So, it finally happened. Your printer finally gave out in your home office or at work, and now you have to replace it. Well, there is good news and bad news for you to consider. The good news is that there are hundreds of printers for you to choose from, but the bad news is that most people make mistakes when choosing their next printer – mistakes that might cause them to be dissatisfied with the printer later on.

While choosing a good printer sounds like an easy task, the truth is that if you rush right out and hurriedly buy the first printer you come across, you will often find issues or missing features you might have overlooked. In fact, there are so many different features available on today’s printers that this is never a decision to take lightly, whether it’s an office printer for work you need or a printer for home. 

Fortunately, there is an easy solution to this problem, because all it takes is for you to keep some important tips in mind while researching and buying your next printer. Learning the best place to buy a printer isn’t the only consideration, either, because you have to consider many other aspects before you can finally choose the best printer for your needs.

To do this, let’s start by discussing some of the mistakes most people make when choosing not only their next high quality printer, but also their toner cartridges, ink and toner accessories, and everything else related to their printer. Below are five of those mistakes and what to do about them, so that you can find the absolute best printer in the end.

Decide Ahead of Time What You Plan to Do with the Printer

Let’s face it, when it comes to printers, there are so many types available that it is very easy to get a little confused. After all, printers can be wired or wireless, black and white or color, standard or available with other features such as scanning, and can even offer features such as cloud printing and printing of photos and more.

Before you buy your next printer, ask yourself a few questions first. What type of print speeds will you need? Are you going to print photos or just text documents? Will you be using standard-weight paper or thicker paper because you’ll be printing brochures or other promotional materials? Will you only print standard size documents, or do you plan to print banners or wide format pages? All of these answers will affect the printer you end up buying, so they must be considered carefully before you go any further.

In today’s technologically advanced society, the world of printers changes frequently, so the very first thing you’ll need to know before you put down any money on a quality printer is the exact ways the printer will be used after it’s purchased.

Buying an Older Printer Because It Is a “Great Deal”

Once again, technology moves fast, and if you want a good printer, you have to move with it at the same speed. Older printers may work great and produce fantastic-looking documents, but that doesn’t mean they are without problems. Many of the older printers simply won’t work with today’s operating systems, so if you rely on zip drives and USB ports because you’re used to switching from one printer to another to get all of your printing done, those older printers likely won’t be able to accommodate you.

Fortunately, the companies that make printers spell out in detail all of the versions and operating systems their printers are made to work with in their promotional materials and on the packaging, so it is easy to learn for certain if the printer you’re considering buying is going to be compatible with your computer and other electronic devices. 

If in doubt, don’t buy the printer. The last thing you want is to purchase an expensive printer only to find out it will not work with any of your devices, and that happens more often than you think.

Only Considering the Price of the Printer and Nothing Else

If you think the best time to buy a printer is whenever it’s on sale, think again. While getting a great printer at a discount price is wonderful, you have to consider other things as well. For instance, you should keep in mind the other benefits these printers offer, including their Wi-Fi capability, how much their ink cartridges cost, and of course, the quality of the printed documents themselves.

No one who ever buys a printer has the attitude that, “as long as it gets the job done, it’s alright with me.” Instead, you want great quality every time something rolls off of that printer, so in the long run, quality, operating costs, and technological advances will be much more important than the price of the printer alone. But not to worry, because the printer you’ve just fallen in love with is likely to be on sale very soon, so getting the right printer at the right price is always easier than you think.

Thinking That All Printers Are Exactly the Same

There are now standard printers and photo printers, and both laser and inkjet printers, so if you’re going to be mostly printing documents or printing full-color photographs, this will directly affect the type of printer you end up choosing. Printing out photographs requires special paper and special printers, and likewise, a photo printer is useless if all you need is to scan and print standard documents.

Once again, it comes down to deciding what you’ll be using your printer for, as well as which accessories you’ll need to make your projects happen. Even users of digital cameras need to take that into consideration if they’ll be printing directly off of that camera, because when it comes right down to it, every single detail of your work – and of the printer’s features and benefits – must be considered before you make a final decision on which printer to purchase.

Never assume that all printers are alike, and consider every detail of a particular printer before you agree to buy it. It will save you money in the long run. 

Not Taking into Consideration Where the Printer Will Be Housed

Especially if you’re interested in utilizing Google cloud print services or wireless printing, you have to consider where you’ll be placing the printer once you get it to your home or work office. For example, you can’t be setting your printer in your bedroom closet if most of your printing will be done through a wired system, and if the shelf you’re using to house your printer is small, you’ll need to choose one that is narrow and has collapsible feed trays, among other features.

Of course, this cannot be an excuse to choose your printer based on cost per page or pages per cartridge alone. Again, taking all things into consideration is the smartest thing to do when choosing the right printer, and indeed, this is the only way to end up with a printer that you’ll love and which you find yourself using for a very long time.

These simple considerations are easy to remember, and all of them can be crucial when you find yourself in need of a new printer. You’re now equipped to go out and choose a great printer at a great price that will also perfectly suit all of your printing needs.