Popular types of printers and scanners that you must know about

With so many kinds of printers and scanners available, buying the one best for you can get slightly tricky. If you are a first-time buyer and do not have a fax or scanner machine, browsing through some multifunction printers may be a good idea. However, such a device may not be of utility to those who wish to buy printers and scanners only for occasional printing.

For people with fewer printing needs, an inkjet printer may, therefore, be a more prudent choice. However, if you are part of an organization that requires regular prints in large quantities, you could look for laser printers and scanners. Since different types of printers are designed to fulfil different printing needs, it is essential that you only buy printers considering your requirements. To help you make an informed decision, here’s a list of some of the popular types of printers and scanners to watch out for:

• Multifunction printers
  As the name suggests, multifunction printers are devices that amalgamate various printing functions into a single all-in-one unit. Such a device is made to take care of all your printing, scanning, photocopying, and faxing needs. What makes these printers and scanners immensely popular is that they are available in such portable sizes that they can be accommodated onto even a small desk. Since they take up less room, these versatile and powerful machines are best for business owners who have space constraints. What’s more, multifunction printers and scanners are more economical than other printers in the long run. While these machines may seem more expensive than normal printers, these help lower running and functional costs.
• Inkjet printers and scanners
  Designed to print the document by spraying on the paper, inkjet printers are known to produce prints that have a resolution of 300 dots per inch. In some cases, inkjet printers and scanners can print with a resolution of 600 dots per inch. Inkjet printers, therefore, are best suited for printing reports and images. Inkjet printers and scanners are one of the most affordable devices that not only produce vivid colors but also deliver faster printing speeds. What’s more, these are one of the most user-friendly printers and scanners that make them an ideal device for business use.
• Laser printers
  Laser printers were designed in the 1960s by Xerox with the intent of utilizing a laser to print images into a copier. Since then, these printers are commonly used in large offices with heavy printing volumes. Laser printers and scanners are known to produce superior quality prints with a resolution of 600-1200 dots per inch. Since laser printers use toners in the form of black colored powder and not inks (that most printers use), these devices are extremely powerful in delivering better and brighter results. Some of the distinguishing features of laser printing include lighting-fast results, super-high resolution, smudge-free prints, massive volume printing, and the like. Apart from these, laser printers have better paper capacity, are more cost-efficient than Inkjets, and are highly reliable.
• Solid ink printers
  This unique, environment-friendly printing device uses an exclusive type of ink technology to increase overall printing quality. Such printers and scanners are made to reduce the expenses and save space on the packaging. By melting solid ink sticks during the process of printing, the printer delivers vibrant prints and high-quality tones.
• Dot-matrix (impact) printers
  These printers are usually the ones in which the printhead moves across the page that needs to be printed. These printers create characters or graphics with the use of a cluster of several pins. As the name suggests, such printers make utilize a series of dots to create characters or images. Since these printers have low-quality output, they are usually extremely cheap.