Choosing the best printer for your home

Choosing the best printer for your home should be armed with the necessary knowledge. Before dealing with the rating of budget models, with the list of economical printers for printing documents and other models, you need to find out exactly which device is best for home use. The final decision depends not only on practical requests, but also on other nuances that will also have to be taken into account.

Each manufacturer diligently convinces that it is better to take a printer for the house of his brand. But experienced consumers know that they need to focus on completely different parameters, first of all, on the printing method. The vast majority of home appliances work by forming precisely dispensed droplets of liquid ink. Inkjet technology allows you to create very high quality color prints (laser systems of comparable quality are significantly more expensive). The advantage of such devices is their affordable price.

However, inkjet devices are unable to print a large number of sheets. It is not for nothing that in professional print services, laser printers are responsible for working with texts. And the volume of printing even among ordinary consumers is quite large. This is especially true for schoolchildren, students (and their teachers), journalists, translators, lawyers of all specializations and some other professionals. However, if you know for sure that you will have to send texts to print "from time to time", economical models of drip devices will be an excellent choice.

Other features worth noting:

• relatively simple refueling procedure;
• low resource of one liquid cartridge (which is partially compensated for when installing CISS);
• strong vibrations;
• insufficient resistance of prints to moisture;
• the ability to print on different types of media;
• the comparative lightness of the device itself and the ease of its maintenance.

Laser machines are suitable primarily for black and white printing. Color options exist, but they cost a completely unaffordable amount for most people. But the cost of a single print will be much lower than when using inkjet technology. It is also important that this number of prints itself is large. On the "laser" it is possible to print as many sheets as 30 years ago it was possible to get it in a comparable time only on printing equipment.

The speed of obtaining prints in laser technology is very high. And therefore, you won't have to wait long to receive the necessary materials. Even if accidentally wet, the text will remain readable, and the drawings and photographs will be easily recognizable externally. (Although this refers, more likely, to the situation "accidentally took with wet hands", and not "dropped into a puddle and forgotten there for 15 minutes," of course.)

For home use, it is most appropriate to choose the most economical models. There are a lot of excellent samples among them, covering 99% of the needs. And here it is important to recall the old, but therefore no less real truth - inkjet printers are cheap only by themselves, but economically justified only when printing a small amount of documents or photographs. The cost of a replaceable unit is almost the same as that of the main unit as a whole, and the cartridge will have to be changed or refilled frequently. It is useful to take into account that almost all manufacturers block arbitrary replacement of their cartridges with microchips, and the price of a branded replacement is even higher than the market average.

To print documents, of course, there is no need to buy a dye sublimation printer. But for the work of a photographer, he will be the optimal device. Using this technique, it turns out to display very high-quality images with minimal costs. You can even organize a whole home photo studio if you so desire.

Most students, accountants, academics, and journalists can easily confine themselves to simple black and white printing. But for creative people, designers, it will be more correct to buy a color printing machine - the costs for it and for consumables will definitely pay off.

Almost all business documents, as well as school and student papers, materials for submission to various editions are in A4 format. Larger or smaller sizes are rare, but the presence of at least an auxiliary function for such a seal is quite reasonable. For families with children, it is worth buying the quietest printers - of course, among those with the necessary characteristics. In office and office work, double-sided printing is useful, and all other people cannot find any sense in such a function, this applies, with rare exceptions, to faxes.

There are models that are in the greatest demand among consumers, and they are worth noting.

Among the inexpensive printers for home use, the HP Ink Tank 415 stands out. Important: the manufacturer himself positions this model as an excellent multifunctional device. A liquid crystal display with pictographic displays has been added to the control panel. The feeder tray holds up to 60 sheets. The proprietary application allows you to organize stable printing via a mobile protocol.

It is also worth noting:

• a special system that excludes ink spills during refueling;
• the presence of the Wi-Fi Direct mode;
• automatic valve;
• receiving 18,000 black and white or 8,000 color pages per month;
• resolution of black and white prints up to 1200x1200 dpi;
• flatbed scanning;
• copy resolution up to 600x300 dots per inch;
• use of 4 cartridges.

The top cheap models also includes another device - Canon PIXMA iP2840... It is compatible with both Windows and macOS. In black and white mode, up to 8 pages are output per minute, in color - up to 5 pages. 1 USB port is provided. The clarity of printed materials can reach 4800x600 dpi.

The device uses proprietary Canon Fine technology. It is also worth noting the presence of an automatic shutdown (that is, when the printer is not in use, it does not waste energy in standby mode). The included software will allow you to structure your photos on your computer. A special technology is provided that allows you to print from remote servers only what you really need.

HP OfficeJet Pro 8210 differs not only in a comfortable price, but also in simplicity of settings. Favorably distinguishes it and the design, which you do not expect from such a cheap model. True, the objective weakness is the touch screen, and the paper tray is rather fragile. Claimed to print up to 22 black and white or 18 color pages per minute. Ethernet is supported, but reviews indicate that print quality is at least uneven.

This model is designed to use only genuine HP cartridges.and the manufacturer announces this quite openly. Up to 30 thousand pages of text can be displayed per month. Thermal inkjet technology used. The presence of 4 cartridges is provided. RAM capacity - 256 MB.

Choosing "just a quality printer home", it is useful to take a closer look at the device Brother HL-L2340DWR... Its important advantage is the absence of chips in cartridges. The sound volume during operation does not exceed 49 dB. The 7 kg printer outputs texts and images using a laser printing unit. The maximum print speed in the ideal case reaches 26 pages per minute, that is, in real applications 18-20 pages per minute are provided without problems.

