When you start shopping for an all in one printer it is easy to become overwhelmed by the options available to choose from.  With a variety of different vendors producing numerous different models of printers it becomes essential to do your homework and understand what kind device will make the most sense to purchase.

What Can An All In One Printer Do For Me?

Fax
Scan
Copy
Print

If you have to work out of a home office purchasing an all in one printer scanner is also a great way to utilize key resources without taking up all of your work space.  You will no longer need a clunky scanning machine hogging up your limited shelf space.  Often times it is too expensive to purchase a personal copy machine for use in a home office but with the help of an all in one printer with a scanning function you can create quick and inexpensive print outs.

You can also save yourself some extra money in your budget by purchasing an all in one printer.  Not only will you save money by not having to purchase a fax machine, scanner, copier, and a printer individually but you will save money by not having to purchase multiple types of toner, ink cartridges and ribbon as they will all share one common type of ink cartridge.  This is one more way to save a little extra space in your storage closet!

Printing out photographs can be done on small 4×6 paper or large 11×14 paper.  If you have any desire to print out large scale photographs make sure your printer can handle the larger sized paper.  The majority of inkjet printers designed to print photographs only hold a standard paper size of 8 inches wide.

Sometimes buying the cheapest printer available can become the most expensive to own.  Compare the different ink cartridges that each device requires.  You will want to determine how much each yields and then divide that by the cost of the cartridge to get an idea of how much each device will cost on average to print an average sized page.

While many all in one printers offer fax capabilities several of the entry level products do not have this functionality.  Make sure you choose accordingly if this is an option you will want to take advantage of.

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A Lot of people tend to just go cheap when buying a printer, but in the long run it can end up costing you more. Even though Ink jet printers might be inexpensive up front the cost of replacement ink can drive up the overall cost over the time of ownership.
You know what I am talking about, some times the ink is more than the printer was.

Check the prices of the ink cartridges of the printer you are considering and find out how many pages each cartridge will print. Once you figure out approximately how many pages you will print per month, you can determine the cost of the printer plus ink over the course of a year. Consider getting individual cartridges if you know you’ll need one
color more than others–for instance, if many of your documents have a red logo or if you print mainly black and white.

Manufacturers very often list faster print speed specifications on their packaging than we see when testing performance. A typical ink jet printer can produce two to four pages per minute of text and one full-page, 8.5-by-11-inch photo or graphic in two to three minutes.

Some color ink jets can print photos at a level that approaches the quality of a professional photofinisher. If you plan to use your printer primarily for photos or graphics, look for models that are built for that. If you plan to print mostly
photos, look for photo printers with features such as a built-in PC Card slot, an LCD panel that allows you to view and print an image without using your PC, and bundled image-editing software.

If you print mainly text documents, consider buying an inexpensive black & white laser printer. These printers provide superior text quality compared with high-end ink jet printers. Some monochrome lasers cost as little as $200, making them a good deal for
home users. If you need to print a lot of text and high-quality graphics, buying a good photo ink jet printer in addition to an inexpensive monochrome laser printer could save you money on ink and maintenance costs in the long run as opposed to buying an ink jet to do it all.

Many monochrome lasers come with optional ethernet ports for networks. If you plan to use the printer with one PC, don’t pay the extra money for an ethernet card.

Color laser printer toner cartridges are the most expensive consumable you can buy for a printer, but their yield is so much higher than an ink jet cartridge that, in the long run, color laser toner is less expensive on a per page basis.

If you’re not running a graphics department but still want to print color, you’ll most likely choose an ink jet printer, which can create beautiful graphics at a tenth of the cost of a color laser. However, keep in mind that the inexpensive price of an ink jet is quickly surpassed by the cost of replacement ink.

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It is always a pain in the neck when you run out of ink while printing a very important document – on a deadline. When everything fails, make sure you keep your cool and you know what to do next. Don’t worry! You’ll have that paper in your boss’ or professor’s desk in time – even if you run out of ink.

Undoubtedly, computer parts and accessories cost a lot. And you usually don’t realize when these parts would reach the end of their lifespan, so be sure you are prepared. Running out of ink is not a funny situation, not when you have a deadline for a paper. And buying a refill in the middle of the night is not exactly a fun thing to do. Now, you’d probably ask, “How do I keep my cool?” Here’s how: Know about ink refilling and do it yourself!

Ink refilling is popular nowadays, that it has even given birth to lots of ink-refilling stations. But that would mean another expense to you too, although it might be cheaper compared to buying a new ink cartridge. You can actually do the refilling yourself provided you have the materials and the knowledge how to do it.

Anybody who can read a manual would surely be able to get on with the task. Below is the list of what you should have and what you should do when refilling your own ink cartridge. Remember, keep your cool and don’t panic!

A place with a close access to running water is the best place to do the refilling. This is so as not to smear ink on furniture, other things most especially important documents.

The amount of ink to be refilled varies on the size of the cartridge. The cartridge states how many milliliters (ml.) of ink it can hold.

In your ink-refilling kit, a syringe is provided to draw the ink (of any color) to refill the empty (or near empty) cartridge. Along with it are bottles of ink of different colors, a bottle of cleaning solution especially designed for the sensitive parts of the cartridge and a user’s manual. Refer to the manual on how to properly inject the ink to the cartridge.

To transfer the ink from the syringe into the cartridge, there must be a very tiny hole (the size of the tip of a ball point pen) poked on top of the cartridge, near the label. Insert the needle of the syringe and slowly, very slowly inject the ink into the cartridge. It is necessary to do this process very slowly so that the ink would not form foam and the bubbles would prevent it from printing.

The newly created holes need not be sealed after refilling, as it would look like the other “breather” holes on top of the cartridge.

Left over ink inside the syringe can be returned to its original bottle. The syringe must be properly washed before using for another color. It is also preferable to use different syringes for different colors.

To make sure ink is not dripping out of the sponge, turn the cartridge upside down. Replace the cartridge back in the printer cradle, totally cleaned up. Run test print to see changes and to clear and clean any printing problems.

Few important things to remember:

It would be best to refill a near-empty cartridge than a totally empty one as dried up ink might cause clogging.

It would be best to let refilled ink cartridge stand overnight to let the newly injected ink even out.

It would be best to poke a tiny hole on top of the cartridge with UTMOST care so as not to cause a crack which will completely make it useless. Even a very thin crack might cause the newly refilled ink to dry up no sooner that when you put it in.

It would be best to inspect the cartridges to be refilled because there are some ink cartridges that say “Single Use Only”, and refilling it might cause damage to the printer especially when the ink injected is not the same with the previous content of the cartridge. Worse, when found out, the one who refilled it (you or some commercial refilling station) could face charges.

It would be best to check the cartridge (especially the newer models) for the green chip that keeps track of the levels of the ink. Its memory can be reset so as to be able to check the level of the cartridge with the newly-injected ink or when it is necessary to refill “again” before it has completely run out of ink.

The writer, Ismael D. Tabije, runs the website, http://www.bestlaptopnotebookdeal.com, where one can buy cheap laptop and notebook computers of top brands like Acer, Apple, Compaq, Dell, HP, IBM, Sony and Toshiba. The site also offers tips on buying laptops, renting computers, choosing PDAs, care of your laptop batteries and more valuable articles.