If you’re in the market for a color ink printer, there are a few things you need to keep in mind and look into, before you hurry out and buy the first printer you come across. In this article I will open your eyes to some of the most important things you need to consider and do before buying.
Determine your needs
First find out what your needs are. Do you need to be able to scan photos, documents or receipts as well? Then go for a printer with a built-in scanner (like the one on the picture to the right). If not, you might as well save the money or spend them on a better printer without scanner.
Ink cartridges and paper costs
Buying a consumer ink printer is not going to cost you much, maybe even as low as $100. It’s buying ink cartridges that will cost you money in the long run. Especially if you buy a printer with just a single ink cartridge, so you have to replace all colors when only one color is empty – don’t buy such a printer. Get a printer that has multiple ink cartridges so you only have to replace the color that has run out. It’s much cheaper – and better for the environment. Good quality paper for printing photos doesn’t come cheap either, buying the manufactures own paper is not cheap, but you’re guaranteed to get good quality.
Reviews and talk to people
Next you’ll have to go to Google, Bing or your favorite search engine. If you’re looking to buy an Epson Stylus SX510W printer, try doing a search for “epson sx510w review” – in fact, you should do that for most tech products you’re interested in buying. Chances are, you’ll learn a lot and not buy the wrong product. Also consider talking to people in your area that are likely to have experience with printers or that particular printer model/brand. No need to buy a printer that somebody else warns against if their warnings are legit.
Look online for best price
Last, you need to find the best price. You might get lucky and find a great offer in a store. If not, simply go back to your search engine and search for price comparison sites, such as PriceRunner.
Now you know a little more about what to pay attention to before heading out to buy your next ink printer. Good luck!
This was a guest post by:
Richard Dean is editor of a Printer ink website and provides tips and articles for buying inks for various brands including Epson ink, Canon and HP.