Which printer?
High-quality inkjets and lasers on test
B uying printers is a baffling business. On the one hand, printers have never offered so much for so little. Pop to your local supermarket and you can pick up an all-singing, all-dancing, wireless all-in-one for less than £30. Even highperformance colour lasers are available at prices a small business can afford. Yet in no other tech product category are the hidden costs so monumental or so aggravating. Buy in haste and you’ll repent at leisure, as that bargain printer costs you an arm and a leg year after year.
To make things worse, it’s a confusing market. The old lines between inkjets and lasers have eroded to the point where form factor and features matter more than the underlying technology. Even manufacturers are struggling to explain how their different laser and inkjet models fit into their lineup without competing, while some have ditched one technology altogether. That’s a problem. Umpteen printers at entirely different price points might appear to have near-identical features, but choose the wrong one and you could find yourself with a printer that isn’t fit for purpose.
Let us bring some clarity to the situation. On these pages you’ll find some of the best inkjet and laser printers on the market, aimed either at the advanced home user or a small business with a need to produce good-quality prints. We’re going to take a look at the true cost of printing, and separate the features you want from those you don’t really need. Read on to make a smarter choice.