subject: Tips for Choosing the Best All-In-One Printer [print this page] Tips for Choosing the Best All-In-One Printer
Having choices is a wonderful thing, but only if there aren't so many choices that things are terribly confusing. Take all-in-one office printers, they can be geared towards a photography enthusiast, an "everyday" business office, or even your home office. This means that before heading out to get the best possible all-in-one printer you will have to know what features you require.
Having choices is a wonderful thing, but only if there aren't so many choices that things are terribly confusing. Take all-in-one office printers, they can be geared towards a photography enthusiast, an "everyday" business office, or even your home office. This means that before heading out to get the best possible all-in-one printer you will have to know what features you require.
Let's make a basic list of what most modern all-in-one printers offer in order to understand how to begin narrowing the field. For instance, most offer high print resolutions, fast black and/or color printing speeds, some have wireless connectivity, some provide a built-in fax machine, some can copy or scan, and many can use a variety of different media.
This means that the first step is to decide which features you must absolutely have and then the speeds or settings at which those features are available. For instance, someone might buy the HP OfficeJet J3680 which offers every possible function, including the fax. It has an impressive 1200x1200 dpi for most functions and works with PCs and MACs. This would be an excellent all-around choice, even for a photographer. It uses the HP 21 Black Ink and the HP 21 Tri Color Ink cartridges, but optimization settings allow the user to make their ink supply last a very long time.
Let's say that the quality of the photographic printing was much more important than anything else. For this buyer, the Canon PIXMA MP560 would probably be a better choice. This all-in-one printer also provides the buyer with fast black and color printing, copying and scanning, but it puts out images with a possible 9600x2400 maximum color dpi. This sort of quality applies to photographs as well as documents, and there are all kinds of photographic and editorial controls on the easy to use keypad as well. This is also a network printer which means you can set up a wireless office easily. The quality of the print resolution translates to a large number of different ink supplies, and this all-in-one uses the individual Canon CLI-221 Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Gray tanks.
Just like many other modern printers, the all-in-ones are also becoming available with special energy saver settings too. Remember that all computer equipment can become electrical "vampires" that take in a small supply even while they are not in use. This is the reason it is always a good idea to scrutinize the availability of any energy-saver mode when looking for a new all-in-one machine. Another option worth considering is Tripp Lite's ECO550 UPS. This GREEN energy saving unit uses built-in "ECO" outlets that automatically power off unused computer accessories like printers or multi-media speakers when the computer is not in use.
