Best Office Printers

Printers are very important in so many offices. Even now, where most documents are sent electronically, there is still a need for printing. And your office might have to print a large volume of material. Why look around for a business center to do your printing when you can do it from the comfort of your office? You don't need just any kind of printer, but one that can print entire brochures, in clear, distinct print.

With various brands producing printers, how do you know which printer is best for you to buy? This is always very challenging. You have to decide between a more expensive laser printer or a more affordable inkjet printer. Laser printers will be adequate for a heavy volume of printing--but now, there are special ink replacement programs that allow inkjet printers to also handle a lot of printing.

It is for this reason that this buying guide has been prepared as it will help you in

• Choosing the best office printer that suits your needs

• Getting reviews of other brands of printers

• Getting to know which printer to buy and why you need to buy it

• Choosing a budget-friendly printer that suits your needs

Select an office printer based on what you need it for. As we mentioned in the introduction, there are two major types of printers: inkjet and laser printers.

• Inkjet printer: The inkjet printer can fulfill your graphics, text, and photo printing needs. It is safe to say that it prints almost everything you want. Inkjet printers are fast when it comes to black and white printing, but if you intend to print anything in color, it will take someone longer. Look at the Pages Per Minute (PPM) statistic of a printer, in order to get an estimate of how long it takes to print an average page of text. Although you can say the inkjet printer is reliable, when you read customer reviews, most people still have their reservations about them.
• Laser printer: A laser printer is perfect for an office because it can print lots of documents in a few minutes. The printing comes out very sharp, and many laser printers are capable of printing in color. (The inkjet printer actually prints color prints more accurately and distinctly than a color laser printer.) Although laser printers have the drawback that they may not be able to accommodate a 4 by 6 paper, it is still very fast when it comes to printing documents.
• All-in-one printer: The all-in-one printer is very versatile as it can also be used as a scanner, photocopier, and fax machine. Having one device in your office to perform several tasks helps you save space--and that’s an important consideration.
• Photo printers: Photo printers are used mostly in printing fine resolution pictures, giving you the best quality photos. If you also want your pictures in different sizes, you can get the models that fit what you want.
• Supertank printers: A supertank printer is an inkjet printer with much larger cartridges, which can be refilled. What makes the supertank printer unique and even better for your office is the fact that you can print thousands of documents before you even remember that ink is supposed to be replaced. This saves you the stress and expense of replacing ink often.

• Functions: Before buying a printer, you should consider what you are likely going to use the printer for, and the functions that you require from your printer. Most offices just need a good printer to print out documents easily and quickly.

• Cost: A good printer might be expensive, but it is better to spend money on a quality printer that will give you exactly what you want.

• Accuracy: Get a printer that produces high-resolution images, that is accurate, and which will give you the picture quality you need. This is especially the case for printing photographs.

• Replacement ink and toner: If you are looking for an inkjet printer, check the price of replacing the toner of a particular brand you intend to buy. Estimate how many pages you print in a given month, and how many pages the printer can produce on a single cartridge.

• Check for the wi-fi printing capability: Technology has made the world a wire-free zone and everything is now wireless. The latest models of printers don’t require a printer cable to hook up to a computer. Wi-fi connectivity has replaced cables--you may need to hook up the printer to your computer with a cable at first, but, once it is configured, you will be able to print wirelessly, from any computer or mobile device that’s within range.
• Check for card readers: Why would you need a card reader slot? This lets you place an SD card from a digital camera into your printer. Alternatively, there are printers with a USB drive slot, letting you print your documents or pictures from a USB flash drive. This feature is mostly useful for a person who is always on the move, or photographers.
• Paper capacity of the printer: Verify the paper capacity of the printer, so that you won’t have to reload it with paper often. Also, check to see if your printer can print on both sides of a page--that saves paper and money.
• Ink: If you are printing in color often, then a supertank or inkjet printer should be your best option. Most inkjet printers tend to run out of ink often, so you should look at the ink capacity and the size of the ink cartridge of your printer before buying.

• Canon: Let's start with the very popular Japanese company Canon, which is well-known for making great cameras and lenses. Their printers can be used both at home and in the office. Although you mostly get to find inkjet among their brands, they also produce laser printers.
• HP: If you need a wireless printer, then HP has lots of options. This brand happens to be one of the oldest types of printers, and they produce both inkjet and laser printers, as well as printers that can produce colored and black-and-white prints.
• Brother: This might not be a common brand, but they have proved themselves as one of the best brands. They produce all-in-one inkjet printers, as well as laser printers. They make printers that are suitable for both office and home use.
• Epson: Epson makes wireless printers, as well as color and photo printers. They also have a line of photo printers for professional photographers. They have a line of "supertank" printers, where you can fill your printer with a quantity of ink that will last for months.