Looking for a Budget Printer? What You Need to Know

You can get a heck of a lot of value out of budget printers. If you're looking for a very basic A4, mostly text offering, you can get a new printer (with cartridges) for less than the cost of replacing its printer ink or laser toner! However, there are some things you will need to keep in mind when searching for a budget printer - here we look at the top tips for shopping at the bottom of the price range.

 

Know what features you'll want

If you’re shopping in the budget range you can't expect to get a printer with all the bells and whistles. However, most people want one that has, at a minimum:

• An auto document feeder (who wants to stand by the printer feeding in paper?!)
• An info screen to help you diagnose problems
• Copy and scan functionality - this doesn’t necessarily add a lot to the price of printers if you buy on sale.

 

Know how much the printer ink costs
Printer ink is seven times more expensive, millilitre for millilitre, than Dom Perignom champagne. So make sure you grab a budget printer that uses it efficiently, or the $30-$100 savings you initially make will be eaten up with the first printer cartridge change. Of course, if you do a lot of printing a laser printer is much better value, anyway. If you have your heart set on the great photo quality that inkjets provide, also make sure you know how quickly the cartridges are used up - any printer ink store can give you an unbiased opinion.

 

Out of date printer ink?

Separate ink cartridges can make color printing a lot more economical. However, if your printer is the sort that doesn’t want to work with 'out of date' ink cartridges you could end up wasting a lot of cash. Check with the manufacturer on this point, for any model you’re considering buying.

 

Check out customer service
Many budget printers work without a problem. Some do not, and when this occurs you'll need the company's tech support. It's worth putting in a preliminary call to see how long you wait on hold and how difficult it is to speak to a real person.

 

 

Printing on Recycled Paper - 6 Things You Need to Know

Printing on recycled paper in most cases shows no noticeable difference than printing on standard first-time-round stock. You'll use the same amount of printer ink, the color is the same, and the sheets feed through just as easily. However, there are some considerations that you'll need to make in buying recycled paper that aren't immediately obvious. Do make the switch ... but inform yourself first!

 

 

Recycled paper can be re-bleached

Recycled paper can be re-bleached to give it exactly the same perfect white colour as 'new' paper - your printer cartridges will output exactly the same reliable colors that they always have. However, re-bleached paper is nowhere near as environmentally friendly as paper that comes straight off the recycling press. Perhaps keep some of each in stock for different printing purposes.

 

Tree-free paper is available
Bamboo and hemp both grow very quickly and with relatively little water or fertilizer needs compared to trees. You'll need to search a little further to find this far more environmentally friendly type of printer paper, though.

 

Some sizes are difficult to get
You may not be able to get A3, A5 or A2 recycled printer paper. Don't give up on recycled altogether just because you need to buy a different brand for the non-standard sizes, though!

 

Watch for the 'Recyclable'-'Recycled' catch

The symbols for a product that is recycled, and a product that is 'recyclable' look very similar. Every single type of printer paper, no matter how many old growth forests go into it, can put the 'recyclable' logo on their paper. Don't be fooled! 

 

Post-consumer content is better the pre-consumer

Look for higher percentages of post-consumer content to know that you’re doing your best for the environment. This paper has seen far more use already - you'll be helping create a market for much more environmentally friendly paper.

 

Look for green toner cartridges and printer ink to support your paper choice!
Look for printer ink that either utilizes recycled primary products, or from companies that will take back their cartridges for recycling.