Printer selection hints...

Selecting and buying a new desktop printer can be a frustrating task these days. There are many manufacturers, each offering number of models. You can buy a printer for under $50, or spend several hundred on a model that looks almost identical. So how do you know which to get?

Working out what you will be printing (and how much of it) is a good start. There is no point buying a high end photo printer or a colour laser, if all you print is couple of black and white pages per week. A cheap inkjet printer will do similar job.
At the same time, it may be false economy to buy the cheapest printer in the shop, if you have a lot of printing to do. Cheap printers can be very slow and ink or toner can work out more expensive too.  

If you print a lot, you should get a printer that can be easily refilled, fitted with a continuous ink system (CIS) or one that you can buy reasonably priced ink or toner cartridges for. If you plan to use new ink cartridges, check how much they cost and how many pages they should print. Find out if there are high yield cartridges or compatible ink option. This can be important, even if you want to refill the ink. Cartridges don't last forever and will need replacing every now and again.

Work out what features you need. Most printers come packed with gadgets many people don't need or ever use, but different makes and models do have unique features. If you need to print double sided or onto CD's, or prefer wireless connectivity etc, you need to pick a printer that can do that. Not all models can.

Don't stress too much about print resolution or drop size. It makes hardly any difference to print quality, if a printer has advertised resolution of say 5760 DPI (dots per inch) or 9600 DPI. Similarly, 2pl (picolitre) ink drops don't look any different on paper to 1pl drops without magnification.

Can the cartridges (with printer) be refilled or can you buy "refillable" cartridges? There are printers that refuse to accept refilled cartridges, other models are difficult to refill successfully. Majority of today's printer cartridges and tanks use IC chips to measure the ink levels, which can cause problems with refilling. Do your research!  Are refillable cartridges available? Will you need a chip resetter? Can the ink monitor be disabled?

Are individual ink tank printers any cheaper to operate? Varies from model to model, but if using oem (original) ink tanks it doesn't work out much different. Individual ink tank printers can use more ink than combined (3in1) cartridge printers. Similar amount is used for printing, but individual tank printers can consume more ink for cleaning and purging the printheads. Both types have their pros and cons. Combined (3in1) cartridges generally cost more than individual ink tanks, but you get a new printhead every time a cartridge is replaced. In individual tank printers, the printhead is part of the machine and should last for years. But if you do have a printhead problem in an individual tank printer,  it can cost more to fix, than the printer is worth.

Some printers have two black ink tanks...why? Canon and HP use two black ink tanks with different ink in some printer models. One tank is usually pigment ink, the other dye ink. Pigment ink works better on plain (copy) paper, dye ink on  glossy (photo) paper. The printer software selects the correct ink automatically...      

Laser or inkjet? What you print determines the print technology that's best for you. Both laser and ink printers have good and bad points. Laser cartridges cost more than ink, but usually last longer and print is more permanent. The biggest drawback of lasers is that you can't refill the cartridges. Colour toner is quite expensive, even for "cheap" colour lasers. Laser printers are generally faster than inkjet. Another advantage is that toner never dries up or clogs, even if you hardly use the printer. Ink printers can clog unless used regularly.

You can get many printers 40-50% cheaper, if you don't buy the newest model. Shops like Officeworks regularly offer last year's models heavily discounted.

Don't bother buying second hand even if very cheap, unless you have a good reason. Replacement ink or toner cartridges often cost as much as a whole new printer with cartridges, so used printers aren't good value.    

Let's go shopping! Once you work out what you want from from a printer, it's time to compare what the printer makers are offering these days. Based on this info, you can further research the different models yourself.

BROTHER offer a range of printers and multi-functions from around $60. Brother is the last printer maker that doesn't chip their ink cartridges. This is a huge plus, if you want to refill. All models use individual ink tanks.

CANON offer a range of printers and multi-functions from around $50. Cheaper models use 2 cartridges, midrange and high end all use individual ink tanks.
 

DELL don't make printers, but re-sell Lexmark printers and cartridges under Dell brand. Cheap printers, expensive cartridges - only available directly from Dell.
 

EPSON offer a range of printers and multi-functions from around $50. All recent models use individual ink tanks with chips. Due to the cartridge/chip design, original tanks can't be refilled, but wide range of refillable cartridges, chip re-setters and compatible cartridges available.
 

HP offer the widest range of printers and multi-functions starting at around $40. Cheaper models use 2 cartridges, midrange and high end all use individual ink tanks. All new hp cartridges and print-heads are chipped
 

LEXMARK offer a range of printers and multi-functions from under $40. Most models use 2 ink cartridges, few recent ones come with individual tanks. Most cartridges can be refilled. No refillable cartridges available.