Printers -
Multifunction: What
to look for
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Multifunction
Printers...
Multifunction
printers are a great choice to give yourself multiple functionality
without the cost and space needed for several devices.
Hi,
I'm
Brad and I've created this special page to explain what multifunction
printers are and how to choose the best one for your needs.
Choosing the right one printer will give you many years of great
service,
while choosing wrong one will make you pay for many years.
Read
on to make the right choice. |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
What
is a Multifunction Printer?
A multifunction
printer (all-in-one), or MFP as they are commonly known, is a printer that also
incorporates the functionality of other devices in order to take up
less in your home or office. Multifunction printers do several things besides
print and take up less space. | |
|
Multifunction printers will have some or all of the following capabilities built into
it:
- Ability to scan images and
store them
- Ability to act as a printer copier
- Ability to fax documents (on
more expensive models)
Because
of the ability to perform these many functions all in one unit,
multifunction printers are becoming extremely popular, especially for
home use. Not only do they save space, but prices have come
down
so much that you can buy good multifunction printers for what
a good printer-only model would have cost you a couple of years ago.
Many
times, small offices or home offices are very tight on space and
multifunction printers are a great solution. They simplify
the
task of shopping for several individual machines to get all the
functionality you need, plus setting up your office is much easier
because you aren't running cords all over the place. Also, multifunction printers
save the trouble of connecting multiple devices to your computer.
All in all, multifunction printers are an excellent way
to make using your computer much easier and simpler.
It can save you both time and money by only having to maintain and shop
for supplies for one machine instead of several.
Having said all
this, there are some trade-offs to using multifunction printers rather
than multiple dedicated devices. While the printer
capabilities
will probably be as good as a comparable standalone printer, other
capabilities such as scanning and photocopying will likely be very
basic. For example, unless you buy very expensive
multifunction
printers, the scanner and photocopier will be fairly slow and will not
have a multi-sheet feeder.
While these limitations of
multifunction printers may not too much of an issue for home use, you
may want to look at separate units or high-end multifunction printers
for high volume office use. At the top end of the
multifunction
printers price ranges, the other capabilities will be as good or better
than single use equipment. The trade-offs here are cost and
the
physical size of the unit. High-end multifunction printers
tend
to be large floor models.
With today's low technology prices,
unless you are looking for a rock bottom price on a printer, you will
most likely find decent multifunction printers in your price range
that will greatly simplify your printing and computing environment.
|
| | | |
|
| |
| |
|
|
Tips
for Choosing Multifunction Printers
Choosing
the
best multifunction printers can be confusing, with the dozens of makes and models
currently on the market. Here are the major things you need
to
consider when looking at a printer, regardless of the make or model. | |
|
First,
is it reliable? Once you've narrowed down your choice, go
online
and read reviews from others who have owned those particular multifunction printers for a
while.
Should
you go with a wired or a wireless printer? There's an
easy answer to this: buy a wireless multifunction printer if you have a wireless home
network. You can then print from any computer on your
network. Wireless printers have come down in price and are
competitive with wired printers.
Look
at the printer's "dots per inch" (DPI) rating. The higher the
number, the better the resolution - in other words, quality - at which
your photos and documents will be printed. A guideline is to
have
a rating of at least 600 DPI for documents and 1200 DPI for
photographs. This is not much of an issue with today's
multifunction printers,
as even the lowest cost home printers should meet this standard.
Look
at the type of ink cartridges various printers use and go
online and look at reviews. Look for one that is
rated
at a high number of pages compared to other cartridges. In
the
long run, you will spend more money on ink than you do on the printer,
so be sure to pay close attention to this.
Don't
pay for more print quality than you need. Before you pay a
high
price for a "true photo lab quality" printer, think about how many
photographs you will really want to print. If you will just
print
a few, it's to use a print kiosk at the local drugstore. It's
not
expensive and the quality will be better.
Make
sure the printer cable is compatible with your system. Almost
all
printers today connect using a USB port. Older ones connect
using
a parallel port, which isn't even found on most new PCs. This
isn't really much of an issue, as virtually all new printers use USB
connectivity, but it's certainly something to consider if you are
buying a used printer. NOTE: new printers typically do not
come
with a cable to connect to your computer, so be sure to buy one at the
same time if you don't already have one.
Look
at the warranty. All new printers of course carry the
manufacturer's warranty, but this can vary anywhere from 90 days to one
year. All other things being equal, go with the longer
warranty.
Also, since the price of printers is now so low, it's not worth paying
extra money for an "extended warranty", even though the salesclerk will
invariably try to sell you one.
Stick with major, well-known brands for multifunction printers. There are over 30 different brands
of
printers, but the major ones are: HP, Canon, Brother, Epson, and
Kodak. Sticking to the biggest
brands
is your safest choice.
