Setting up a home office can be satisfying and rewarding, but it can also be a tedious task. The tediousness comes from choosing all the necessary equipment and devices that you are going to need in order to be productive and able to do all your daily tasks. And probably the biggest challenge can be choosing the right printer. However, there are ways to make this a bit simpler of a task, you just have to take into account your needs, but let’s see what factors determine the choice of printers.
Inkjet or Laser?
This is the first and probably the most important question you can ask yourself regarding printers. Deciding on whether you need an inkjet or laser printer relies on how much you plan on printing. Inkjet printers use cartridges of ink that are applied to the paper in the process, and laser printers use toner, which is a type of dust that bonds to paper.
Inkjet printers are for those of you who don’t have to print dozens of pages every day. Cartridges can get empty pretty fast, so if you don’t have to print that often, these can be a good solution. Another benefit of inkjet is that it is good for printing just about anything – glossy photos, pie charts, essays, documents, etc.
Laser printers, on the other hand, cannot print out in color. They are perfect for printing out documents and they last much longer than cartridges since they do not use any. So, if your job includes handling thousands of printed pages of documents, laser printers are a good fit. There are also color laser printers, good for printing out photos and charts, but they usually cost much more.
High-Quality Printing
There are professions that rely on having a good printout of your product, or presentation. If you are an architect, a photographer, or a designer, you will have to have a good printer at home that can help you bring your work to life. You cannot rely on black-and-white printouts, you will need quality images, presentations, blueprints, and many other documents. That is why most people from these professions tend to go for a bit more expensive printers, but for a good reason.
Good printers for architects, for example, should be able to print out high-resolution blueprints, CAD drawings, specifications, revisions, and rendering, and you should look into getting such a printer for your home office. This same rule applies to photographers who will mostly rely on good photo printers that can bring their ideas, art, and work to life, without any smudges or blurry and pixel-y parts. So, it is safe to say that your job and skills will determine the type of printer you need.
Multifunction Printers
A multifunction printer is a great choice if your job requires plenty of office work, so to say. These printers, as the name suggests, have a few functions in them – faxing, scanning and printing. They also come in both inkjet and laser varieties, and people usually call them “all-in-ones” printers.
Choosing a multifunction printer for your home office makes a lot of sense. They are cheaper than buying a printer and a scanner individually, and they can save you a lot of space if your home office is limited.
Connectivity
This is another crucial factor when choosing a printer. Today, almost all printing devices offer multiple connectivity options. Thanks to technology, Wi-Fi and cloud computing and printing is today a standard, but there are connections that may be more useful when it comes to some specific projects.
You can also rely on a good old USB connection since it is a very common occurrence with printers. This will allow you to hook up an external hard drive and a variety of other devices when needed. Plus, when connected, you can use the printer’s menu screen to print files directly off of those devices, without having to rely on a computer. This comes in handy if you use your camera a lot, or other devices supporting the PictBridge standard.
Another connectivity option to consider is SD cards. Some printers have slots for those cards and you just have to pop them in and use the printer’s menu again to choose and print out whatever you need.
Duplexing
Duplexing or two-sided printing and scanning is becoming a very common thing. This can save you a lot of time, energy, and paper, so you don’t have to waste one-sided prints or flip over the pages manually. Duplex printing and scanning is a major convenience, especially if you have to frequently print two-sided documents.
When choosing a printer the main factor will be your needs. Try to figure out how often you plan on using a printer, what type of documents you need to print, and take into account your profession. With these factors in mind, you won’t make a mistake when choosing a printer for your home office.
Randolph Spencer is a professional writer and blogger with 10 years of experience. He likes traveling around the globe and writing about various topics that he finds interesting for his readers.
