Deciding to buy an office printer in Fairbanks, AK, is a lot like buying a car: It’s a large investment into a machine you’re going to be using daily, and it’s essential that you choose the right one for your needs. As with buying a car, purchasing an office printer requires a lot of research and careful consideration of what your daily needs are. How do you ensure that you choose the best printer for your office? Keep reading to find out.
Assessing Your Printing Needs
You wouldn’t buy a 2-seater sports car if you want to drive around a family of 6. Similarly, you shouldn’t buy a small desktop printer for a busy office with high print demand. Choosing the right printer begins with carefully assessing your printing needs. Start by asking yourself the following questions:
How many pages does your office print a month? If your office prints large quantities, you’ll want to ensure that you’re purchasing something with the capacity to produce that number of pages, and do so at a speed that will prevent long lines from building up at the printer. Smaller offices with lower monthly demands may not have to worry about speed quite so much since it’s unlikely you’ll have numerous print jobs waiting to run at one time.
What types of documents do you print? If you primarily print text-based, black-and-white documents, a laser printer is probably the better option for you. These are known for creating crisp, clean lines of text. On the other hand, if you do a lot of color-heavy, image-based documents, an inkjet printer is likely the better choice. These are known for creating higher-quality images than laser printers.
How often will your printer be used? Again, larger offices with a higher print demand are likely to run a printer a lot more in a day than smaller offices. If you believe you’ll only need a printer for occasional print jobs, a more compact model may suffice, but if you run several print jobs a day, you’ll want something more robust.
Would you benefit from additional functions? Most office machines are multifunction printers, or MFPs. This means they can scan, print, copy, and sometimes even fax documents. But are there any additional features you could benefit from? Look into functions that could improve productivity, such as document binding, automatic document feeders, and double-sided printing.
Understanding Inkjet and Laser Printers
We mentioned a little bit about the differences between inkjet and laser printers in the list above, but it’s important that you clearly understand the differences between these 2 main printer types (particularly if you print a mixture of text documents and images).
Inkjet printers are known for their high-quality color printing and affordable upfront cost. However, they’re slower than laser printers, and the cost to print each page is slightly higher due to the high cost of ink. Ink cartridges need frequent replacement, but they’re still the best option if you print many color documents for marketing or other client-facing materials and need a high-resolution, professional-looking result.
On the other hand, laser printers offer much higher printing speeds and a lower cost per page—at least for black-and-white documents. Color pages may actually cost a bit more to print. More advanced technology comes with a higher upfront cost as well. While toner cartridges are costly, they don’t need to be replaced as often, making them even better suited to high-volume printing.
For most offices, a laser printer is the way to go since most businesses primarily print text-based documents and focus on speed and efficiency. But, overall, it really comes down to what your priorities are when it comes to your printer’s performance.
Considering Connectivity and Networking Features
Considering Connectivity and Networking Features
While it might seem crazy to worry about the Wi-Fi connection on your printer, such connectivity options can enhance the efficiency of your printer and your office as a whole. Certain connectivity features can be highly beneficial depending on the size of your office and the number of employees using the printer.
First and foremost, consider whether you want a wired or wireless printer. For larger offices with many employees who need access to the printer, a networked printer with an Ethernet cable is best. Wired connections often provide more stable, faster performance for high-volume printing.
On the other hand, smaller offices or those with fewer printer users may prefer a wireless printer. These can connect to Wi-Fi networks, allowing employees to print from their desktop computers and laptops, smartphones, and tablets without the need for printer cables.
Additionally, if you have a lot of remote workers—as many businesses do nowadays—you may want to consider the merits of cloud printing. This capability allows employees to connect to the printer and print documents remotely. This can be beneficial for collaborating between in-house and remote workers, improving teamwork and efficiency on group projects.
Examining Printer Speed and Resolution
Finally, carefully consider both the speed and resolution a printer can offer. Printer speed is usually expressed in pages per minute or PPM. As you’ve probably surmised, this refers to the maximum number of pages that the printer can produce in a single minute—typically, this is referring to text-based, black-and-white documents, as these are the easiest to print. Most offices should be looking for a PPM between 20 and 40, but if you’re concerned about long lines at the printer, a higher printing speed could help.
Of course, you can’t focus solely on quantity; you want quality, too. That’s where the resolution comes in. Measured in dots per inch, or DPI, print resolution refers to the clarity and detail of printed documents. For general office use, 600 DPI is usually about right. However, for offices looking for higher-resolution printing for images or graphics, look for 1200 DPI or more.
Call or stop by Arctic Office Products today if you’re in the market for an office printing machine in Fairbanks, AK. One of our staff members will help you determine your printing needs and direct you toward a machine that can meet those needs.
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