Other points:

• 700-page toner cartridge included;
• net weight - 6.9 kg;
• 250-sheet tray + separate input for cut sheets;
• waiting for the first page no more than 8.5 seconds.

Nice alternative - Xerox VersaLink B400DN... The creators have tried to ensure maximum use of mobile printing and output of materials from online sources. The black and white laser model provides clarity up to 1200 x 1200 dots. Reheating from scratch takes exactly 60 seconds. It is allowed to use paper with a density of 0.06 to 0.22 kg per 1 m2.

Important points:

• flexible graphical interface;
• compatible toner cartridges;
• printing at least 30 sheets per minute in favorable conditions;
• direct support for cloud storage of information;
• the ability to use only branded consumables.

The first page appears within 8 seconds after printing starts. The monthly load reaches 110 thousand sheets. The input tray holds up to 550 sheets. Typical RAM capacity is 2 GB. Supported by USB 3.0 technology, as well as data exchange via the NFC protocol.

Those people who do not have a very acute need specifically for color printing will like HP LaserJet Pro M404dn... The device supports iPrint, CloudPrint. The connection via the USB protocol has also been implemented. The designers took care of automatic printing on both sides of the sheet, and the print clarity of 1200x1200 dpi is quite sufficient in most cases. True, many people believe that this apparatus is unnecessarily bulky.

Up to 4000 sheets can be output per month. Up to 38 pages per minute. Supports work with paper with a density of 0.06 to 0.175 kg per 1 m2. The output tray holds up to 150 sheets. Supported at the hardware level Google Cloud Print, HP ePrint, Mopria.

A striking representative of this group can be considered Xerox VersaLink B610DN... It can output up to 500 sheets of prints. Capacious memory and 136 preinstalled fonts are provided. Depending on the characteristics of the cartridge, you can get from 10 to 46 thousand sheets per filling. The display reaches 5 inches, but Wi-Fi is not available.

Up to 63 pages can be output per minute. The option of connecting a finishing sorter is supported, dividing sheets into 5 streams. The monthly download reaches 275 thousand pages (according to other sources - 120 thousand). The discreet black and white body color will look attractive in any environment. Implemented technologies Google Print, Mopria.

Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000, as it is easy to understand already from the name, is optimized for displaying photographs. Economical ink consumption testifies in favor of this version. Printing is possible directly from phones or cameras, both from internal memory and from SD cards. Supports automatic duplex printing, Ethernet connection (RJ45). True, the price is still a significant disadvantage.

There is a built-in Wi-Fi module. Implemented printing in A3 format, even A3 +. The printer weighs about 8.5 kg, making it one of the lightest in its class. The developers have taken care of sufficient stability even on slippery supports.

It turns out quite expensive and Epson SureColor SC-P600... To some extent, this is offset by savings in consumables. Wi-Fi connection is quite possible. The use of USB and Ethernet is also provided, which further speeds up printing. The designers have even retained such a mode as printing on CDs (although it is not entirely clear who might need it in 2020).

The device works on the inkjet principle and produces color images. CISS connection is impossible. The limiting resolution in black and white is 5760x1440 pixels. Color prints will have the same quality. Print on glossy paper, photo paper, and roll media.

If possible, it is worth choosing models that are initially equipped with CISS. Even if it turns out to install this system additionally, the warranty card can be immediately sent to the trash can. To print on thick photographic paper, you definitely need to buy inkjet systems, not laser systems. In the home segment, not purely laser printers, but LED printers are better suited. They are more environmentally friendly, but they are clearly more expensive.

It is highly unlikely that an A0 printer will be needed outside of the office, design studio or design bureau. You can almost always limit yourself to A4 sheets, and even A3 (not to mention larger formats) is required in single situations. As for the resolution, it is not important to display documents or photos from social networks. But full-fledged photo printing, design requires at least 4800x1200 quality.

Chasing super fast print speeds is hardly wise. But if you evaluate printers by this parameter, you should understand that the declared output rate in real conditions is reduced by 20-25%. It is useful to have a Wi-Fi block, thanks to which information can be displayed even directly from a smartphone or tablet. Inkjet printers can print with pigment or water-based ink. The first type is brighter, tolerates contact with water and sunlight very well, is intended mainly for text, not photographs, in fact, it is an alternative to budget laser prints.

Those wishing to do photo printing should give preference to water-soluble ink. But they blur from even a little moisture and can easily fade. Water soluble inkjet printing on plain paper is unlikely to provide acceptable quality. It is worth noting that the most solid pigment inks are relatively well suited for documents and photos. True, they are mainly used in printers with 6 or 9 working colors.

An important point is whether to purchase a separate printer or a full-fledged MFP. Yes, this way is more economical than buying disparate devices. However, neither this circumstance, nor the compactness of the technology allow ignoring two disadvantages. The first is that usually not the most productive components are added to bundled kits. Second, if one unit breaks down, there is a great risk that other parts will not work as well.

In terms of specific brands, Canon and HP continue to dominate laser manufacturers. But it should be borne in mind that in the low-budget segment, the quality of their products has been noticeably reduced recently.

In the inkjet segment, Epson has not lost a very good position. Its machines print excellently and are stable. Canon deserves attention, too. As for the inkjet versions from HP, they are, for some unknown reason, deprived of the attention of consumers. When buying a color device, it makes no sense to choose a model with a single color cartridge - it is difficult to refuel, and the capacities for each color are relatively small.

There are also a few other subtleties:

• the size of the device (so that it fits in the designated place);
• compatible operating systems;
• materials for printing;
• design.

In the next video, you will find the TOP 5 best printers for the home from 2,000 to 20,000 rubles.