Choosing A Printer

Choosing an All in One Printer isn't just about which is the cheapest, its getting the balance right between price, quality and the features you need. Technological development is helping to promote consumer appetite for All in One Printers. It is now possible to buy an All in One Printer - also known as Multi-Function Devices - for less than the price of a good quality printer.

Accurate, Quality Printing

There are lots of advertisers that are trying to convince you that the more dots per inch (dpi) you can get on a piece of paper, the better the print quality. However, this is only partly true. In reality, a printer delivering 600dpi may produce more accurate results than a 1200dpi printer. This is because there are other factors at work such as the accuracy that the software represents the original information.

Other factors include the paper handling mechanism, ink quality, toner quality, and paper quality - poor ink quality lacks colour vibrancy which in turn results in poor contact with the paper causing rough edges to the printing and potentially longer drying times.

Other buying considerations include how long it takes the printer to warm up and produce its first page and how quiet or noisy the printer is.

Multi-Function Printers

If you are looking for basic printing, scanning and copying then you have plenty of choice of All in One Printers. Most Multi-Function Devices also include an integrated Fax Machine. Key additional features may also include optical character recognition (OCR) that can help scan documents into your computer for editing later and a device with an automatic document feeder. If the main use of your device is text based, then consider a laser printer/scanner for sharper documents.

Top of the range All in One Printers deliver excellent quality for users looking scan and transmit high-quality images. It is also worth considering a machine that can print photographs direct from the digital camera or memory card, probably using PictBridge technology.

Key features of All in One Printers

Inkjet - Inkjet printers have now almost matched laser printers for quality output. Print speeds and text quality may be lower than laser printers but running costs may be higher, however, inkjet machines tend to be cheaper to buy than laser printers.

Laser - Whilst inkjet printers can be cheaper than laser printers, laser printers are generally faster. Also, whilst toner cartridges for laser printers may be more expensive than ink, they last a lot longer. Laser printers generally give sharper text reproduction and may be better for handling envelopes, cards and non-standard paper sizes.

Monochrome & Colour Printing - All in One machines with monochrome printers tend to be laser devices. Whilst they may well have colour scanners, they are only able to produce black and white prints. On the other hand, inkjet printers are generally able to print in colour and black and white.

PictBridge - Allows the transfer of digital images from a memory card used in a digital camera direct to a compatible All in One Printer without a computer or editing software. Print options are set using the printer LCD controls and the LCD screen on the digital camera. PictBridge is fast establishing itself as the standard for digital image transfers.

Consumables - The low price of some machines can mislead users unless they also consider the overall running costs, i.e. considering the cost of ink. A higher priced printer with lower running costs (in terms of ink cartridges) may be cheaper in the long run than a cheap printer.

Memory - Measured in megabytes (MB), the more memory the device has the faster it will print.

Individual functions - Many all-in-ones enable you to operate the main functions without the need for the computer being on. Copying, scanning and faxing can each be done independently.

Print speeds - Usually expressed in pages per minute, each All in One Printer will vary so if it's important to check this. Most machines will print between 20-25 black and white pages per minute, with colour pages taking slightly longer.

Power consumption - An important consideration in the world we now live in, especially if the device is to be left in stand-by mode.

Print modes - Most All in One Printers offer several print modes - draft, standard, and best - which helps to keep running costs lower.

Media types - Top of the range All in One Printers offer the option to print on different sized paper and also premium quality paper such as photographic paper. Transparencies, labels and envelopes should also be possible.

Fax type - Faxes can be sent direct from your computer or by printing a document and by feeding it through the machine.

Fax memory - Will store faxes sent to you when machine is not in use or out of paper.

Speed dial - Allows frequently used fax numbers to be stored and speed dials them for quick access.

Connections - The latest All in One machines have several USB ports. However, some are also equipped for Ethernet/Parallel connectivity.