When it comes to finding the best commercial color printer for your needs, the most commonly asked question is; “where do I start?”
The choice of busines laser printers available to buy today is, quite frankly, baffling. The first thing you need to decide is, what will you use your printer for? That may sound like a stupid question, but think about it.
There is such a vast choice of commercial color printers available because there are so many uses for them. If you want a printer just for printing off documents from the internet, you don’t need to spend top dollar, a basic inkjet printer by a good manufacturer will more than satisfy your needs.
If you are a student needing a printer for your coursework, then you may need a better quality laser printer. A small business that will be printing off multiple copies will need a faster printer, with capabilities to ensure that the last piece piece of full color printing that is printed off is as good a quality as the first piece was. If you want to custom print specialist documents and photographs, then you will need to spend the money to get the digital color printing quality that you require.
The two main types of commercial color printer available are inkjet and laser. Inkjet does exactly what its name suggests. It fires the ink onto the paper in tiny jets. A laser printer is rather more complicated, and thus costs a lot more to buy. The full concept of laser printing is far too long to explain in full here, suffice to say that the basic principle in a laser printer is static electricity.
Once you have decided what you will use your business printer for and the type of color printing that you require, it’s time to shop around. Do your research and find out the latest models, especially if you want a commercial color printer or commercial color copier that is at the higher end of the market. That bargain printer may not be such a bargain if it’s an old model. The ink may be harder to get, and if it goes wrong, the parts may not be readily available for repairs.
Have a look online or visit a reputable commercial or wholesale business printing store, where you can discuss your requirements in length. Write down exactly what you want from your commercial color printer, and stick to it. Any salesman worth his salt will try and get you to buy something that you don’t need. Yeah, that extra gadget may seem brilliant, but will you ever use it, and is it worth an extra $100. If it isn’t on your list, you don’t need it.
Also remember that if you are going for an inkjet printer, the prices of the ink cartridges vastly differ between manufacturers. How often do you think you will need to renew the ink? It may be worth paying a bit extra for a commercial color printer if their replacements ink cartridges are a lot cheaper.