A crucial machine for everyone today is a reliable printer. Everyone should have a printer, for your house, your business, or your dorm room-and maybe all three. Which kind of printer is right for you? There are so many options? Let’s take a look at the options available for you:

Primarily Business Use

If you plan on a buying a printer for your small business, or maybe you’ve been tasked with purchasing a printer for your large company, a multifunction all-in-one printer is your best bet. A standard all-in-one should be able to do far more than just print and save valuable workspace by combining the copier, scanner, printer and fax machine into one. They start at about $100 for smaller ones (like my Canon MX310) and can run into hundreds of dollars for larger workhorses capable of hundreds of pages in just minutes.Sizable conglomerates would probably be more interested in a network laser printer’s features.

Travelers

For travelers, the best option is a lightweight, battery operated portable printer. They sometimes can plug into car phone chargers and feature small size and very light weight. In most cases, they are only 2-4 lbs and some have a feature that allows printing from a cell phone or smart phone.

Home User

Home users demand a variety of functions out of their printers, but probably not very demanding tasks. Responsibilities might include development of home photography or the printing of a report for school. Therefore, printers intended for home use are ideally both hardworking and inexpensive. The way to go definitely lies with the personal Inkjet printer. Inkjets are a little slower than their more recent siblings, the laswerjets, but they will be well up to the tasks presented by a home user. The average Inkjet will run around $50-$100 and replacement ink cartridges will generally be anywhere from $10-$40 depending on what you need. I really like inkcartridges.com for great deals on cheap ink cartridges.

Authors and Students (especially college)

With more intense usage of the printer, such as that demanded by college students writing final essays or an author cranking out hundreds of pages a day, an Inkjet becomes too slow and expensive to be a reasonable choice. This would be a great place to consider a Laserjet printer. The printer itself will cost more, but the savings in ink will eventually add up (important for both college students AND authors). A Laserjet will usually start at around $200, but shop around.