Thinking about Saving a Few Bucks while Buying a Printer? Think Again!
Printers have become a necessity for almost every household and business organization. However, many printer buyers often get confused while choosing a printer for their personal or professional use. According to a major study, it has been found that consumers often get lured into buying cheap printers. They choose printers solely on the basis of the purchase price but remain unaware of the fact that it would cost them much more over the life of the printer in the future. This is because of the fact that the cheaper the printer will be, the more expensive ink will it consume. In this Blog, we have brought a printer buying guide for you, so that you can understand each technical factors properly before purchasing a printer.
Don’t Let Cheap Printers Attract You
Market alternatives convey the value of the product to consumers, but it often confuses them about which printer to choose for their personal or professional purpose. With many printer brands available in the market, most naive users having little or no knowledge about printers and choose a device based on the price tag. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons responsible for this:
- Lack of Information
Ink is one of the significant product of a printer. The printer manufactures can “slack fill” their products and can earn profit from the same. Due to insufficient labeling on cartridges and printers, consumers fail to realize the exact cost of operating the printer before purchasing it. Thus, lack of information about the printer’s ink harms the consumer and they purchase a cheap printer without realizing that it will cost them much more in the future.
- Divergence in Printer Costs
The cost of printing a page, a photo or a color graphics vary considerably depending on the printer model and brand which you own. However, it is not labeled anywhere on the printer, printer box, cartridge or retail shelf label. This makes it difficult for the buyer to understand the cost of printing per page at the time of purchasing a printer.
- Cost of Ownership
Printers are durable goods, thus they are used over a span of several years. While purchasing a printer, the consumers focus more on the upfront costs and very often they think about the lifetime cost of operation. Thus, they choose a printer whose upfront cost is lower in contrast to others. But ultimately, due to the inferior quality of components being used in the device, it is found that the cost of printing surpasses the cost of the printer in the long run.
Points to Consider Before Buying a Printer
Whether you are using a laser printer or an inkjet printer, you should be aware of the fact that every printer incurs an ongoing cost of consumables such as toner cartridges or ink tanks. That means, every page that you print using your printer costs something. It can be either a little amount of toner or ink which the printer disperse over the paper. The cost of the small amount of ink or cartridges is known as cost per page or CPP. It is one of the most important considerations while buying a printer.
- The ink or toner cartridges page per yield- It is the number of pages a particular cartridge can print. It is calculated by the printer manufacturer as they use the standard process set up by the ISO.
- The maximum monthly duty cycle- It is the number of pages that the manufacturer suggests that you can print without causing any damage or wear and tear to the printer.
- Cost per page
- Pages per minute(ppm)
- Dots per inch (dpi)
- Resolution
Regardless of these factors, there are factors that misguide buyers and tempt them to buy a low-volume model of printer, which can turn out to be an expensive mistake. To avoid the same, it is always advised to understand the end goals of your print work and then purchase a printer based on the criteria listed below:
- Choose the right printer with the right equipment that will suit your print job
- Understand what sort of printer you require, then invest in the printer accordingly by understanding the best size
- Know the purpose of your print job and then buy a printer accordingly. If you don’t have to print thousands of general leaflets then you can opt for a printer which can print on shorter runs. It will not only save your money, but the conversion to sales will be better
- Look at the price of the ink before buying a printer. If you have to print a lot, it is recommended to use an expensive multifunction printer because the cost of ink is cheap. But if you have to print occasionally, you can choose a printer whose upfront cost is lower.
Also, it is always recommended to use the printer manufacturer’s ink for the better quality of printing. Never forget to have a look at the ink’s cost before buying a printer. Generally speaking, the printer which is cheap in the upfront uses an expensive ink which can cost you more in the long run. Therefore, it’s a smart idea to invest in a high-volume printer if you are investing for professional purpose, as this would be quite cost-effective and the cost of ink is comparatively less.
Investing in the best printer will take care of your expenses:
In this write-up, we have provided relevant information to help you in making a better choice when you look forward to buying a printer. As a well-informed buyer, you should not only aim to minimize the cost involved in purchasing a printer, but also invest in a device that suits your diverse printing needs. Also, don’t forget to select a printer which has maximum power saving features and minimum environmental impact. It is advised to choose a printer with more than 1-year warranty because when your printer develops technical issues, you don’t have to worry about the expenses while rushing to a nearby printer repair service center to fix printer. A careful investment will provide you with the benefits of maintenance and free of cost service within the warranty period.
