Pick the Right Workgroup Printer: Six Steps - mcgaugheyaguied1981

The good–and perhaps discouraging–news about buying a workgroup printer is that you have a parcel out of choices. The standard monochromic laser or LED printer is now joined by color laser operating theatre Light-emitting diode models, and multifunction variants that offer scanning, faxing, and copying. Higher-end inkjets are trying to grab some of the action, too, claiming good speed, better image tone, and same or better costs for their consumables.

How do you decide? Knowing what you need your printer to do wish pass over you to the best candidates.

What Any Workgroup Printer Should Have

A workgroup printer is built for speed and electrical capacity, typically ready to juggle the needs of 10 to 20 networked users. It will make its own processor; expandable memory; and a canonic or nonobligatory difficult drive for storing fonts and forms. Its monthly duty cycle bequeath run into the tens of thousands of pages; note that this is an indication of strength kinda than of how much you would in reality black and white–usually a small fraction of that number.

Its paper trays testament hold hundreds of pages, and its ink or toner cartridges will past for thousands of pages. Helpful paper-handling options include folding, collating, stapling, and optional media drawers or trays so you can have obviously paper, letterhead, or envelopes whol pronto available. Workgroup printers besides offer additional management tools so much as software that ass keep track of pages printed, or control which users can print in color.

1. Match the Printer to the Task and Volume

Knowing what your workgroup prints, and how much printing the members serve, wish drive your decision. If they print mostly text and spreadsheets, with little or no artwork, then a monochrome laser or Light-emitting diode pressman will do the job. For mere graphics, a color optical maser or solid-ink pressman would fit the flyer. For photographs, an inkjet is the best recko, though certain color lasers, especially high-pitched-resolution models capable of 1200 dots per inch (dpi) rather than the more coarse 600 dpi, can be virtually as good. To minimize how many times users have to fill paper trays or alter ink or toner cartridges, choose a pressman that can hold sufficient paper for at least a few days' worth of printing, with toner cartridges that can senior for at to the lowest degree a calendar month.

[Related to: Top 5 Monochrome Laser Printers]

2. Check Windows, Mack, and Linux Compatibility

If you use Macs, or do a pile of art-oriented projects, this will affect the sort of printer you'll need. Some printers oriented towards Windows users may offer less functionality OR a worse user experience for Macintosh users. If you have PCs that are still running Windows Vista or earlier, or Linux, you'll also want to make sure that the printer includes drivers for those older operating systems. Go to the manufacturing business's website to download drivers for the printing machine; if there are no drivers for the OSs you have, then find another printer.

3. WHO Needs Color (and World Health Organization Doesn't)

Monochrome printing may not be exciting, but it's the mass of printing for many businesses, and good monochrome printers are much less overpriced than colourise models. They are also typically faster, to a lesser extent complex, easier to maintain, and require fewer expensive toner. If you need only itty-bitty numbers pool of color prints at long intervals, an inkjet printer can handle depress volumes easily and won't break the budget. You may also want to consider using an outside service bureau such as Kinko's for occasional color print runs. If you regularly need lots of multicolor pages, moot a high-topped-end inkjet or color optical maser.

[Related: Top 10 Color Optical maser Multifunctions, Lead 10 Distort Laser Printers]

4. Laser and LED Dominate, But Inkjet and Solid Ink Contend

If only a few users need to print color documents, or print in color only occasionally, it might comprise better to buy a high-quality monochrome laser for most users, and an inkjet for the users that need color. Inkjets can produce color comparable to operating room better than even overpriced color laser printers, and some can support the same sorts of print volumes as laser printers. Inkjets are best for photo-quality prints, while lasers and LED printers produce major text and solid graphics.

[Related: Should Your Office Bribe an Inkjet or a Optical maser Printer?]

5. Single- vs. Multifunction: Counterweight Volume With Versatility

If you already sustain a copier, a fax machine, and a networked scanner, you Crataegus oxycantha bring better performance from a stand-alone printer. Multifunctions are versatile only naturally have to juggle more tasks, so they'rhenium better for light-volume use on all functions, or for mostly printing with light copy/scan/fax duties. Plus, one software installation will cover all the functions. On the downside, if a multifunction printer has a ironware trouble, you may not beryllium able to facsimile machine, transcript, or scan either.

6. Research Costs and Reliability

Gross cost of ownership (TCO) goes far on the far side the purchase price of the printer–information technology includes the long-term need for replacing ink operating room toner, advantageous components such as a laser or Light-emitting diode's fuser OR waste toner nursing bottle. Gather each the pricing and page yields upward front end to make sure they bequeath forg with your print content and mass, and especially your budget.

PCWorld's printing machine reviews look at just ink operating theatre toner costs, giving you a head start. In addition, you should look at sites that provide customer reviews, and be sure to look at both high and low ratings; these can clue you in to potential problem areas, such as parts that break quickly, or software driver issues.

PCWorld senior editor Melissa Riofrio contributed to this story.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/474106/pick_the_right_workgroup_printer_six_steps.html

Posted by: mcgaugheyaguied1981.blogspot.com

Share this post