Printer Buying Guide 2021: How to Choose the Right Printer for Your Home, Home Office, and Office?

Printer Buying Guide 2021: How to Choose the Right Printer for Your Home, Home Office, and Office?

7 min read | Consumer Electronics

With the ever growing digital transformation, there is an important question of relevance – “How important are printers in 2021?”. Be it customer invoices, partner agreements, offer letters, and more, businesses rely on printers for their day-to-day activities. Even today, people and businesses prefer a hard copy over a digital copy of an important document.

printer stats, printer buying guide 2021, best all in on printerSource

The revenue generated in the segment of printers and copiers amounts to US $9,454 million. The number is huge but it is only fair considering the level of dependency of enterprises and consumers on printers. Printers have been around for decades and yet, choosing the right one for your requirements can be exhausting.

The entire printer buying process can get confusing. There is a long list of printer offering by reputable brands under different price ranges. Printers, for instance, are broadly divided into two categories – Laser Printers and Inkjet Printers [Read: Inkjet vs Laser Printers]. Each category of printers have their own pros and cons but which one should you choose?

You need an expert’s opinion on what to look for when choosing a printer. Welcome to this printer buying guide. We have segregated this buying guide into three sections: For Home, For Office, and Business. What should you look for a printer if you are buying for a home, a small office or your business? Each category contains a printer recommendation towards the end that will suit your requirements. Let’s begin!

For Home

Let’s say that you are running late for school and you have to print you assignment you have been working on last night. Or you are going for an important client meeting and the documents aren’t printed. For similar situations and more, having a printer at your home pays off!

When buying a printer for your home, you should begin with assessing your requirements. The printing needs for different households may vary. For instance, a family with kids might need a printer that prints pictures in high-resolution while the printing needs of another home might just consist of documents.

What Are the Printing Needs of Your Home?

best printer for home use, best hp printer for home use, all in one laser printer, Printer Buying Guide The first step to choosing the best all in one printer for home use is analysing your needs. Try to list all the printing needs (monochrome documents, coloured photos text) or scanning needs you need your printer for. 

It is always a good option to choose a multifunctional printer for your home. Among many benefits, it is better for your budget to buy an all-in-one printer instead of buying a printer and a scanner. All-in-one printers for home use have become quite common and manufacturers like HP, Canon, and Epson don’t charge premium rates for them. 

Here are a list of features you should look for when buying a printer for your home.

Photo Printing

Every home printer should be capable of printing high-resolution pictures. This might not be an obvious need in the beginning, but you will need your home printer for photo printing eventually. Inkjet printers create more impactful colour prints as compared to laser printers.

Speed and Connectivity

In the early days, printer manufacturers used to upsell by making outrageous claims about the printing speed of their products. There are several tests regularized and licensed by the International Standards Organization (ISO) that every printer company should follow. 

Besides, choose a printer that provides multiple connectivity options. Most of the printers are USB enabled but it is not always possible to be in physical proximity of your printer every time you need to print something. Choose the best printer for home use that offers accessibility via a wireless network.

The Cost Factor

The cost factor is an important aspect of the printer buying journey for your home. As such, you should consider not only the upfront costs but also the operating costs such as maintenance, replacing/refilling ink or toner cartridges, etc. when choosing a printer for home use.

For instance, the average price of an inkjet printer is less than a laser printer but the cost per page of inkjet printer exceeds the latter (Read: Toner vs Ink). 

Best Home Printer Offering

HP DeskJet IA 2675 All-in-One Printer (WIFI): Do you need something small and compact for your home? Presenting the world’s smallest All-In-One Printer with WiFi, for only $289. You can get any colour that matches your style and complements your space with available colours like pink, blue, and teal!

Visit our authorized HP service centre and retail store in Downtown (Market St. & Church St.) or Old Parham Rd to buy the AIO 2675 with WiFi – the best HP printer for home use for your home today! 

For Home Office or Small Office

Do you work from home? Are you a freelancer or a remote executive? If you are, you would want the best home office printer for your printing needs. But, what are your printing needs of your home office or small office?

What Are the Printing Needs of Your Home Office?

In 2021 with the COVID pandemic, there is an increase in people working from home – as a freelancer, a remote executive or something else. The printing needs of your home office depend on the type of work you do. 

