A Printer Guide: From Print Quality to Premium Toner Cartridge

Is your office or business in need of a new printer? Investing in the right office supplies is the key to making the most out of your budget.

When it comes to buying office supplies, small businesses are at a disadvantage. Did you know that businesses with less than five employees spend an average of $1,844 per employee per year on office supplies?

It’s why most small businesses opt to buy cheaper printers instead. Investing in laser printers with a premium toner cartridge can cost the same. They'll even give you better-quality prints.

Continue reading below and we’ll show you how to buy a printer that’s worth every penny.

1. Consider the Budget

Before you start looking for printer models, know the limits of your budget. The different printers on the market have varying prices. The price can range from under $50 to $500.

Beware the cheapest printers you find. They might consume very expensive ink, which defeats the purpose of getting an affordable printer. Or, an expensive printer may use affordable replacement ink and toners.

This kind of price contradiction is common. Higher-priced ink replacements are how manufacturers of affordable printers make evens. 

Looking up the prices of printers and replaceable items online is essential. A little online digging goes a long way. If you’re committed to investing in a printer, invest in a laser printer instead. 

A laser printer might seem expensive at first. However, the print quality and amount it offers are well worth the investment. It can even help you save money on toner cartridges, which is one of the most basic needs of printer users.

2. What Print Quality Do You Need?

If the print quality is what you’re after, then it’s fine to look at it first. The printer type that provides the best image quality is a laser printer. However, the high-quality print comes with a big price tag and running costs.

Laser printers come in two kinds. Monochrome laser printers use only black toners. They also need only black toner cartridges.

The other kind is the color laser printer, which uses four colors to print. These colors are magenta, cyan, yellow, and black. The printer uses different amounts of each color to create various colors during printing.

Remember, laser printers have the highest quality of prints. Laser printers have a precision that creates sharper and clearer images. It’s a feature that other kinds of printers don’t have.

Consider the image resolution and color gamut of the printers. Laser printers have advantages in both features. A typical laser printer model is at 1200 or 2400 dpi, which is perfect in photo-printing.

Non-laser printers like the inkjet use ink, which creates a lower print yield. Inkjet printers produce prints with decent quality. However, if your business relies on high-quality images, choose laser printers.

3. How Fast Do You Need to Print?

How large is your business? How many people in your office need fast printing? How much printing doesn’t get done in the day due to slow print speed?

When you’re buying a printer based on speed, look at the pages per minute or PPM. Consider a printer’s PPM ratings for pages with images and pages with text. If you see one PPM speed only, this often refers to how many pages of black text the printer can produce within a minute.

Let’s say the business is on a tight budget and you can only afford one printer per department. If you get a laser printer with a premium toner cartridge, you likely won’t have any problems. Laser printers are suitable for fast printing.

This is because of the incredible precision of laser printers. Thus, they don’t take up too much time printing. Inkjet printers, meanwhile, have a lower PPM speed.

4. Choose a Premium Toner Cartridge

When you’re set on buying a laser printer, consider the toner and toner cartridge. Make sure you always get high-quality toners and toner cartridges. As we mentioned earlier, laser printers outplay the inkjet in almost all aspects.

Laser printers and toner cartridges have high PPM speeds. They produce sharp and clear image prints. A laser printer also siphons unused toner and reuses it, avoiding wasted resources.

To make the most out of your laser printer, choose premium toners and toner cartridge. They might be more expensive. However, you’ll get compensation from higher yield and increased longevity.

5. Take Printer Features and Accessibility Into Account

The newest printers of the market come with new connectivity options. The USB port isn’t the only one that you use to connect your printer to a computer. Now, the new printer models have Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth connectivity too.

Some machines even support AirPrint from Apple devices and/or Cloud Print by Google. These allow printer access even without having to put your files through the computer. That means you can connect your mobile phone straight to the printer.

In 2017 alone, offices from around the globe used up 400 million metric tons of paper. Not to mention the addition of electricity and print costs. In response, companies began the paper-light and paperless approach. 

Some manufacturers encourage this movement with models that allow quick editing. This way, you can reduce font sizes and use up less paper before the printing begins. Many printers also have an energy-saving mode.

Does your business also need a fax machine, copier, and scanner? To save up on equipment spending, get an All-in-One device. This machine will be more expensive but it’ll cost less than the total value of individual machines.

Finally, take note of the ease of use of the printer before you buy it. It may have all these advanced features but may prove to be difficult to use. Unless you’re willing to train your employees, stick with more accessible printers.

Find the Printer for You

That’s it for our guide on how you can find the perfect printer for your business. We hope you found this post to be helpful and enjoyable. For more information on getting a premium toner cartridge, read our other guides.

Is your laser printer in need of quality toners or toner cartridges? Tell us about it and we may have the right thing for you. If you want updates on new products, promotions, and sales, sign up for our newsletter.