I want to buy a printer, what should I take into account?

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They use LED lights to load the drum where the dust used to print is adhered.They are more compact and silent, and in theory they consume less energy, but unless you print much you will not notice it on the electricity bill.

Lately, mobile printers have become fashionable:

Portable printers that use individual photographic paper and communicate with the smartphone through an app.They offer quality photos and do not need ink (it comes in the paper itself) but they are expensive, and they can only take pictures of a size.

Print quality

Regardless of the type of printer you choose (injection or ink), the quality of the printing is measured in PPP or DPI, that is, points per inch.The higher this value, the more definition and detail show the impression.For example, the most basic models printed at 1200 PPP (horizontal resolution).The most professionals exceed 4.000 PPP.Eye because many brands fat this data scrutinizing in the relescalados.Make sure it is real resolution.

Of course, the quality of printing does not only influence the resolution.Also other aspects such as color loyalty, black and gray ranges, etc..Review Reviews of the printers that interest you.

Black and white or color?

You should also decide if you want a color printer, or black and white.If you are only going to print text documents, or it is a homemade printer for simple tasks such as printing cards, drawings for children, school projects, etc., can be worth with a black and white.Today prices have matched a lot, but as always what you have to value is the price of ink.A color printer demands at least three color cartridges and another black.

Multifunction printers

Most printers, except for the cheapest ones, include a scanner, with the ability to photocopy (that is, scan and print on a single action).Before it was an essential complement, for example to scan documents and turn them to PDF, and thus send them online.Today this function can be carried out by the smartphone.There are apps that photograph a document and make it PDF, photo, etc..The printer scanner usually offers better results (for example when focusing the document) and more resolution, but today it is not essential as a few years ago.

If the printer that interests you includes scanner, check out its resolution, the most basic ones usually use 1.200 ppp or PPI (points per inch), but if you are looking for a good professional scanner you have to climb at least up to 4.800 ppp.

Keep in mind that the cheapest multifunction require introducing the leaves into the scanner, one by one, raising the lid.The most advanced have an automatic tray that allows you to introduce several sheets to photocopy them automatically, without having to go one by one.Some also use a dual scanner that allows you to scan the two sides of a sheet at the same time.

The printers that only print are cheaper and less prone to suffer failures, having less components.

3D Comgrow Creality 3D Ender 3D printer

The 3D Comgrow Creality 3D Ender 3 printer is one of the most affordable and best valued of Amazon.It is a 3D DIY printer with a print surface of 220 x 220 x 250 mm.You only need 5 minutes of heating, and is able to resume impression when it stops.

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The ink dilemma

As we said at the beginning, the main expense that you have to assume when buying a printer is the ink, so it is very important that values the cost of spare parts.

Me quiero comprar una impresora, ¿qué debo tener en cuenta?

As we have said, in the case of color ink injection printers, which use cartridges, most use four colors: magenta, yellow, cyan (blue) and black (what is known as CMYB).

Some, focused on photography, add an additional color or black with pigments to better reflect saturation or brightness.There are even use 6 to 12 cartridges.

Some cheaper printer models usually include a single color cartridge that includes cyan, magenta and yellow inks:

The problem you have is that there is always a color that is spent first, and when you occur you have to change the entire cartridge, even if it is ink from the rest.Its main advantage is that the print head is usually incorporated into the cartridge itself, so the ink is less exposed to the air, and does not dry so frequently inside the cartridge if you use it little, as with the individual cartridges.Also if the head is broken, just change the cartridge.

Although these types of printers are cheaper in the long run ink, so it is advisable to buy a printer with individual cartridges.

Laser printers always use one (black) or four toners (black, magenta, cyan, and yellow).

The new rechargeable ink printers use ink bottles with which you recharge the tanks.Here it is easier to use original ink or other brands:

Prices and variants

When you have located two or three printers that interest you, go to stores such as Amazon or PC components and check how much an official cartridge costs.In its specifications they indicate how many pages each cartridge prints (in practice it is usually a smaller number).Depending on what you plan to print, make calculations and check what you would spend with one or the other in a year.

Keep in mind that many brands offer discounts when buying cartridge packs.They also have high capacity or XL versions, which are thicker and contain more ink.They are more expensive but compensates if you are going to print a lot.But you have to be careful because if you spend a lot of time between impressions, the ink can dry you.

We are not going to ignore that there is a whole secondary market with compatible, cheaper inks, and fillable cartridges.In many cases the inks are of poor quality (they last less, they are deleted before, they dry, obstruct the heads, or the print quality is worse) and there are manufacturers that detects and blocks them.

