
Printers come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, and knowing what to buy, can be quite a daunting task for a new user.
You’ll need to figure out what kind of technology you’re after, your weekly or monthly volume of prints, and the use you’re looking to get out of the machine.
Luckily for you, this guide will help you sort through all the different technologies available and their various uses, to help select a printer that’s perfectly suited to all your needs.
Which Printing Technology Is The Best?
The first thing you’ll want to understand is the different kinds of printing technologies available in the market.
Primarily, there are three major kinds:
Inkjet Printers
Laser Printers
Photo Printers
Inkjet Printers
Inkjets have been around for a very long time, and are the most common types of Sharp Printers in the UAE. These versatile machines can print everything from simple text documents to complex graphics, and offer extremely crisp colors and rich text.
They consist of ink-filled cartridges, which apply tiny-ink droplets with extreme precision onto the printing media as it passes underneath.
Usually, Inkjets come with three primary color cartridges and a black cartridge, all of which combine in varying amounts to produce the colors required.
These printers are best suited to users who require high-quality prints but don’t have a large bulk that needs to be done daily, such as homes and smaller businesses.
Laser Printers
Laser printers offer extremely high speeds of printing, combined with lower costs per page and fairly sharp images.
Instead of ink-filled cartridges, laser printers have photographic drums, which attract electrically charged toner and apply it onto the printing medium, where the image is fused with a heated roller.
Most large businesses prefer buying monochrome laser printers (those that only print in black and white) since these are very affordable, can manage large quantities of prints at very high speeds, and give a lower cost per page than the aforementioned inkjets.
However, if you’re willing to invest a little bit of money, high-end varieties do offer color printing and other features like copy machines, scanners, the ability to fax documents, and wireless connectivity.
These higher-end machines are best suited to users who don’t require prints of extremely high-resolution images but do have a large volume of work that needs to be completed in short periods of time.
Photo Printers
These are specialized printers for photography enthusiasts that can print very high-quality images straight on to photo paper (the kind used in your family portraits).
Some photo printers rely on advanced inkjet technology, but most operate on the process of dye sublimation, which features a ribbon that transfers colored dye onto the paper in multiple passes before a clear protective coating is applied.
Photo printers initially cost roughly the same as the other two options, but get more expensive with tine thanks to the high cost of the printing medium.
Other Options
If these 3 printer types didn’t catch your fancy, there are plenty of other options available, like:
Portable Printers
These miniature printers are lightweight at just 1-2kgs and are wide enough to squeeze out average-quality prints on the standard 8.5” width of A4 paper. The printing speeds offered by these machines are very low, and they can get very expensive as the features start to add up.
Multifunction Printers
Multifunction devices, such as those manufactured by Sharp Printers in UAE are perfect for small business and home offices, as they offer the ability to copy, print, scan, and fax all in one machine.
You’ll also have the option to opt for either laser (for printing speeds) or inkjet (for quality images) printing technologies.
Total-Cost-Of-Ownership
The printing costs are another important factor that will play a big role in your decision.
Here, the biggest mistake most people is that they base their buying decisions solely on a printer’s initial price, and they don’t stop to consider what the total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) would be.
For printers, the TCO includes things like ink toner replacements, supplies, repair and maintenance, etc.
All of these different factors might seem insignificant initially, but they can add up to quite a large amount over a printer’s lifetime.
In fact, over a period of 3 years, you’ll usually end up spending almost three times as much as the printer’s initial cost for toner replacements and supplies.
Therefore, it’s essential that you factor these things into your decision. If possible, look for a device that has a large capacity ink cartridge. If the cartridge can be refilled, that’s an added bonus which will save you hundreds of dollars in the long run.