Trying to purchase a new printer can be a daunting task. There are so many options available these days it’s hard to determine which ones are the best. Like any purchase, you should not go into it blind. You should conduct some research so that you don’t end up falling for whatever deal is available at that time. Before you start your search, you should nail down these few things first to help you make the best purchase.
Your “need-to-have” list
Much like purchasing a car, you probably have a “need-to-have” list regarding features, cost of maintenance (reliability), and overall price. Printer shopping is no different, so you should come up with answers to these key questions:
- What kind of printing are you going to be doing?
To help you narrow down your search, you should figure out what you plan on printing on a daily basis and anything that you might print occasionally.
- How much are you going to be printing?
Whether you are printing a high volume of documents or are printing the occasional photo, you should take a look at the page yield of the printer cartridges. From there, you can see how much cartridges will be, and how much you are going to be paying per page you print.
- What features are you looking for?
Are you in need of something that just prints or do you want something that is all-in-one? Make sure you research what the printer is capable of before you make a purchase that you will regret.
Two cost-effective printers
One of the most affordable and cost effect printers available right now is the Brother MFC-J480DW. It has the ability to print, copy, scan, and fax. It has a carrying capacity of 100 8.5 x 14” sheets of paper. It has an LED screen to easily navigate through its menu. And you can set it up to allow wireless networking with other devices. Listed on Amazon at $77.00, it is one of the best deals you can get on printers under $100. And you can get six black ink cartridges and six color cartridges on Amazon for $23.77, making it affordable when purchasing ink.
The last printer we recommend is the Canon Prima TS8020. It has the ability to print photos, documents, color labels, and envelopes. It comes with a variety of options regarding connectivity, such as Wi-Fi, Air Print, Google Cloud Print, NFC, USB, SD Card reader, or even through the Cloud. It, too, has a carrying capacity of 100 common sheets of printer paper. You can get it through Amazon for $94.95. And like the previous printers, its cartridges are affordable, costing you a little more than a $1 a page. It is recommended though that you go with the XL ink cartridges. They only cost about $6-10 more than the regular cartridges depending on where you find them, but they offer a larger yield that makes it worth it.