Other technical characteristics

Wifi, LAN, cloud, bluetooth or cable?

All printers can be connected by USB cable to the computer, or with a LAN network cable, but today we also print from the mobile, the tablet and other wireless devices.Almost all new models agree to connect by WiFi, Wi -Fi Direct (direct Wi -Fi connection between two devices without intermediate access point) and some also by Bluetooth.

The advantage of the wifi is that it has more reach, so the printer can be further.You leave it in a corner of the house or office, and print from anywhere, even at a distance, through the Internet.If the printer is also compatible with printing systems such as Google Cloud Print or Apple Airprint, or with initiatives such as Eprint (email print), you can print without cables and even without installing any specific app on your mobile.

Bluetooth connection offers a lower range than Wi -Fi, but in return it is easier to link with the mobile or tablet, and does not require Internet connection.

The most modern models allow connection to cloud services to print documents without downloading them.Some are compatible with Dropbox, Google Drive and the like, but also have their own cloud services and offer free space to their users.

Card reader and USB

Some printers include an SD card reader.It is a good option to directly read the documents and photos of the smartphones, tablets, or the Nintendo Switch console, for example.

They are also frequent that they include a USB input to connect an external storage device: pendrive, hard drives, etc..

Better with screen and keyboard

Most modern printers can work without the need for a computer.That is why they have a screen that shows the status of the printer, and allows you to select the main functions.When buying a printer, if you are going to print a lot outside the PC you should buy a printer with a screen and, preferably, touch and with keyboard, to be able to perform small editing or customization of the documents, before printing.

Processor and memory

Current printers are small computers that can work without a PC.So it is convenient to look at the processor and the memory they use.This will not influence the quality of printing, but in aspects such as speed to process orders, or the ability to install apps and perform advanced functions.

It is much more important in laser printers, which print page to page (and therefore they have to generate it in memory) than in ink injection, which print line to line and only process small blocks of data.

Many printers do not include this information in their specifications, so you will have to search on websites or printer forums to discover them.The cheapest ones usually have processors of one or two nuclei at 400 or 500 MHz, and between 64 and 128 MB of RAM.Any data superior to those is an extra to consider.

The software

For a basic print function it is not important, but in office environments, or at the professional level, we must examine the software carefully.

As we have said a modern printer it is like a mini -prosecutor.Some even accept their own apps, which you can download and install.They are able to connect to your social media or cloud accounts, to print directly without downloading content.Some can also send documents (for example a scan) to a FTP server, or a cloud file warehouse.

If you print many private documents, you are interested in including security functions.Many require a pin to access documents, or print.

If several people use it, check that it allows you to create individual users, to whom you can assign a volume of daily or monthly pages, so that it does not abuse.

Return with paper

When buying a printer you have nothing to leave by chance, especially if we have little space to place the printer.It is important to check where the paper loads, and whether or not to store it in the printer, so as not to have to place it every time we print.

The cheapest printers usually load the paper on the top.This is a problem if you are going to put it in a bookstore, for example.There are those that load the paper on the front or the rear, check it if you are going to place it stuck to the wall, or on the edge of a table.Most have a load capacity of between 50 and 200 sheets.

It is also interesting that the printer prints two sides, to save paper.Although it is possible to do it with all of them, through the software (you will have to manually turn the leaves).

If you print a lot, check the printing speed of the printer, measured in PPM (pages per minute) or at the time it takes to print the first page.Keep in mind that a black page does not take the same as another color.Cheap printers are usually quite slow.In fact this is the main limitation of its price, even more than printing quality.

Most printers only allow you to use A4 size sheets, but some (more expensive) also accept A3.Check that the load tray is prepared to accept envelopes and labels.

Other aspects to consider

Some last details will allow us to refine to the maximum the purchase of a printer.

If you have little space, check if the transformer is internal or external.Some printers carry it out, in the power cable, and occupies a lot.

Some models offer fax function.It is almost not used, but they are still useful in the office.

Also check if it allows you to print in monochrome when the color is exhausted.Most allow it, but not all.

Printers use different print languages, which are usually linked to a brand.Almost all applications are compatible with everyone, through the operating system, so it is not a problem.But if you use your own creation software, make sure it is compatible with the language of your printer.Some of the best known are PCL6/BR-SCRIPT3 or GDI.

Choosing a printer is not a simple task, but with this guide you will have a little easier to decide what suits you.Good purchase!