For instance, if you are a freelance photographer, you will need a printer that can print images in high resolution. On the other hand, if you are a journalist, you might need a printer that can print monochrome documents.

But the next question that comes in is – do you need your printer for faxing, copying or scanning? Even if you don’t realize at the moment, having the best all in one printer can come in handy. 

Here is a list of features you can look for in a small office printer.

Print Speed

It doesn’t matter whether you choose an inkjet or a laser printer, the print speed is crucial. You wouldn’t want a dissatisfied client because of a slow printer, even if you work from home. As such, when choosing a printer for your small office or home office, check its print speed which is usually mentioned under the “Specifications” section.

The Print Quality

The print quality of a printer for your home office or small office will play a significant role in defining you as a “professional” which is pretty important. If you want a printer for high-quality images with vivid colours, you should go with inkjet printers. Laser printers work well for images with mediocre colour quality. If your printing needs consist of monochrome documents, go for an all in one laser printer for sharp and clear texts.

The Cost Factor

If you are buying a printer for your home office or a small office, the overall cost is an important factor. Analyse your requirements and buy a printer that fulfils your needs with creating a hole in your pocket. Consider the Cost Per Page (CPP) of a printer before choosing one for your home office or a small office. Divide the cost of a toner or an ink cartridge by the page yield (as stated on the box) to get the CPP of a printer.

Best Home Office Printer Offering

HP Color LJ Pro MFP M180nw – Color MFP Small: Get vibrant colours, wireless connectivity, easy mobile printing, and fast print speed for your home office with HP LaserJet Pro today! This laser HP Printer is an All-in-One (Print, Copy, Scan) and has a print capacity of 150-1500 pages per month.

Visit ACT’s retail store and authorized HP Service Centre in Antigua to buy original HP printers and printer supplies for your home office.

For Office or Business

When buying a printer for your office, what is more important: is the low cost a priority or is its speed more important? But a printer which contains a perfect blend of both. That being considered, the right printer for your office depends on your printing needs. 

For instance, say that the current printing requirements of your business is about 80-100 pages per month. Now, this number might increase in the next few months or a year. You wouldn’t want to buy a new printer every time your printer requirements go up, right? Buying a printer is a long-term investment for your office and, as such, you should put some thoughts into buying the right one.

The journey to choosing the best office printer starts with analysing what you need.

What Are Your Office Printing Needs?

Make a list of printing needs for your office. Take your time to answer questions like: what do you print – monochrome documents or colourful pictures, do you have any extra needs from your printer, double-sided printing or not? Decide on a budget. This will help filter the printer options for your office.

Here is a list of features you should look for in a printer for your office.

All-in-One

Every office and business have printing, copying, and faxing needs. But instead of buying a printer, a copier, and a fax machine you can go for all-in-one printers. They don’t cost you a fortune and save your money and office space.

Consider The Office Size and Print Volume

Printers come in different sizes but you don’t want a printer to take up a large amount of your office space. There are many compact and highly-functional printers available in the market. 

Make sure that the printer you choose for your office can print more than your average requirement. Such printers can accommodate your printing needs if you decide to expand your business in future.

The Budget Factor

Printer & printing can cost up to 3% of a business’s annual revenue and ranks 3rd, next to payroll and rent. As such, consider the cost, upfront and operating, of printer before buying it for your office. Calculate the Cost Per Page of a printer and choose the one that is more efficient for your printing requirements.

Best Office Printer Offering

HP LaserJet Pro M479fdw: Replace your old HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color MFP M477fdw -Large MFP Color with HP LaserJet Pro M479fdw. With print capacity of 750-4000 pages per month, you can rely on it for the printing needs of your office. 

Why Choose ACT for Printers and Printer Supplies?

Antigua Computer Technology (ACT) has over 30 years of experience as a reliable technology-provider in Antigua. We offer an exclusive range of IT-related products and services for consumers and enterprises. You can buy HP printers for your home, small office or office at authorized HP Service Centre in Antigua and retail store at Downtown (Market St. & Church St.) or Old Parham Rd. Visit our retail stores for printers and OEM printer supplies. We come up with articles about the latest in the world of technology and more. To subscribe to our blog, click here! Call at +1 (268) 480-5228 or fill this form to contact us right now!