Do you really need a color printer? If you mostly print black and
white documents, the answer is no. But if you need to print documents with
graphics or photographs, then a color printer is a good investment. Your next
choice will be deciding between an inkjet or a laser printer. While nothing
beats the quality and speed of a color laser printer, its the most expensive
option. A color inkjet printer can provide you with good quality at a more
reasonable price.
Color Printer Speed
If speed is important to you, cross the lower-end inkjet color printers off
your list. Midrange color inkjet printers will print text at 14-17 pages per
minute; printing a page of graphics can take several minutes. Compare this with
laser color printers, some of which can print color at 26 ppm, and shoot out the
first page in less than 10 seconds. How much speed do you need and how much are
you willing to pay for it?
Color Printer Quality
Both inkjet and laser color printers can produce professional quality
photos. However, if youre looking at an inkjet printer, be aware that all color
inkjet printers are not capable of doing this. Generally, the higher end the
inkjet printer, the better the quality. There are color inkjet printers that are
specially designed to produce top quality photos, and this is the kind you
should get if printing photos is important to you.
Color Printer Resolution
Check the resolution to see how many dpi (dots per inch) the color printer
is capable of; the higher it is, the higher the image quality. The standard
resolution of 600x600 will be more than adequate for most printing, except for
photo quality printing. Also check to see if the color printer offers you a
range of resolutions, so you can choose different resolutions for different
printing jobs, such as draft mode.
Related Color Printer Costs such as cartridges, toner, etc
To print true black, inkjet printers need to have a separate black
cartridge. Also look for inkjet color printers that have separate cartridges for
each color; its cheaper to replace just the color that you need than to replace
the printer cartridge unit. Replacing a laser printers toner cartridge is much
more expensive than replacing an inkjet cartridge, but printing with a color
laser printer costs less per page.
Color Printer Reliability
Some low-end color printers are practically designed to be throwaways. And
some brands are more reliable than others. Its more economical to spend $800 on
a printer youll be able to use for 5 years than $200 each year to replace a
printer thats worn out. Examine the color printers construction. Is the
cartridge attached to the printhead? Replacing a printhead is much more
expensive than replacing a print cartridge.
Test A Color Printer Before You Buy
Never buy a color printer without testing it first in the store. Read the
specifications and see how the printer measures up when you run it. See how the
color printer prints both a page of text and a page of graphics or a photo; some
printers dont do both equally well. If its a color inkjet printer, pay close
attention to the sharpness of the text and images; some inkjet printers do a
poor job with sharp lines.
