How to Buy a Printer

No matter how digital-savvy we think we are, most of us need to put ink to paper from time to time. It may not be as glamorous as the latest tiny gadget, but that trusty, dust-covered printer in the corner is the workhorse many people depend on. PC World tests and reviews three different types of printers -- inkjets, monochrome lasers and color lasers -- on an ongoing basis, and also regularly tests multifunction devices that use each of those printing methods. No matter which kind of printer you're looking for, here's the information you need to make a well-informed purchase.

The big picture From inexpensive inkjets to monochrome and color lasers, different printers are designed to do different jobs. Here's how they stack up, feature by feature.

Key specs explained We unravel the mysteries of print speed, print quality and maximum resolution -- and tell you which specs are really important. more

Printer shopping tips Whether you want an inkjet for home use or a laser printer to take care of the whole office, we've got recommendations to make your purchase easier. more

For most people, choosing a printer entails balancing price, speed and print quality. But as models improve, manufacturers differentiate them in other ways. Inkjet printers, along with digital cameras, have changed the way we print photographs. When loaded with special photo inks and paper, inkjet printers are one of the best options for transforming a digital image into a photograph.

For monochrome lasers -- whose text quality is so good and uniform that models' output samples are sometimes indistinguishable from each other -- breadth of features is a major selling point. This is good news for busy offices: For example, thanks to extra paper trays and more memory, lasers can print more efficiently; they also come with more capable drivers and permit easier remote management. And as color lasers drop in price -- particularly those with built-in networking support -- more users can afford to add color to their workplace documents. The least-expensive color lasers we've seen so far now cost about $300.

To choose the right printer, you have to think honestly about what you'll print and how frequently you'll print it. The type of printing determines the quality you need. How often you print dictates how fast the printer must be and how much you're prepared to spend on each job.

If you print a lot of text, such as letters and other business documents, a laser printer is likely your best bet. They're fast and produce good-looking documents at only a few cents per page.

For office documents containing color charts and other graphics, consider a color laser printer. Color laser prices have dropped so much in recent years as to become affordable for even the smallest office. They often produce black-and-white pages at a cost per page similar to monochrome lasers. And they print color photos that are adequate for plain-paper documents that mix text and pictures, such as newsletters and marketing brochures.

You'll get top photo quality from an inkjet printer. The choice becomes more complicated if you print a mix of photos and text documents. If you're a home user who prints digital camera photos, text documents for your own use (such as driving directions or product recommendations from a Web site), and maybe a few letters a month, an inkjet printer offers a good compromise between quality and speed. You'll need a variety of papers, and you'll have to learn your way around the printer's driver settings. You can reduce how often you swap paper types by purchasing a model with two separate paper trays.