Printers and Printer Care

When choosing a printer there are several factors to consider like:

Print volume and print speed: How many pages do you print a month? This will influence the type of printer you buy. Be careful about buying printers that are designed for home use when you are needing it for a business environment, especially when more than one person will be using it. Inkjet and ink tank printers are generally better for lower volume printing, while laser printers are better for high volumes. Laser printers generally provide the best printing speeds.
Print quality: Do you need high-definition, photo quality colour prints or are you simply needing the normal day-to-day office printing?
Capabilities: Are you needing scanning and photo-copying capabilities? A multi-functional printer will provide these capabilities in addition to printing.
Connectivity: How do you connect to the printer? Are you on a wired network (LAN) or wireless? Do you need wifi-direct or Bluetooth connectivity?
Paper size: Do you need large A3 capabilities or simply the normal A4?
Brand: Do you really need to stick to your brand you have used for years? Being open to new brands may provide you with a whole new experience. You may get better support and newer technology that proves to be more reliable and cheaper in the long-run.
Availability of parts: Do you have support for the printer brand and type? Are cartridges, toners and ink available for the model you are looking at? How close to End-of-life is the model? Perhaps a newer model, while more expensive, may give you longer life with support and consumables being available for longer.
Cost: Consider Total-Cost-of-Ownership. This means considering initial purchase price, cost of consumables (ink/Toner), cost per page and maintenance costs. The ongoing cost of replacement cartridges or toner is often the biggest long-term expense. The cartridge/ Toner yield (how many pages it can print) influences how many pages can be printed before the ink/ toner/ cartridge needs to be replaced. High-yield (XL) cartridges are often more cost-effective. Do some research on the longevity and repair costs.

A note about printer types

Laser: Uses a laser beam to electrostatically add toner which is then heated and fused permanently to the paper. Laser printers are generally used to business printing.
Advantages of laser printers are high speed printing, larger capacity print trays and less costly than inkjet printers. Disadvantages include higher initial purchase cost than other types of printers and the high cost of toners.

Inkjet printers: Use a moving head with one or more printer cartridges filled with liquid ink. These printers can print very high photo-quality prints. Advantages include high quality prints and low initial purchase cost. Disadvantages include slower print outs than laser printers, high cartridge replacement costs and the need to print regularly to prevent the ink drying out.
Continuous Ink Printers (ink tank printers): Very similar to inkjet printers using a moving print head and producing high quality. However instead of having to replace print heads, ink tanks in the printer can be refilled with liquid ink. Ink tank printers work well in business environments. Advantages are similar to inkjet printers with the additional advantage that liquid ink bottles are cheaper to purchase than cartridges leading to a lower operating cost over time. Similarly, disadvantages are like inkjet disadvantages with the added disadvantage that the initial purchase cost is a little higher than other inkjets.

Taking care of your printers

Make sure liquid ink printers are transported upright.
Replace ink/toner when needed: Monitor your ink and toner levels and don’t wait for the low ink light to turn on to replace them. Don’t let ink run out as this can cause problems that may need a technician to fix. Be careful to use the correct ink and colour in each tank/ slot.
Use genuine consumables: It may be tempting to replace depleted cartridges with cheaper, non-branded consumables, but this may represent false economy. These replacements may not offer the same page yield as their branded brethren, so replacements may be needed more often. It may even lead to damage of your printer. Faulty, damaged or poor-quality toner and ink cartridges are responsible for the majority of printer problems.
Use Economy Mode: If your printer offers an economy mode and your print jobs don’t need to be photorealistic, this could be a great option to save ink or toner, and ensure those cartridges last a little bit longer.
Don’t put staples through your printer you can seriously damage the insides!
Check For Software Updates Regularly-It’s important to keep your printer software up to date in order to take advantage of the latest features and get the best performance. Check for updates regularly by opening the printer’s control panel and looking for the software update option. If there’s a new version available, follow the instructions to install it.
Print from liquid ink printers at least several times a week to prevent the ink clogging the print heads.
Do stop dust from getting inside your printer by keeping it covered. Keep printers off of floors and away from open windows.
Do clean the outside of your printer at least once a week. We recommend you use a damp lint-free cloth dipped in water. Alternatively, you can use a small amount of alcohol to wipe away dust, dirt, animal hair and other contaminants. But don’t use strong cleaners as it can damage the printer casing.
Clean the Printer Heads – Blurry prints or streaky ink? Don’t bin the cartridge just yet – run a head cleaning cycle via your printer’s settings. This often clears dried ink or dust from the nozzles and gives your prints a new lease of life.
Before replacing the toner cartridge (Laser), do shake it gently from side to side. This will prolong the life of the toner. It also redistributes the toner so that your printer prints evenly across the page. Then remember to print a blank page first. By running a clean page through your printer, it will pick up lint, dust, and stray toner.
Keep Spare Supplies on Hand. Nothing derails your flow like running out of toner mid-print.