The personal printer of today is a disposable item built with cost-effective plastic parts and designed as a short-term solution. Ink is where the profits are for manufacturers. Each unit model has a specific new cartridge – size, shape, design, and function.

On the other hand, Office printers are built for work-load stresses, speed, and durability. These are primarily laser printers.

Printers are either single-function or multi-function. Single-function is print only, whereas multi-function printers can print, scan, copy, and fax.

Personal and office printers are available as either inkjet or laser.

• Inkjet sprays color dots on the paper. The ink is wet and tends to dry up if not used regularly, especially in less humid climates. The most significant advantage of ink is producing rich, vivid color—an exceptional choice for color-preferred users.

• Laser is pretty much the opposite of inkjet. The laser process fuses dry toner onto the paper using magnetism and electricity. The drawbacks of laser are higher electrical usage and the printed color being flat. The pros are speed and no clogging of ink.

Recommendations

Unless color is necessary, I recommend a monochrome single/multi-function printer. Regarding inkjet or laser printers, I side with laser printers as, generally, the printers are better built and last longer, and toner does not dry up like inkjet.

10 Best Printers

• HP LaserJet MFP M234dwe All-in-one
• HP LaserJet M209dwe Wireless Monochrome
• Brother HL-L2350DW Monochrome Laser
• Brother HL-2300D Monochrome Laser
• Canon imageCLASS MF3010 VP Monochrome Laser
• Brother MFC-J1010DW All-in-one Color InkJet
• HP Envy Inspire 7958e Color All-in-one InkJet
• HP DeskJet Color All-in-one InkJet
• Brother MFC-J1170DW Color InkJet
• Canon Pixma Inkjet Color Printer

History Note

Printers have been around considerably longer than computers, further back than 3000 BC. The Mesopotamians used a form of printing with a round cylinder seal onto clay tablets. Over the years, the printing process has evolved into what we recognize as a personalized printer for our technology devices.