As with anything, when trying to define the best printers and copiers you have to remember that it is largely a subjective thing. All users have their own requirements, demand a certain specification and will be using their printer or copier in their own unique way.
To break this down a little, I ve split this article into three distinct sections: home use, small office and medium offices and large offices. This should help to give you a clearer understanding of what is available and what devices are better suited to your own particular environment.
Best Printers and Copiers for Home Use
When we print documents at home, the projects are often irregular and don t tend to be all that huge in size. This means that your capacity doesn t need to be so large, which will probably rule all but the smallest laser printers. The ideal solution in most instances is the much trusted inkjet printer.
The inkjet is a very simple device which plots liquid ink across a page in tight, microscopic clusters of dots. As the ink is transposed directly on to the page in horizontal lines, the process can be quite time consuming, with many full colour pages taking upwards of half a minute to complete pages without coverage will of course take less time.
One of the main benefits of an inkjet printer though is that it is very compact and is cost effective, certainly in terms of initial purchase at least. You could couple this with a scanner, or indeed buy a smaller multifunction printer with integrated scanner if you are looking for copying services at home.
For Small and Medium Offices
Where there only a few terminals you may just want to have individual or even shared inkjets on the desktop. These are simple to set up, won t cost the earth and shouldn t take up too much of your valuable office space. However, if you are printing in high capacities regularly, whether there are many users or not, you might want to consider a laser printer.
Laser printers use a dry, powdered ink which is transposed onto the page using the eponymous laser. This is a far quicker method of printing, which allows you to produce hefty volumes of print in a surprisingly brief amount of time. Due to their speedier print rate, laser printers also tend to have larger paper tray capacities. These will vary from model to model; however few are can hold less than 150 and some can be much, much more.
In terms of copying, you may want to find a dedicated copying machine, or you might want to invest in a multifunction printer. This encompasses a range of devices including a scanner, fax and, most importantly, a copying functionality. Multifunction models can help you to save time, space and money by integrating all of these vital office procedures into one compact device.
For Large Offices
If you ve got a large workforce in one area, you need a printer that can handle the capacity requirements of your staff. Therefore, the only real option is a large laser printer.
As previously mentioned, laser printers are able to deal with huge volumes of work and can produce them in next to no time at all. You can find models that have a huge sheet capacity, in fact many of the larger, more expensive models, will also include a multi tray to ensure that there are reserves available and any of the other printer functions can be carried out.
You should also look out for printers with greater memory. These will be able to deal with multiple tasks at once without overburdening the system. You might also want to consider a wireless option too. Whilst printers can be attached to networks, the trailing wires can be a nuisance. Working in much the same way as wireless Internet, which uses a modem and a router, the wireless printer can be used for any number of devices over a broad signal range.
If you have a great need for regular copying, a dedicated photocopier may be required. These will be able to deal with the capacity and won t interrupt the other printing work. However, you might also want to consider one of the more high end multifunction printers. These integrate your fax, scanner and copying needs, along with printing of course, without having to have a dedicated device for each. Perfect for offices where space is precious.
So Which Printer or Copier?
Well, you should always go for a model from a known brand. There are so many established manufacturers out there, including the likes of Canon, Samsung and Xerox, that you should have no problems finding a model from a reputable brand.
You also need to balance your needs against your budget. There are models out there to suit most budgets, but you need to be sure of exactly what you want, the specification it needs and your own personal requirements before investing in a new printer for you home or office.
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