So you have finally decided to join the 21st century and buy an inkjet printer? Or maybe you’re updating from one printer to another. There are a lot of options out there and many specifications to consider.

Are you looking for an all-in-one machine? Do you know how many pages per minute (PPM) the printer should output? Do you want just blank printing or color as well? What about photos? The amount of information available and the questions you’ll be asked are numerous. It’s a daunting task but finding the right product to spend your hard earned cash on is always that. Thankfully there are inkjet printer comparisons available on numerous websites and magazines. Even some businesses, like Office Depot, Staples, and Office Max, provide charts and cards which contain the printer’s information which allows you to compare to others.

Personally I like doing my research on the web at places like eOpinion, Cnet, or Consumer Report. These provide me with opinions from people who already own the printer I’m looking at and lets me wade through the various reviews and see what people said. With sites like Cnet I can read about the group of editor’s actual experience. They go out and buy, or have donated a printer and then perform all the functions the printer states it has and reports back in it. If the printer claims to print 16 pages per minute, then the Cnet editors will attempt to print 16 pages and time the action. I like it because the reports are usually pretty objective and provide “just the facts ma’am”.

If you are considering buying a printer from on source, like HP, Canon, or Brother, then you can go to the manufacture’s webpage and narrow down your search results. Then they allow you to click on one, two, or even five printers and get a side-by-side inkjet printer comparisons. Remember these comparisons are only going to be for the printers that these companies actually sell, so you won’t be able to compare a Brother printer with a HP in this way. Before setting your heart on a printer, remember to check it’s required specifications. Some printers may only work on Windows Vista, or nothing older than Windows XP, and some printers may only be Macintosh specific. Also be sure to get yourself a USB cable. Most printer require this cable to hook up to your computer, but they rarely provide them when you go to purchase.

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In the early days there was a vast difference between an inkjet printer and its laser version but with time the difference has narrowed down to point where it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between the two. Most individuals continue to use the Inkjet printers, as they are less expensive and nearly all of them are colour capable. The quality of the inkjet printers has improved over time and now there is not a huge difference in printing quality with the Laser printers. It’s for this reason that small or home business can use an inkjet printer without having to worry about documents looking unclear or looking cheap.

The laser printer is capable of printing much faster and usually produces better quality image, it is far more expensive as compared to the Inkjet version. Laser printers are usually used for black printing but there are colour laser printers available now.

Having pointed that out, it is also useful to note that the general rule of the thumb for printers is ‘the lesser the cost of the printer, the more expensive the running cost”. This could however depend on the volume of printing the printer is being used for. If the printing volume were minimal, it would be more cost effective to use an inkjet printer. It is very easy to get carried away by the initial price of an inkjet printer but people buying them are often not aware that the running cost of the machine would play a huge part and should be factored into the decision making.

This would be better understood with an example. Let us consider a Canon i320 colour bubble jet printer. It usually does not cost more than