Office Printers Buying Guide — Part 2

In Office Printers Buying Guide-Part 1, you read about evaluating your printing and printer needs, types of printers available, print resolution and print colors. This article covers other important aspects about a printer that you should know while buying a printer for your home or office.

Print Speed:
The speed of the printer is measured in units of characters per second (CPS) or pages per minute (PPM) the printer can print. You must judge the printer speed on the basis of the output that it gives. The print speed for varied documents is different (for text printing-the printer speed is usually high, whereas for printing photos and high quality modes printing-the printer speed tends to slow down significantly). It is advised to check the printer's accurate speed before buying.

Ink Cartridge Replacement Cost:
Apart from the printer cost, cost of ink cartridges and paper must also be added to the budget to get a proper estimate of printing budget. Ink cartridges can be extremely expensive. It is recommended to check the price of ink cartridges before buying a printer. You can try compatible printer ink cartridges, if the ink runs out. The compatible ink cartridges are made on the OEM specifications and offer the same printing quality as the OEM products. Blank Media offers Epson ink cartridges, Canon Ink cartridges, Microboards color ink cartridges, Brother Printer ink cartridges, Primera ink cartridges, Rimage ink cartridges, and many more.

Paper Capacity:
Paper capacity is the number of paper sheets a printer can put in an input tray. If your work requires you to perform high volume print jobs, then look for a printer that offers a more generous paper tray or one that atleast allows you to expand the paper capacity later. Also, don't forget to check the paper quality-semi, gloss, matte, semi-matte, etc. that the printer can print on. The paper quality is very important for high quality printing. The higher grade papers are normally higher priced but offer great printing.

Ports/Connectivity:
For connecting a printer to the computer, one needs a USB cable. Some printers don't offer a USB cable, so you need to buy one separately. For direct printing, you can use a Pictbridge (it directly connects camera to the printer and sometimes camera phone to the printer). For direct printing, your printer must support the accurate encryption type used on the network like WEP and WPA. For connection, you just need a USB cable and no computer is required. Buy a USB cable that is long enough that suits the setup perfectly.

Printer Memory:
Some printers do not need memory as they use the computer memory for processing. But, if you want to have memory upgrades, try to buy a printer that has enough RAM to store full page at the resolution that you wish to have. Some printers also have the facility to add up additional memory that will speed up the printing operations considerably. You can process one page while printing others and do private printing where you can hold a page in memory and can physically go to the printer and make changes. Check out if your favorite printer offers this service and buy accordingly.

Choose Blank Media office printers and print your office envelopes, cards, labels, documents, etc. easily and quickly. Customers around the world trust us for our top quality products and services. Blank Media brings to you affordable and the best printers from manufacturers like Primera, Rimage, Microboards, Epson, TEAC, etc. You can buy thermal, automatic, disk, and inkjet printers at the best prices from Blank Media.