Printers

Inkjet, laser and tank printers for desks, home offices and shared workgroups

The printer market splits along two clean lines: inkjet versus laser, and single-function versus multifunction. The right machine depends mostly on monthly volume, the colour-versus-monochrome mix, and how many users will share the unit. Headline price is usually the smallest factor in the total cost; cost per page over the unit's life is the bigger one, and that is what separates a good office printer from a regrettable one.

What this section holds

Home and home-office inkjet printers, tank-based inkjet printers for higher volume, monochrome laser printers for text-heavy office use, colour laser printers for mixed office work, and workgroup multifunction printers (multifunction printer, MFP) for shared office use. Both single-function and multifunction models in each technology.

How to choose a printer

Match technology to the workload

Inkjet wins on photo and graphic-rich printing, low entry price and a small footprint. Laser wins on text-heavy office work, higher pages per minute and lower cost per page at volume. Tank-based inkjet printers (refilled from bottles rather than cartridges) sit in between, with low cost per page and good colour quality but a higher upfront cost.

Look at duty cycle and recommended volume

Printer specs include a maximum monthly duty cycle (the most pages the unit can print without damage) and a recommended monthly volume (the level at which it operates reliably long-term). For office buyers, the recommended volume is the figure that matters; running a printer at its maximum duty cycle constantly shortens its life.

Plan paper handling

Standard input trays hold 100 to 250 sheets. High-volume printers add 500-sheet trays and optional cassettes that bring total capacity to 1,500 sheets or more. Automatic duplex (two-sided printing) saves paper. Multi-purpose trays handle envelopes, labels and odd paper sizes.

Pick connectivity for the user pattern

Universal Serial Bus (USB) direct works for one user with one personal computer (PC). Ethernet is the fastest and most reliable for shared office printers. Wi-Fi suits home offices and small offices without dedicated cabling. Cloud and mobile printing options handle phones, tablets and remote staff.

Key features to compare

Print speed

Pages per minute (PPM) is measured under standardised conditions, usually with simple text. Real-world printing of mixed colour and complex layouts is slower. Compare the same metric across printers (the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) PPM number is the standard) rather than headline marketing figures.

Cost per page

Published cost per page assumes standard cartridges at standard yields. Extra-large (XL) cartridges, third-party cartridges and tank refills lower this. Calculate cost per page over the unit's expected lifespan; the difference between two printers can outstrip the purchase price difference within a year.

Multifunction features

Modern multifunction printers include flatbed scanning, an automatic document feeder (ADF) for multi-page scanning, double-sided ADF for duplex scan in one pass, fax support and direct USB scanning to a thumb drive. For office use, a duplex ADF is the feature that pays back daily.

What to check before buying

• Monthly print volume and the recommended monthly volume on the printer's spec sheet?
• Colour or monochrome, with a realistic mix of photo versus text?
• Cost per page across all the cartridges or tanks the printer uses?
• Connectivity that matches how users will actually send jobs?
• Paper handling for the typical paper sizes, envelope and label work?

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between duty cycle and recommended monthly volume?

Duty cycle is the absolute maximum number of pages the printer can produce in a month without immediate damage. Recommended monthly volume is the level at which it can run reliably long-term. Compare like for like across models, and buy at the recommended volume rather than the duty cycle ceiling.

Are tank-based inkjet printers worth the higher upfront price?

For offices printing 200 pages a month or more, yes. Cost per page on tank-based printers is dramatically lower than on cartridge inkjets, often 10 to 20 times cheaper. The upfront price is recovered within a year of regular printing. For occasional home use, the upfront price difference is harder to justify.

Why is my new printer slow at first?

Most modern printers wake from sleep, perform a brief calibration and then start printing. The first page takes 5 to 15 seconds; subsequent pages run at the rated PPM. Calibration cycles also run periodically to maintain print quality, usually invisibly between jobs. Constant slow printing usually means a network or driver issue rather than the printer itself.

Is a colour printer needed for mostly text printing?

If colour is genuinely rare (a few sheets a year), a monochrome laser is faster, cheaper and simpler. If colour comes up weekly (presentations, marketing materials, signed forms), a colour laser or inkjet pays back in not having to send those jobs to a print shop. Most offices benefit from a single colour multifunction printer, even when most pages are monochrome.

How long do printers last?

A quality office printer used within its recommended monthly volume lasts 5 to 10 years. The fuser, drum unit and ADF rollers usually need replacement after 100,000 to 300,000 pages depending on the model; after that, repair becomes economic only on higher-end printers. Inkjet printers tend to be replaced sooner because of cartridge economics, not mechanical wear.