How Much Will You Print?

If you print only a few items a day, you don’t have to worry about how much a printer is designed, as defined by its recommended (not maximum) monthly duty cycle. If you print enough for the duty cycle to matter, however, don’t buy a printer that doesn’t include that information in its specifications. Figure out how much you print by how often you buy paper and in what amounts. Then pick a printer that’s designed to print at least that much.

Also, consider minimum and maximum printing size and whether you need a duplexer to print on both sides of the material. For input capacity, a useful rule of thumb is to get enough capacity so you should need to add materials no more than once a week.

Cost Considerations

Finally, be sure to consider the total cost of ownership. Most manufacturers will rate the cost per page, and many give a cost per square meter. To get the total cost of ownership, calculate the cost per year for each kind of output (monochrome, color document, photo) by multiplying the cost per square meter by the number of those square meters you’ll print each year. Add these amounts to get the total cost per year. Then multiply that by the number of years you expect to own the printer, and add the initial cost of the printer. Compare the total cost of ownership figures between printers to find out which model will be least expensive in the long run.

For a head start on finding the right printer for your needs, check out our top picks below. We refresh the list monthly to include the newest high-rated products, but because of the large number of printers we review every year, not every top-rated product makes the cut. For the very latest reviews, and to search for more top-rated products, check out our printer product guide, our website as well as consult from our sales managers. You can also dig deeper—by print technology or paper type—and see our favorite inkjet, UV and wide-format printers.