How to Choose the Best Home Laser Printer

Deciding on the best home laser printer has one major advantage over choosing an ink jet printer - the ink. At first glance an ink jet printer might seem like the more affordable choice. They're generally less expensive than a laser printer. However, when you start factoring in the cost of ink cartridges you'll find that you'll save money in the long run if you buy a laser printer.

Here's what you need to look for to choose the best home laser printer for your needs:

Print speed - One of the things that people look at to help them determine the best home laser printer is the print speed, usually measured in PPM (Pages Per Minute). Obviously the faster the print speed the better the printer. But consider your home printing needs. If you're talking about a report for school here and a recipe or two there then you don't need to be able to print 20 pages per minute. Don't pay extra for print speed because it won't really effect you.

Resolution - The print resolution will also have an effect on the price of the printer you choose. Again, consider how you're going to use the printer. If you're going to be printing photos then you'll want to go with a higher resolution printer so your pictures will turn out better. But if you're only printing a flyer or an ad for your babysitting service you probably won't need that extra resolution.

Compatibility - Make sure when you choose the best home laser printer for your family that it's also the best printer to work with your computer. All printers do not work with all computers. You generally see compatibility information on the package. If not, consult with a salesperson to make sure.

Warranty - Every manufacturer has it's own warranty and they're all different. Make sure you know what type of warranty comes with the printer you're interested in. It may very well cover your printer for 1 year or 2, but if you have to pack the printer up in special packaging and ship it to the Moon for repairs, at your own expense, then you might want to look at a different printer.

Toner Cartridges - While you don't need to buy ink cartridges for your laser printer you do need tobuytoner cartridges and they can be more expensive than ink. However, toner cartridges will last a lot longer than ink which is why you generally save money overall when you buy a laser printer. But you'll want to take toner pricing into consideration, too.

Paper - Be sure to see what kind of paper you'll need for that laser printer. Some won't print well on shiny papers so if you're planning to use your printer for photos you'll want to make sure it can handle photo paper. If you typically use card stocks or other non-standard types of paper you'll want to be certain that you´r new laser printer can handle it.

A very popular home laser printer is the Brother HL 2270 DW Wireless Monochrome Printer