subject: Guidelines On Deciding On The Ideal Printer [print this page] Guidelines On Deciding On The Ideal Printer
If there's one piece of personal computer peripheral equipment that is considered most necessary by a lot of people, it's got to be the printer. If you only use your computer for games, video, and chatting online, then a printer may not be a big deal. But if you do any work with documents of any kind, then a printer is absolutely indispensable. If you don't have a printer, or if you are thinking of getting a new one, then this article is for you. I'll go over some basic decisions you'll need to make before you go out and purchase one. To start off with, realize that printers fall into two general categories. There are printers that just print, and then there are printers that do other functions, such as faxing and scanning of documents. These are referred to as 'all in one' printers. And depending on how you expect to use your printer, choosing the right printer is important. You'll need to figure out your basic computing needs, either what you expect to do in the future, or what you've done in the past. If you want the most simple, basic printer, that only prints documents, and a few photos, then a standalone printer will be best. Since you aren't getting any extra features, you can focus on how many sheets per minute your printer can handle. This can be handy if you print a lot of text documents, and rarely print any pictures of photographs. If you plan on printing large photographs and pictures, then you'll need to focus on the printer's resolution, measured in DPI. The more DPI you get, the cleaner and clearer your pictures and photos will be. Of course, higher DPI means more money, so make sure you really are going to be printing out plenty of pictures. If you need more functions that simply printing, then an all in one printer may be the best bet. For example, if you think you'll be scanning quite a few pictures, as well as printing them out, then you'll need to focus on getting printer with a scanner that has a relatively high resolution. Of course, the higher the resolution on the scanner, the more it's going to cost, so make sure this is something you'll use on a regular basis. There's no use paying extra for something that will only collect dust. Now you've figured out what kind of printer is best for you, it's time to go shopping. Just make sure you will get more money's worth, and don't buy anything you won't use all the much.
