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.

Gregg Hall is a marketing consultant for many online businesses. See who he recommends for printer supplies