Planning to buy a printer pero overwhelmed at hirap pumili? We’re here to help, like always. Here are some of the features you should pay attention to before you make your way to the mall or hit that checkout button to ensure you get a printer na sulit at pasok sa budget.

Single or Multifunction

When you think about it, multi-use printers make a lot more sense since they can help you save money. Since it’s packed with Print, Copy, Scan, and Fax functionalities, you won’t have to buy standalone devices or machines for the mentioned features, making it apt if you intend to place it in an area with limited space.

However, if your sole purpose for buying a printer is to print documents, a single-function printer suits you better. This type of printer usually offers better printing capabilities, printing at high speed and providing clearer and finer-quality prints. Moreover, multifunction printers will cost you more money for features you’re not even sure you’d use, although it’s not that bad naman to come prepared for the future.

Color or B&W

Next up is whether you want a monochrome printer or a color one. This one’s pretty easy to figure out since the answer really depends on the type of document you’re printing — whether it’s graphics and images or documents that only need to be printed with black ink. Also, aside from their obvious difference, they differ in cost per copy (CPC), which makes a lot of sense. If you want it colored, you’re gonna have to spend more. This is because printing in color requires four different color cartridges — magenta, cyan, yellow, and black — to print the right color on a single page, making it more costly to refill. In contrast, a monochrome printer uses only one cartridge at a time.

Laser or Inkjet

Here’s probably the more confusing part: Should you get an inkjet or a laser one? Again, this should depend on what you intend to print and how often you need to print them, so we’ll walk you through what these two are best used for.

Laser

Laser printers specialize in accuracy, speed, and economy. 

A laser printer produces sharper and more precise printouts without smudges, smears, or spilled excess ink, making it better at handling texts (especially small fonts). Perfect din ito for documents with charts, diagrams, and fine lines. However, most laser printers cannot handle photo printing, and some may require laser-printer-ready photo papers to do this task, which – honestly – can be pretty inconvenient.

Moving on to speed, laser printers are designed for printing large volumes, so even if it takes some time to “warm up” before producing the first page of a document, this electronic device has a higher pages per minute (PPM) rate. So, if marami kang plan na i-print and you want it printed fast, this won’t let you down.

In terms of price, laser printers are quite expensive, and even the toner or the powder-based printing agent it uses to do its job can be costly. Pero if you could look past that, these printers are not too expensive to keep. Toner cartridges may cost more than ink cartridges, but they last far longer than liquid ink and are more cost-effective in the long run.

Inkjet

Inkjet printers are all about vibrance, making them suitable for photos and image-heavy documents. With its ability to blend colors better, it can produce sharp and high-quality prints na full of life across various types of paper. However, since it applies wet ink, inkjet printers may not be the best choice if you intend to print documents with a lot of texts, exact lines, and diagrams.

When it comes to speed, it may not be a match to its laser counterpart, but a point goes to inkjet printers for not having a “warm up” time before it starts printing. Just power it on (and make sure you still have ink), and you’re good to go. The downside of this is that inkjet printers are prone to having clogged printhead nozzles and can cause a bleeding effect on papers. But don’t worry too much, just learn the right way to care for the printer of your choice and you’re all set.

When it comes to expenses, the initial investment in an inkjet printer is relatively lower than a laser printer. However, it can be quite costly in the long run because it may need frequent ink cartridge replacement depending on how often you use it, making it not as cheap to keep running as laser printers. Pero ‘wag kang mag-alala, since ink cost is a big factor for buyers, brands are offering refillable tanks na and inexpensive ink bottles. 

Connectivity

Like almost every device and gadget you own right now, printers today offer multiple connectivity options and come in wired and wireless versions.

If you’re looking for a wired printer, consider one that offers support for the latest USB type (USB 4.0) to enjoy data transfer between your printer and computer at high speeds. You can also opt for one that connects directly to your network or a router instead of an individual computer if you’re not the sole individual to use it.

However, if you want to rid your desk of wires, you can go for a printer that can connect directly to your WiFi network, sans cables and its limits. This way, anyone whose computer or other wireless devices are connected to the network can use the printer remotely by sending it directly from the device to a photo or document sharing service online.

Other wireless connectivity options are available today, like WiFi Direct, which allows two devices to establish a direct WiFi connection without requiring a wireless router, much like Bluetooth.

See, there are a variety of printers available today, and the features and differences above are not all of it (but it somehow covers the basics). Even so, hopefully, this has been helpful. Choosing the right printer boils down to why you need it in the first place. Identify what you’ll use a printer for, and the decision should come clear to you.

If you’ve got a hint of what you want, feel free to explore Canon’s official store on Lazada to avail promos, discounts, and many more! Malay mo, one of their printers suits you and your needs pala – whether it be a laser printer, a multifunction inkjet printer, or one with a refillable tank!