Getting Set UpAccessories

Printers have changed a lot in the past few years. The conventional wisdom used to be that inkjet printers were the obvious choice for most of us, given their low cost and the added bonus of color printing. Inkjets are still a good choice, but they're no longer the only game in town. Laser and dye-sublimation printers, and all-in-ones have arrived on the scene.

Laser printers cost more up front, but inkjet costs can keep adding up.

Deciding between an inkjet and a laser printer can come down to initial cost versus ongoing cost.

• Inkjet printer prices continue to fall; many models are now available for well under $100. However, replacing the cartridges (they contain the liquid ink, which is literally sprayed onto the paper), many of which are good for only a few hundred pages-or even less if you're printing photos)-can over time cost nearly as much as the printer's purchase price. That inexpensive printer you started with can quickly end up being very expensive to maintain.
• Laser printers, including color models, have also become much less expensive-a good color laser printer costs about $400 or so; far less for monotone (black ink-only) machines. And while replacing all four of the toner (a powder that is heated to bind it to the surface of the paper) cartridges can be expensive, it will typically print 5,000 or more pages.
• The cost per page to print with an inkjet printer is often reckoned to be about five times that of a laser printer (it varies dramatically by model, but ten cents versus two cents per page is not uncommon). The bottom line: if you print more than about a ream of paper (500 sheets) per month, you should at least consider a laser printer.

Dye sublimation: the photo specialist.

Still fairly unknown to most people, dye sublimation is a specialized type of printer that uses a thermal process and special paper to create glossy prints that look and feel like they came from a traditional photo lab. Large format dye-sublimation printers are very expensive; these are the ones you see at drugstores in self-serve, photo-printing kiosks. Snapshot-sized machines are available in the $100 range, and they typically give great results. Some portable models let you plug in a digital camera while on battery power so you can snap and print scenes from a family reunion, ball game, or anywhere your camera takes you.

All-in-ones: the Swiss Army* knife of office machines.

If you need additional office equipment-a copier, fax machine, and a scanner-consider buying an all-in-one unit that, in addition to printing, combines multiple functions. They can save a lot of space, especially in cramped home offices, and you'll usually save money compared to buying multiple machines. Most all-in-ones are based on inkjet technology, and they cost little more than a simple printer, but you might be surprised how much you'll use the copier, scanner, and fax features.

Making the choice.

For most of us, cheap and reliable inkjet printers may still be the best choice. On the other hand, if you print a lot, especially in black and white, a laser printer will be cheaper to maintain, and it may give you more years of service, especially if several people use it. Check the comparison table to help you choose the best printer type for your needs.

What else?

More features to keep in mind:

• Number of cartridges (inkjet printers, only).
  If you are buying an inkjet printer, you should probably make sure each ink color is in a separate cartridge! Many inkjet printers (especially the less expensive ones) combine all of the ink colors except black into a single cartridge. This means you'll need a replacement cartridge when only one of the three colors runs out, which is wasteful and expensive. By the way, those three colors (used in all three printer types) are cyan, magenta, and yellow–think of them as blue, red, and yellow and you'll be pretty close.
• Resolution.
  This is the number of "dots" a printer can print per square inch. It is expressed as a pair of numbers, like "1200x1200," which literally means that at its maximum setting, the printer can print a set of dots 1200 dots wide by 1200 dots high in each one-inch-square grid. The higher the numbers, the better the print quality.
• Pages per minute (PPM).
  Different manufacturers use different ways to calculate pages per minute, so you'll probably find this a useful comparison only for printers from the same manufacturer. Also, pages per minute in real life will probably be less than the "ideal" figure.
• Network connectivity (wired or wireless).
  It's nice to have this feature built in, so the printer can simply be attached to your network for easy access by everyone in the house. (It's possible to "share" a printer connected directly to one computer on the network, but it's slightly more complicated to set up, and that computer must be running for others to access the printer.)
• Memory.
  All printers have a small processor that uses memory just like the processor in your computer. More memory can increase print speed, especially for large pictures. Upgrading the memory may improve performance, particularly for high-end printers.
• Photo quality.
  The term "photo quality" is a relative one because it can vary a lot between printers, but it does identify that the printer is marketed specifically for photos. Before you buy, make sure you see the printer in action. If possible, print one of your own digital pictures–a close-up of a face is best. Special photo paper will enhance quality.
• Media support.
  Many printers can print directly from memory sticks that fit in digital cameras or other memory media like USB flash drives. This can be a very convenient feature, depending on how you will use your printer.
• PictBridge*.
  You can use this technology to connect a digital camera directly to a printer, without a computer. (Both the printer and the camera must support PictBridge.)
• LCD screen.
  Many printers have a small screen that lets you control things like PictBridge printing, print size, layout (for multiple prints per page), print quality, and so on. This feature is especially useful when printing without a computer.
• Photo inks.
  Higher-quality photo inkjets may have extra ink cartridges (often up to eight) to help print higher-quality pictures. These "photo" inks are translucent instead of opaque like regular ink, which lets the printer create more sophisticated photo effects.