The Laser Printer has become the standard office printer on the grounds of high-speed printing and

quiet operation. The principle is totally different from that of inkjet printers, and is much closer to the
photocopier principle, based on xerography.

Standard and Consideration

10 Things to consider when buying a laser printer

1. Monochrome or colour?
Your first criteria is your basic need: ask yourself what types of documents you will
be printing to determine the type of printer that will suit you best. If you only want the
ability to print, and if you will only be printing things such as invoices or other
monochrome documents, then all you’ll need is a monochrome laser printer. Go for
a colour laser printer if you will also have a need to print colour documents on a
regular basis.

2. Types of functions
If you have a need for scanning documents, making copies, sending and receiving
faxes, then you will need to consider a multifunction laser printer that can perform all
of these tasks. Furthermore, you may want to look into other types of functions such
as printing from USB sticks (file support can vary, so check the specs), scanning to
USB sticks and network locations, and perhaps the ability to print and scan using
Cloud-based apps.

3. Paper handling
Commonly, printers will handle paper up to the A4 size, so you will have to look for a
specific model if you want to be able to also print documents on A3-sized paper.
Things such as envelopes and heavier paper can be printed if the printer has a
multi-purpose tray, and you will need to check the printer’s specifications to see
exactly the weight of the paper that it can handle (in gsm), as well as the number of
envelopes that can be loaded.

For a busy office, having enough paper in the printer at all times is a necessity. No
one ever wants to be one to have to fill up the trays, so the best you can hope for is
for the tray to not require regular filling. Look for a printer that has an appropriate
capacity for the number of users who will be printing (many office printers come with
a standard tray of 250 sheets). Also, look for a printer that can be expanded via a
second or third tray to satisfy growing needs.

At the same time, look for other paper handling characteristics that may concern
you. This can include the ability of the printer to print on both sides of the page
automatically (via a built-in duplex unit), and also the ability to scan or copy multi-
page documents via an automatic document feeder (ADF).
4. Connectivity
USB is standard on all printers, but for an office environment, the key type of
connectivity you should look for is Ethernet. This will allow you to plug the printer in
to your network router and share it among the workers in your office. The printer’s
driver will need to be installed on all the computers in the network that will require
access.

Look for wireless connectivity (usually up to 802.11n specification) if you would like
to set up the printer on your wireless network instead. Furthermore, look for Wi-Fi
Direct capability if you would like to give mobile devices a way to communicate with
the printer directly and print via an app. This can work with NFC functionality on
some printers, allowing the direct connection to be set up by placing the device on
the printer to pair it.

Ensure that the printer supports all the devices that will require access in your office,
be they Apple devices, Android devices, or even Windows Phone.

Printing from Cloud services is also supported in many printers these days. Check
up on the services that a printer supports, which could make it easier to print from
places such as Google Docs, Dropbox, OneDrive, and other online services, without
having to go through a computer or mobile device.

5. Ease of use
You’re probably used to the touchscreen on your phone, tablet, or perhaps even
laptop. So why not go for touchscreen on a printer? A touchscreen can make it
easier to navigate a printer’s menu system, especially if it has built-in access to apps
that require the user to punch in their login details.

6. Toner cost and TCO

The initial cost of a laser printer may be very low these days for some models, but
it’s the overall total cost of ownership that you need to be aware of.

This includes things such as the cost of replacement toner (for each colour), the
yield of the toner (how many pages it can print), and the cost of any other
consumables that are associated with the printer, such as a fuser (the unit that fixes
the toner to the paper) or drum unit (which transfers the toner onto the paper). Many
laser printers only have the one consumable these days, which is the toner.

7. Noise emissions and power consumption

Noise emissions can be a hard one to evaluate unless you see the printer in action
at a showroom or retailer with a low noise floor, but it’s something that you must be
mindful of, especially when purchasing a big printer.
8. Duty cycle

The duty cycle is the number of prints that the printer is rated as being able to print
on a monthly basis. It’s a rating that should be looked at if you will be doing a large
volume of printing on a regular basis. This rating can be anything from 1000-5000
pages, all the way up to tens of thousands.

9. Processor and memory

While it’s not easy to compare processors between laser printers, the quoted speed
in megahertz can give a good indication of the power the printer has to process jobs
and run its inbuilt functions.

Furthermore, the memory capacity (and a printer with upgradeable memory) is key if
you will be printing from graphics and design applications, especially when using
PCL or PostScript languages for printing, for which space is needed to store the
print information as it is converted.

10. Overall size and ease of installation

A typical printer for an office can be bulky and perhaps difficult to move around
without the help of another person. Consider the size of the printer in your purchase
and where you will be installing it in your environment. You may end up wanting to
look for a more compact printer that better suits your office space while still providing
similar functionality. Furthermore, you might want to assess how easy it is to install
its toner cartridges and load its paper, as this can help minimise maintenance time.