Color printers are excellent ways to produce high quality in-house marketing materials. Keep in mind some of these important tips when selecting a color printer:

• Check out the INK CARTRIDGE prices before selecting a model; often cheaper printers have higher-cost supplies later which you cannot avoid!
• Make sure your printer uses the USB 2.0 cable standard, for faster printouts and performance
• Color printers with built in memory or expandable memory slots make it easier to send a print job to the printer and free-up your computer for other tasks while it prints
• Color printers can be very slow – especially cheaper models – so a few more dollars spent on a faster model up front can save time (which is money!) every day
• The “higher resolution” settings of some color printers can be misleading; oftentimes these high-res qualities can only be seen with expensive, specialty paper or extra-cost ink. In general, 1200 dpi printing is more than enough for everyday marketing pieces.

FEATURE	“What to Look For” SPECIFICATIONS		FEATURE	“What You’ve Found” SPECIFICATIONS
Memory	160 MB (512 Max)		Memory
Print Speed	16-24 ppm black; 17-24 ppm color		Print Speed
Resolution	600 x 600 dpi - 1200 x 1200 dpi		Resolution
Networking	Ethernet Adapter		Networking
Connectivity	USB		Connectivity
Total Media	1100 pages		Total Media
Cartridges	Four: Black (9000 pages), Cyan, Magenta, Yellow (8000 pages each)		Cartridges
Monthly Duty Cycle	50,000-100,000 pages		Monthly Duty Cycle

Matthew's Opinion: Color laser printing is the "holy grail" of in-house quality color printing and with models like these, there are finally some real options. Keep in mind that while the actual printer may be affordable, check out the ink cartridge costs before you take the plunge: filling the tanks in these power-printers may break your bank!

Color printers are excellent ways to produce high quality in-house marketing materials. Keep in mind some of these important tips when selecting a color printer:

• Check out the INK CARTRIDGE prices before selecting a model; often cheaper printers have higher-cost supplies later which you cannot avoid!
• Make sure your printer uses the USB 2.0 cable standard, for faster printouts and performance
• Color printers with built in memory or expandable memory slots make it easier to send a print job to the printer and free-up your computer for other tasks while it prints
• Color printers can be very slow – especially cheaper models – so a few more dollars spent on a faster model up front can save time (which is money!) every day
• The “higher resolution” settings of some color printers can be misleading; oftentimes these high-res qualities can only be seen with expensive, specialty paper or extra-cost ink. In general, 1200 dpi printing is more than enough for everyday marketing pieces.

Great Performance Color Printers

Print this page and use the following table to compare the standard "mid range" printer features and "what to look for" specifications with the "what you've found" specifications while shopping for your new color printer.

FEATURE	“What to Look For” SPECIFICATIONS		FEATURE	“What You’ve Found” SPECIFICATIONS
Memory	64 MB		Memory
Print Speed	11-18 ppm color		Print Speed
Resolution	2400 x 1200 dpi		Resolution
Networking	Ethernet Adapter		Networking
Connectivity	USB		Connectivity
Total Media	250 pages		Total Media
Cartridges	Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow		Cartridges
Monthly Duty Cycle	25,000 pages		Monthly Duty Cycle

Matthew's Opinion: Moderately priced ink jets have dramatically improved in performance and features in the last few years. Be careful, though, to check replacement cartridge prices which can be as high as $100 each in some models. Posted speeds vary with the amount of graphics per page, but overall these models will produce great marketing materials at fairly good speeds.

Color printers are excellent ways to produce high quality in-house marketing materials. Keep in mind some of these important tips when selecting a color printer:

• Check out the INK CARTRIDGE prices before selecting a model; often cheaper printers have higher-cost supplies later which you cannot avoid!
• Make sure your printer uses the USB 2.0 cable standard, for faster printouts and performance
• Color printers with built in memory or expandable memory slots make it easier to send a print job to the printer and free-up your computer for other tasks while it prints
• Color printers can be very slow – especially cheaper models – so a few more dollars spent on a faster model up front can save time (which is money!) every day
• The “higher resolution” settings of some color printers can be misleading; oftentimes these high-res qualities can only be seen with expensive, specialty paper or extra-cost ink. In general, 1200 dpi printing is more than enough for everyday marketing pieces.

Low End Color Printers

Print this page and use the following table to compare the standard "budget" printer features and "what to look for" specifications with the "what you've found" specifications while shopping for your new color printer.

FEATURE	“What to Look For” SPECIFICATIONS		FEATURE	“What You’ve Found” SPECIFICATIONS
Memory	None		Memory
Print Speed	2 - 4 ppm color		Print Speed
Resolution	1200 x 1200 dpi		Resolution
Networking	Ethernet Adapter Optional		Networking
Connectivity	USB		Connectivity
Total Media	150 pages		Total Media
Cartridges	Black, Multicolor		Cartridges
Monthly Duty Cycle	10,000 pages		Monthly Duty Cycle

It's all about the INK!

Think you're getting a great deal on that sub-$100 color printer? Check out how much the cartridges cost to replace and how many pages they can generate each month. Calculate what a year of ink would cost you on the low-end model compared to a higher-end printer with more efficient ink usage per page. Remember, it might be cheaper to buy, but end up more costly to run!

Matthew's Opinion: Watch out for these models - they look like great deals until you start standing around waiting for printouts at a paltry 4 pages per minute - what a waste of time! Consider these printers of last resort - maybe for a quick job or convenience tool in your home office. Whatever you do, don't rely on these models to drive your marketing campaign!