Finally,
make sure the printer you're considering has all the features and
capabilities you need. If you only need to print documents
and
the very occasional picture, don't pay for a photo quality printer: go
to a kiosk. |
| | | | |
| |
|
| | |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
New
Printer Buyer's Guide
While there can
be literally dozens of technical considerations to buying a new
printer, here are the more general ones to keep in mind as you
shop. | |
|
There are two main
types of printers: laser printers and ink jet printers. Laser printers
are generally better for high-volume printing, as they have a lower per
page cost. However, they will cost more to buy than an ink
jet
printer. Ink jet printers have a lower hardware cost but a
higher
consumables (ink jet cartridges) cost. This is one of the
primary
trade-offs.
If
you print photos or graphics, you'll for sure want a color
printer. Generally, ink jets produce better color while
lasers
produce better text quality. But this differential is rapidly
fading and either is acceptable for most uses. However, for
photos a color ink jet still produces the highest quality
color.
You
want to consider multifunction printers, as they combine are capable
of multiple functions, such as printing, scanning, copying and perhaps
faxing. Multifunction printers are highly convenient devices and cheaper than
buying separate hardware for each function. But that low
price
and convenience comes as the expense of performance, such as lower
resolution and slower print speeds. You'll have to decide for yourself
if this is an acceptable trade-off for multifunction printers.
A
common thing to consider with a new printer is resolution, which is a
primary determinant of print quality. Print images are made
of
small dots of ink (or toner for a laser printer) and resolution means
the number of "dots per inch", or "dpi". The higher the
number of
dots per inch, the higher the quality of the printing, all other things
being equal.
Most
modern printers support 600.600 dpi, which gives acceptable quality for
most uses. Except for printing photographs, resolution higher than
600.600 isn't really noticeable and the higher the resolution the more
ink you will use, so consider your needs carefully before buying a high
resolution printer. Unless you are printing lots of photos
you
will be just wasting money on ink, which is the most expensive cost for
both single function and multifunction printers in the long run.
Pay
attention to what the ink cartridge arrangement is on a
printer.
With ink jet printers, some use separate cartridges for each color, and
some have all colors contained in one cartridge. Over time,
separate tanks for each color will be less expensive, as you only have
to replace the one color that runs out. With all colors in
the
same cartridge, you'll have to replace the entire cartridge even though
only one color is used up.
Also
look at the path the paper travels in the printer, especially for multifunction printers. The more
straight through the path, the less trouble you'll have. This
is important if you do a lot printing on photo paper stock,
envelopes, thick paper, or any other unusual materials.
Finally,
consider the print drivers, which provide the software interface for
you printer. This allows you to control things such as number
of
copies, page size, orientation, etc. The best drives will
include
more advanced features such as low ink level warnings. These are the
things that make your printer more user friendly, especially for multifunction printers. |
| | |
|
| |
|
|
|
How to
Find Cheap Ink Jet Cartridges
Sometimes it
seems as if your printer drinks ink as fast as you buy it and before
you know it you're headed back to the store for another ink cartridge. | |
And have you checked out the cost of
ink jet cartridges lately? A new set can cost as much as a
third
of what you paid for the printer itself.
In the long run, since
ink cartridges will be the most expensive aspect of owning a printer,
especially with ink jet and multifunction printers, you'll want to look at as many
options as possible for reducing this cost.
Basically, there
are four ways to lower ink costs for single or multifunction printers: Find less
expensive sources for new original equipment cartridges, buy generic
name cartridges, buy remanufactured cartridges, and refill you own used
cartridge with new ink.
To find less expensive original
equipment cartridges, you best bet is to look online.
Shopping
online lets you quickly and easily compare prices for the major brands
from several different sellers. You can also usually find
good
deals online for bulk purchases, which can save you even
more. Be
sure to compare prices at several different online sources and be
certain to only visit the large, well known sites. Just do a
Google search for "ink cartridges" and check out the first 10 or so
results returned. These will usually be the biggest and most
well
known sources.
You can also find "generic" brand print
cartridges in many electronics stores. These will usually
work
just as well as the name brand and is sort of like buying the store
brand of bread or canned corn. But take care to double-check
that
it's the right model for your printer. Some generic brands
can
use different model numbers than the original manufacture, so be sure
to read the label carefully. Generic brands will usually be
about
10 to 15% cheaper than the printer manufacturer cartridges.
Next,
you can also look for "remanufactured" ink cartridges, although these
are more common for laser printers than for ink jet printers.
These are used cartridges that have been rebuilt to original
manufacture specifications and usually will work just as well as a new
one. These are usually less expensive than a new generic
brand
cartridge, sometimes much less expensive. One caution: be
sure
you are buying a remanufactured cartridge and not just one that has
simply been refilled with ink. Also, it's important to be
certain
you get a money back guarantee if you aren't satisfied.
Finally,
you can buy ink refill kits and refill your empty cartridge with new
ink. This is by far the least expensive option and can cut
your
ink cartridge costs by 75% or more. But beware: sometimes this works
okay, but more often it leaks and can cause poor print quality or other
problems with your printer. Generally speaking, this is not a
good alternative for most people.
Find the best option for your
needs and stick with it. Over time, you can save several
times
the cost of the printer by reducing your ink costs.
|
| | |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|