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Learn More About Printers

What kind of printer do you need?

Laser printer

Ideal for: Printing large volumes of high–quality black–and–white text. Color laser printers are coming down in price and are ideal for businesses that produce a large volume of color prints and want to save on outsourcing their color printing. Laser printers are a must–have for offices that do a lot of printing and are ideal for many users to share over a network.

Key features:

Printing speed varies by model and ranges from 14 to up to 50 pages per minute. Color laser printers can print from 4 to up to 21 color pages per minute, depending on the model.
If you plan to print a high volume of color documents and graphics, you may want to consider a color laser printer. Since laser color printers are more durable and have a longer duty cycle than inkjet printers, they can be more affordable in the long run.
Ideal for archiving important printed documents (bills, legal or business papers). Lasers fuse text onto paper using pressure and heat, making final prints both smudge–proof and waterproof (unlike inkjet printers).
Depending on the model, prints with a black–and–white resolution of between 600x600 and up to 2400x600 dpi.
Depending on the model, input trays on laser printers can hold as many as 3800 pieces of paper at once. Some models allow for additional input trays to be added, which cuts time wasted constantly refilling the paper tray.
Laser print cartridges produce pages at a cost of between 2 and 4 cents per page, with the highest end lasers (those around $1000) generating prints for less than a penny per page. Higher–end models pay for themselves in offices that print a lot of material.

Inkjet printer

Ideal for: Printing digital images and for printing both high–quality black–and–white text and color prints.

Key features:

Printing speed varies by model. Per–page speed ranges from 6 to up to 23 pages per minute in black–and–white, from 4 to up to 20 pages per minute in color.
Paper tray capacity ranges from 100 to 150 pages.
Depending on the model, prints with a black–and–white resolution of between 600x600 and up to 2400x1200 dpi, and a color resolution as high as 2400x1200 or 5760x1440 dpi.
Inkjet cartridges print black–and–white text at an approximate cost of 5 to 7 cents per page.
If printing digital images, remember to purchase photo–quality printing paper. If your primary reason for buying an inkjet printer is to print digital images, consider buying a photo printer.

Tip: If you plan to share an inkjet printer over a network, you'll want a high–end inkjet model that can process print jobs with its own memory. Low and mid–range inkjet printers rely on the memory of the host computer to process jobs (this is called host–based printing). This slows print queues and makes sharing over a network very difficult.

Photo printer

Ideal for: Printing borderless digital images (from a computer or from a digital camera) and other color documents. Photo printers use special inks that are light– and age–resitant.

Key features:

Photo printers are higher–end color inkjet printers that can produce quality color prints of digital images. Resolution ranges from 1440x720 DPI (dots per horizonal inch x dots per vertical inch) to up to 4800x1200 DPI. The more DPI, the sharper the color of printed images.
Uses 4, 6, or 7 inks (instead of the three inks used by a conventional inkjet), which leads to smoother color blending and richer gradients.
Also prints laser–quality black–and–white text.
Most models offer different sized print trays, so you can print 4"x6", 5"x7", 8"x10", and 13"x19" photos.
Top–of–the line models allow you to print directly from your digital camera. No need to first download images to your computer.
Most models do not come with a USB cable. If not, this must be purchased separately.

Tip: Remember to buy high–quality photo printing paper (with either a matte or glossy finish).

Dot matrix printer

Ideal for: Printing draft–quality text, not graphics. Also ideal for printing multi–page forms, since dot matrix printers can print through pages onto carbon paper.

Key features:

Durable, generally requires less maintenance (and has lower–priced accessories) than other printers.
Lower resolution (measured in DPI, dots per horizontal inch) than inkjet and laser printers. Typical DPI for a dot matrix printer is 360 x 360.
Print speed of 50 to up to 300 characters per second. Look for higher CPS (character per second) speed if you need to print a large number of pages.
Uses ink ribbons similar to those used on typewriters.

Multifunction machine (with printer)

Ideal for: The home, home office, or small office.

Key features:

Combines several functions (printing, faxing, scanning, copying, and, in some cases, PC faxing) into one machine. Saves space and is more affordable than buying four separate machines.
Choose from inkjet and laser–printing models. Laser printing speed varies by model and ranges from 10 to 25 pages per minute. Inkjet printing speed varies by model and ranges from 6 to up to 20 pages per minute
Buying one multifunction machine is more affordable than purchasing several stand–alone machines.
If you want an multifunction machine that can scan books and other bound documents, be sure to choose one that has a flatbed (instead of a sheetfed) scanner.

Tip: If you print or copy over 50 pages, or receive more than 15 faxes, per day, then you may want to consider a stand–alone printer and a stand–alone fax machine instead.

Label printer

Ideal for: Printing out mailing labels (with postal bar codes), name badges, and labels for videotapes.

Key features:

Much smaller than other printers — easily fits on the corner of a desktop. Prints labels more easily than does an inkjet or laser printer.
Depending on the model, you can print labels as wide as 1.5", 2.1", 2.3". Top of the line models can print 7 different label widths.
Creates thermal prints — eliminates the cost of replacing ribbons or toner cartridges.
Print speeds range from 12 to up to 30 labels per minute, and as fast as one label every two seconds.

Tip: Many models are compatible with both Windows–based and Macintosh computers. Be sure to check compatibility before you make a purchase.

The information contained in this article is only an overview of the subject matter made for general guidance to the reader, and is subject in all cases to limitations and disclaimers set forth in Staples' Legal Terms and Conditions.

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