Printer marketing is designed to confuse. High-resolution numbers that bear no relation to real-world output quality. Speed ratings measured under optimal conditions you'll never replicate. "Low cost" machines with running costs that dwarf the purchase price within a year. This guide cuts through all of it and focuses on what actually determines whether a printer will serve you well.
Step 1: Know Your Volume
The single most important factor in choosing a printer is understanding how many pages per month you actually print. Be honest with yourself:
- Under 50 pages/month: You're a light user. Almost any printer will work, but running costs matter less because your annual spend on ink will be modest regardless.
- 50–200 pages/month: You're a moderate user. This is where inkjet vs laser vs tank becomes important — the wrong choice here means spending significantly more than you need to annually.
- 200+ pages/month: You're a heavy user. Running costs are your primary concern. A cheap inkjet will cost you multiples of its purchase price every year in ink.
Step 2: Choose the Right Technology
Standard Inkjet — Best for: light home use, occasional photo printing, mixed document and image output. Worst for: high-volume printing (expensive per page), printers left unused for extended periods (nozzles clog).
Ink Tank (Continuous Ink Supply) — Best for: moderate-to-high volume users who want low running costs without laser quality constraints. Worst for: very light users who won't exhaust the tanks before the ink degrades, and users who primarily need high-speed black-and-white output.
Laser — Best for: high-volume document printing, fast output, low running costs at scale, offices where the printer sits unused for days between use (toner doesn't clog). Worst for: photo printing (colour laser quality isn't competitive with inkjet at similar price points), users who need wide-format output.
Step 3: Calculate Total Cost of Ownership
The purchase price is only the beginning. For every printer you're considering, look up the price of the standard cartridges and their rated page yield. Calculate:
Cost per page = cartridge price ÷ rated page yield
Then multiply that by your monthly page volume and by 12 to get an annual running cost. Add the purchase price spread over two or three years. This is your real cost — and it's often five to ten times the purchase price for heavy users of cheap inkjet printers.
Step 4: Ignore These Specifications
Maximum DPI: Manufacturers quote maximum resolution figures that require specific paper, specific settings, and specific conditions. Standard office documents look identical across most printers above 600 DPI. For photo printing, 4800 DPI inkjets don't look four times better than 1200 DPI models.
Maximum print speed: Speed ratings are measured printing simple draft-quality black documents. Real-world speed — including colour, standard quality, with processing time — is typically 30–50% of the rated figure.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity: Almost all printers sold today have wireless. It's not a differentiator.
Step 5: Things That Actually Matter
Automatic duplex printing: If you print more than occasionally, auto-duplex (printing both sides automatically) saves paper and is worth paying for. Manual duplex means feeding paper through twice manually — it gets old quickly.
Paper tray capacity: A 100-sheet tray needs refilling far more often than a 250-sheet tray. If the printer is used daily, this matters.
Cartridge availability: Check that the cartridges are widely available and competitively priced from multiple suppliers. Printers with cartridges only available from one retailer at premium prices are a trap.
Subscription ink requirements: Some printer models are designed around subscription ink plans and impose significant limitations if you opt out — including speed restrictions and feature locks. Read the small print before buying.
Step 6: Check Long-Term Support
Verify that the printer has drivers compatible with your current operating system — and check whether the manufacturer has a history of maintaining driver support for older models. A printer with no Windows 11 driver support in two years' time becomes worthless regardless of its print quality today.