Jenni Markham wrote a post on her blog last month about her experiences shopping for a new printer and it reminded me of some of my printer shopping experiences. When you go looking for a new printer there are so many different designs, each boasting an assortment of features and with a huge variance in price.
Before shopping for a new printer it’s a good idea to decide what features you really need; what features would be nice but are not essential; and what your budget is. Everyone’s needs are different, so the printer that is best for me may be totally different to the printer that is best for you.
Things to consider and questions to ask about prospective printers include:
- Do you require a colour printer or is black and white sufficient?
- Do you require a high quality of printing or is it mostly draft quality you’ll be printing?
- How many pages (roughly) do you print each day/week?
- Do you require borderless printing (where you can print to all edges of the page – not all printers have this capability)?
- What will it cost you to replace the ink or toner cartridges?
- Approximately how many pages will you be able to print with each ink or toner cartridge?
- Will you require fast printing?
- What sort of media will you be printing on (e.g. paper, envelopes, cardboard, transfers)?
- Do you require a printer with wireless capability (e.g. so you can print from your computer/laptop without cables connecting the devices)?
- What is the manufacturer’s support like? Do they have a representative in your country/region?
- What warranty is included?
- Will you need to access photo memory cards direct on your printer?
- Ensure that your computer can meet the printer’s specific software/hardware requirements.
- If possible, ask around friends and associates for brands that they recommend or have had past problems with.
- Once you have decided on the specific model you want it pays to shop around for the best price.
By spending a bit of time getting to know your exact requirements and asking a few questions while shopping around you may save yourself a lot of hassles and cost in the long run.
Here’s to your success in business,
Donna-Marie