| In today's market, there are basically 4 | | | | usually rated on monthly volume. This is |
| types of popular printers. | | | | something to consider if you are purchasing a |
| | | | printer that will get a lot of usage. Don't |
| - Inkjet | | | | buy one rated for 10,000 pages a month if you |
| | | | know you'll be printing 20,000. You'll wear |
| - Laser | | | | it out quick. |
| | | | |
| - Thermal Transfer(Dye Sublimation) | | | | You can also get color laser printers, their |
| | | | cost has come down a lot from the $5,000 |
| - Dot Matrix (Yes, they're still selling | | | | units 10 years ago. They're usually fine for |
| these!) | | | | business type graphics, but I still like a |
| | | | nice photo inkjet for printing photos. |
| The factors that separate them are simple. | | | | |
| | | | Inkjet's and Thermal printers have much |
| - Initial cost | | | | smaller cartridges and usually run out |
| | | | quicker than the toner in a laser. Because |
| - Operation cost | | | | of that, the cost of printing each page can |
| | | | be much more. These printers can also be |
| - Speed and Performance | | | | purchased with the ability to print onto CD |
| | | | DVD, which is a nice feature. Duty cycle |
| - Durability | | | | isn't as high as a laser, but for home/office |
| | | | printing, most of them can keep up fine. |
| - Specialty jobs | | | | Their B&W text is generally suitable for |
| | | | business, though some of the photo printers |
| If you are going to be printing strictly in | | | | have slightly jagged text. Again, they're |
| Black & White (B&W), you're going to be | | | | less expensive to purchase, but can cost 4 |
| happiest with a laser printer. They offer | | | | times as much to operate as a laser. If you |
| faster print speed, crisper text, and lower | | | | don't do a lot of printing ( |
| cost of operation. A good one is usually | | | | |
| more expensive than an Inkjet, but with the | | | | As it has been for the past several years, |
| costs of ink cartridges, you'll soon recoup | | | | dot matrix printers are strictly for |
| that initial investment. | | | | invoicing and multi-part forms. They are |
| | | | noisy, due to the fact that they are an |
| A typical B&W laser printer for home-office | | | | 'impact' printer. Pins are actually hitting |
| type use will run $300-$500 and will give you | | | | the paper and this gives them the ability to |
| 20-24 pages per minute(ppm). For big office | | | | print on multi-part forms. Some of the more |
| printing, expect over $1,000. Also expect | | | | expensive ones are extremely fast and are |
| 30+ppm. You will also achieve a resolution | | | | used to generate long reports. There really |
| of 1200 x 1200. Higher resolution means | | | | isn't much use for them other than that. |
| crisper text. Laser printers are also | | | | |