Relative to my recent computer column, occasionally I will bundle a computer and printer for a customer.
There are two types of printers-Laser and Ink.
A laser unit utilizes toner instead of ink. They are generally larger in size and can generate several thousand prints before needing to replace a cartridge. A monochrome laser prints only black and white; a color laser contains black plus cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges. For someone doing high-volume printing, a laser makes sense. Lasers are usually multi-function systems meaning they can print, copy and scan and are equipped with a document feeder on the top. Some also fax, can be used wirelessly or connected to the computer via a USB cable and may have a USB slot on the side to print directly from a flash drive.
Ink printers are suitable for light printing and photographs. An ink system should be able to produce 4×6, 5×7 and 8×10 prints. A simple printer will use a black and color cartridge. A more sophisticated unit may have a separate ink configuration in which you just replace the color that is depleted.
Epson, Canon and Hewlett Packard also produce a “smart-tank” printer in which you buy the ink and pour it into the individual tubes rather than replacing a cartridge. Ink systems are also wireless, cable ready and mostly multi-function. However, if you are interested in editing, repairing and restoring photos, Canon and Epson still make individual flat-bed scanners that are sold online. There is even a scanner with a special fixture which will handle old negatives you might wish to rehabilitate and reprint.
Photo paper is usually offered in gloss or matte finish. When buying standard printer/copy paper, you will see the number 92 on the package. Some paper is rated at 96 or higher which means the white is brighter and the paper usually of a better quality. Text and graphics look sharper on this paper grade.
Regarding computers again, the display signs in a store or online will highlight the processor, which is the engine of the computer, RAM which is system memory-normally 16 gigabytes(gb) or 32gb and solid state drive(ssd) storage from 512gb up to 2 Terabytes for retaining documents, photos and music. Most computers will have 1 TB in it.
Quality computers will also contain at least 16 gb of memory so that it can support artificial intelligence activities and be responsive when you are actively engaged with your computer. Purchasing a computer on sale with an even higher memory count is well worth the investment.
Intel is identified by an “i or Ultra” designation. The AMD processor is called “Ryzen.” Both use the same numerical designations 5, 7 and 9. The 7 series is the most popular and often on sale. The 9 is the fastest of the group which you will find in gaming/engineering laptops and computers used for working with a large number of files simultaneously.
Google Chromebooks may be a good option for young students and anyone who needs a simple machine for browsing and research. It uses Google Chrome to access the Internet and also provides some Google cloud storage and Google Docs for word processing.
Although Windows based computers have Co-pilot(previously known as Bing) built into the system and keyboards, you can certainly use other AI formats-Chat GPT, Gemini etc.
Brands you will see in the stores-Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Alienware(Dell), Samsung, Microsoft Surface-all have the current version of Windows 11 installed in them. If you need the Microsoft Office program which includes-Word, Exel, Powerpoint and One Note-it is offered three ways: the single application for the life of the computer, normally $149.99(white card); Office-365 subscription(orange card) at 99.00 per year for up to six users with a single passcode; the Family plan(blue card) is 129.99 and allows up to six users with each creating their own private code. The subscription versions also have Windows Defender anti-virus integrated into them and provide 1 TB of free cloud storage in Microsoft’s network. If you are interested in supplemental protection, Norton, Trend, Webroot are each worth considering.
Holiday sales are underway at Best Buy. You might ask about open box-specials should you visit a store. When someone returns an item and the package has been opened, the store discounts the product but offers the same warranty and two weeks to test it. There is no return fee on computers and TV’s but there may be on cameras and cell phones.
A new computer can expose you to an incredible universe of experiences. I would explore your local library because many across the country subscribe to a diverse range of publications and self-study programs which you can access with your library card outside of the library. For example, I study Spanish, Portuguese and French online and challenge myself to read in those languages while minimally using Google Translate. The New York Times publishes in English, Spanish and Mandarin. With one click, I have an entire newspaper in “Espanol.” Papers from France and Brazil send me articles and headlines at no charge.
To me, this is absolutely smile-inducing, amazing and remarkable!! Take advantage when you can.
I hope you all find wonderful deals leading to new and stimulating personal, professional and educational opportunities!
