Choosing a Printer type | Top 12 Buying Tips | Variety of Printer types | Printing components | Printer features and characteristics

Search at TigerDirect.com:

Demands to Construction: Any printer must be comfortably in your workspace A truly well-designed unit will provide you access to all points in the paper path to clear paper jams quickly. Ink jets usually have only one cover to open, but lasers can have multiple access doors--especially if they use S-shaped paper paths. Removable paper trays and their rails should be sturdy enough to handle quick ins and outs, and flip-down input trays and paper guides shouldn't be so delicate that they break after a few uses. Paper path design is also important. Some printers--especially lasers--use S- or U-shaped paths, while many ink jets use nearly straight-through designs. Generally speaking, the straighter the path the fewer jams; however, curved paths make more flexible input and output tray configurations possible.

Control panel: Onboard controls vary widely between printers. On many  printers, it is reasonable to expect an LCD panel with text messages, scrollable configuration menus and indicator lights. Such control panels allow you to change setup options directly at the printer without using the driver software. Ink jets typically offer less control. Some ink jets offer only a power button and power indicator light, delegating all real control to utility software in order to reduce hardware complication--and cost. Although software control panels usually work quite well, some ink jets offer more hands-on functionality for flexible use. An ideal ink jet will at least let you change quality modes with a single touch at the unit and offer a light to indicate low ink levels.

Interface: Most printers use a parallel connection to PC. However, other interfaces are also available. Many ink-jet printers include  connectors making them compatible with both the PC and Macintosh platforms. Serial connectors are also available for both ink jets and lasers, though they are rarely used with PCs anymore. More advanced interfaces offer more flexible printing solutions. Some printers now come with infrared I/O ports that allow wireless printing from notebooks or other devices with infrared ports. If  the printer  comes with an Ethernet interface standard, you can quickly attach it to your network to share among several users. While there are many interface possibilities, a printer seldom comes with the hardware for all of them. Make sure to note which interfaces are standard on a printer and which require optional hardware.

Software. Sometimes if you see two printers with the same features but a significant difference in price, the higher price may be due to the type and amount of software offered in the package.

Drivers: The printer driver is no longer just a file that makes a printer work with the computer.  In addition to basic settings such as copies, page size, and orientation, drivers also provide control for resolution, text smoothing and media types.

Languages: Laser printers use one of two print languages: HP-PCL or Postscript. Postscript is a more complex language and is used in printers that handle complex graphics. Some printer manufacturers choose not to pay PostScript's high licensing fees, and instead use a clone interpreter to convert the PostScript language into printer commands. 

Resident Fonts are fonts built into the printer. Resident fonts can be printed quickly by the printer at very high resolutions.

Applications: Software is often an overlooked part of a printers purchase - keep in mind when you're choosing a printer.  Some companies offer their own integrated bundle of applications, while others include separate programs. Typical bundled applications include greeting card, poster, and banner creators. Other common programs let you edit and apply effects to photographic images. Many ink-jets targeted at home users, include software for kids that provide a user-friendly way to create word processing and graphics documents. Some such bundles even include subscriptions to family-friendly online services.

Printer paper trays can hold as few as 50 sheets of paper and as many as 500, depending on the model, so consider the volume of printing you'll be doing, and choose accordingly. Front feed uses rubber rollers to bring the top sheet from the tray into the printer. The tray for new sheets is placed in front of the printer, requiring more desk space. Whereas Top feed printers feed the paper down into the printer and hence they don't require as much space.