 The
fundamental technologies behind office printing haven't
changed much over the years. Laser printers still deliver
crisp text and graphics at top speeds, and they are
less expensive to operate than inkjets. Inkjets offer
low-cost colour printing, but they are slower than lasers,
and the cost of ink cartridges and paper can quickly
add up. Overall, the output quality is better, print
speeds are faster, and prices are lower than they were
a few years ago, which means that you have many great
choices for business.
Black and white
In the world of black and white, around
£250 gets you a laser printer for a small workgroup.
Although similar to personal lasers, these printers
can crank through 8 to 13 pages per minute (ppm), and
they have larger paper trays. You'll find printers in
this category from major vendors, such as HP, Lexmark
and, most recently, Dell.
The best way to share a printer such
as this is to either connect it to a machine that's
always on (your server, for example) via a USB or parallel
port and share it through the Windows printer-sharing
system or purchase a laser printer with a Network Card
so you can attach it to a network as you would a Workstation
for direct network printing.
For heavier-duty printing needs, you'll
want to consider a true workgroup printer such as the
HP LaserJet 2300. Not only do these printers give you
roughly double the speed of a high-end personal printer,
they typically include built-in Ethernet support for
direct network connections and multiple paper trays.
If your office is constantly bogged down with people
waiting for print jobs to finish, moving up to a workgroup
printer, which costs about £750, is the way to
go.
Colour
For limited colour printing, any good-quality
inkjet should suffice. Avoid using an inkjet as your
primary printer, though, since the quality of the output
still doesn't match that of laser printers and even
plain-black ink consumables tend to be more expensive
than toner cartridges. The market is also flooded with
sub-£100 inkjets, which you should avoid. But
having a colour printer can be a godsend for avoiding
expensive trips to a print shop to make colour copies
or print one-offs of your latest Web site design.
You'll find models at several different
prices from Canon, HP, Epson and Lexmark. Insist on
a printer with a separate black ink cartridge and, for
highest-quality prints, look for a printer that supports
six-colour printing. Also keep in mind that there are
now several colour laser printers that cost just less
than £1,000, most notably HP's Color LaserJet
2500, making them viable for small businesses.
Multifunction devices
Lastly, if you're looking to save
desk space by consolidating your printer with a scanner,
a copier, and in some cases a fax machine, a multifunction
device is a great alternative. Models are available
with either colour-inkjet or laser printing, depending
on your needs. Invest in a model that's based on a copier
design, with a glass flatbed for scanning books and
magazine, instead of a pass-through design more akin
to that of a regular printer.
We can solve all your business printing
needs.
For more advice on this subject
call 01386 792972 or e-mail info@it4homeandbusiness.co.uk |