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Good stuff Henry. Thanks for doing this.
I use some websites to review tech when I am in the market for a pc or printer or similar tech. PC Magazine, CNET, Tom’s Guide, Wired and TechRadar are a view. However, a summary like you listed is very helpful as an overview. Every time I am in the market I need an overview because things continue to change.
Your summary of printers was particularly helpful. I may need to get a cheap laser to augment my inkjet printer. I assume we can ask questions on the website and get your advice?
I just purchased a printer yesterday. I have a somewhat different view of printers than expressed here. My old printer, which I am taking to be recycled, was a wonderful HP laser jet, and maybe ten years old. When Win11 came out HP decided not to create a printer driver for it. And, so for the last several years I ran it with a generic Windows printer driver. The issue with this generic driver was that it would print unending copies of multi-page print jobs, and if you weren’t watching carefully, you would end up with an inch high stack of waste paper.
Anyway, I need to confess that I also have an ink jet color printer. Both types of printers are useful to have. Why have both??? Well, you can use your color ink jet to make B &W print jobs, but you cannot do this when you need Permanent, Durable, documents. Ink jet ink is not waterproof. So, every time you need to print a copy of a will, a contract, etc. that you need to have for sure for the next 20 years, you need it to be printed on a laser printer. This need seems fairly clear to me. Laser = permanent.
Okay, I also want to admit that I have a color laser printer. And, just like a color ink jet printer, both color ink jet and color laser printers have their uses. So, if you have a color laser printer, when you use it to print in B & W, you get a permanent document. And, while it can do color print jobs, it cannot print photo quality pictures. Furthermore, color laser toner replacement cartridges are expensive. Color ink jet cartridges are also expensive. But, in the last couple of years, ink jet color printer which have large ink tanks built in allowed them to greatly reduce the cost of color printer ink. So, if you want to print lots of photos you want an ink jet printer with ink tanks. If you want colored Xmas letters, address labels, colored calendar pages, colored ad flyers, you need the colored laser printer.
Back to the purchase of a B&W laser printer yesterday. For home use, both Canon and Brother offer a cheap laser printer. These really good printers do 30 pages a minute, and have built in duplex (2-sided) printing. Like razor blades they want to make money from selling you toner carts. Typically, their cheapest printer comes with a small capacity cart which they say will print 700 pages, compared to the 2500-3000 of a standard cart. So, what you need to do before buying one is to make sure that after-market toner carts are already available for what you are buying. That is why my new printer is a Canon. I can get 3 after-market carts for the price of one authentic Canon cart.
Unfortunately, both the Canon and the Brother can be difficult when you try to set up the wifi. I am planning to skip that and just connect to the Canon with a USB cable. Both types of printers offer some kind of cable connection.
I am somewhat cheap, so I don’t buy MS Word. Instead, I use free LibreOffice which can read and write Word documents. It has a great address label template. However, if you use your ink jet color printer to do labels, especially in the PNW, your letter/card might not get there if it gets wet…..
Why is this post in red? Makes it harder to read.
As a Linux user, I have to be sure I can get the drivers for whatever printers I buy. The Brother laser printer used to be a pain – you had to be a Linux command-line wizard to install the Brother driver. Now it is much easier.
Henry, these posts of yours are a great addition to the content here.
Keep ’em coming brother.
Ink printers are suitable for light printing
I have a different perspective. At my CCRC where I help fellow residents solve their tech problems, I’ve lost count of the residents whose ink printers no longer work. It’s usually due to infrequent use: in the meantime, the ink dries out or the print heads clog. It’s a real pain to try to fix; often the built-in maintenance settings in the printer don’t help, and physically getting at the insides is messy and not worth the time. In fact, the local professional technician who comes once a month won’t work on ink printers with that problem. He just recommends the resident get a new printer!
I knew I would need a printer infrequently. That’s precisely why I got a laser printer — the toner is already dry. 🙂 It’s like a reliable car: I start it and it just goes.
I’m with you on the laser printers. Higher up-front cost, but a much better solution. I liberated one of my business’s laser printers before selling up!
Henry, thanks for this as well as your previous article—all very helpful!