This is probably the most important question to answer. If you just need to occasionally print out documents such as letters, copies of Web pages from the Internet or simple spreadsheets, a low-end inkjet or laser printer is fine. If you need to do presentations or high quality photographs, you want a photo printer.

If you do a lot of document printing, don’t use an inkjet printer. Use a laser printer. Laser printers cost more to buy but much less to use - they are very cost effective to operate since their toner cartridges are not replaced as often.

With all costs figured in, each document page printed on a typical laser printer costs from 2 cents to 5 cents; on an inkjet, the cost per page can run from 10 cents to 15 cents, depending on the model. (This does not even count the cost of photo printing, which can cost up to a dollar per page on an inkjet when you include the high cost of photo paper and the additional ink that’s used in that mode.)

Ink jets are a good choice if you are looking for high quality color photo output for a reasonable price. Prices start at less than $40, with only a few business-level ink jets costing more than $700-the starting point for color lasers. And ink jets that handle tabloid-size paper start at less than $500, which is thousands less than tabloid-size lasers cost.

First, you’ll need to decide on the type of machine you want: a standard ink jet for reasonable photos and a low purchase price, or a photo ink jet for superior photo quality. All of the top models offer 4800-by-1200-dpi resolution, but they vary quite a bit in terms of printing speed.

Specialized photo printers may not work as well on general tasks such as word processing. Even if they do, their per-page costs may be higher and their operation slower. The cost of the printer isn’t the only consideration. Color ink cartridges can be expensive, offsetting the low cost of the printer. Special coated photo papers also add to the cost of color printing.

Choose an inkjet printer based on the cost of replacement ink cartridges, and not on the cost of the printer. Over time ink and paper costs can exceed the cost of the printer several times over. Avoid single-cartridge printers which only come with a color cartridge that can’t print true color. It is more cost effective to purchase a color inkjet with multiple color cartridges (CMYK), so they can be replaced individually.

Another cost saving tip: Leaving any inkjet idle for even a week or two can allow the ink in the tiny tubes that feed the nozzles to dry. The resulting clogs cause streaks and other anomalies in your pictures. To avoid clogs, print at least once a week. Some printers run a maintenance routine on startup, meaning that you can keep the nozzles clear simply by turning your printer on and off once a week. Check your device’s manual to see whether it has this feature.

Since I started this page I bought an Epson Stylus Photo 750 printer. It printed almost as well as one could wish but it was rather slow. It took around 20 minutes to print a full A4 photo picture. I did a lot of A4 photo quality prints for a particular job and found that I could do around 25 prints before a change of one of the cartridges was needed. From this I concluded that it took around 2ml of ink (from both cartridges combined) to print each picture. The Epson compatible cartridges equivalent to the SO20110 or SO20193 contain 42ml of ink. The compatible equivalent to the SO20187 contains 17ml as does the SO20093.
Three colour plus black Epson printers use cartridges like the SO20089 or SO20191 that contain 38ml. The SO20108 and SO20189 black cartridges both contain 27ml. I sold a pair of Epson compatible black and colour cartridges (irrespective of type) for £6.00 when I worked at computer fairs. Compare this with the HP 1823A cartridge with a print head that contains 38ml and costs around £45.00 RRP. The HP 51641A is a bit cheaper (but is also very similar to the 1823A) and contains 40.5ml at a price of around £28.00 RRP. HP black cartridges contain varying amounts of ink from 20.5ml to 40ml and cost around £25.00 RRP on average. There are no compatible cartridges for HP printers or those that use HP technology like Lexmark. The choice is between the originals or commercially refilled cartridges that tend to be less good than the new ones.
The ink use calculation assumes that equal quantities of all colours and black are used by all makes of printer in a picture. This is not what actually happens but it is a fair way to make comparisons. This is because both Epson and HP have equal quantities of ink in the three colours in their 3 colour cartridges. If an Epson ran out of magenta after doing a number of pictures, the HP would probably run out of magenta for the same amount of printing, if the cartridges held the same volumes of ink in total. When any one colour runs out, the cartridge has to be replaced anyway.

Don’t Buy the Cheapest or the Newest Model and NEVER BUY A PRINTER BUNDLED WITH A COMPUTER
Remember that all printer manufacturers make a range of printers. Pay as much as you can afford for your printer. Don’t go for the cheapest one in the range if you can help it. Don’t buy the latest newest model either. The chances are that there will not be any cheap cartridges available for it for several months. Beware of “Bargains”. Guess why?There have been many cases recently of printers (usually Lexmark) being sold at prices that are the same as (or less than) the cost of the cartridges they contain.

Don’t buy a printer that uses “permanent” ink unless you want to leave your photos in the sunshine. Permanent inks use pigments that ire insoluble. If you get a printer that uses permanent inks and the printhead dries out with lack of use, it is unlikely that you will ever get the printer going properly again. Ordinary dye inks do not suffer from this problem.

They will last for years if kept in the dark and won’t fade noticeably in typical room lighting.. If you want an archive print of a very good picture, arrange to have a Cibachrome copy made of a fresh dye inkjet print. The Cibachrome process is used in photo booths that produce passport photographs. Alternatively arrange to get a colour laser copy made. Then you won’t have the possible expense of replacing a pigment ink printer.

Beware Expensive Cartridges!

Before you buy any sort of printer I advise you to make sure that the cartridges used in the printer are easily obtained and do not cost too much. In my experience it is easy to get cartridges for Epson, Hewlett Packard and Canon printers at reaonable prices. Several companies refurbish print head cartridges - mainly Hewlett Packard and Canon. I have not seen comparable supplies of cartridges for other makes.

There are basically two types of inkjet printer that can print in colour. The Epson type has a fixed print head and the Hewlett Packard type that has (mostly) print heads in the cartridges. Canon produces printers of both types and a halfway system with a removable print head unit that takes small cartridges. The fixed print head printer uses cheaper cartridges that are only ink tanks. It has one drawback. If the printer is only used occasionally, the print head can dry out and become blocked. The printer is then likely to be very difficult to get going again. It is very hard to clear a blocked fixed print head. The printer that has print heads in the cartridges can also suffer from a blocked print head. If this should happen, only a cartridge is lost. Print head cartridges cost more than the ink tank type but often contain more ink .

The method shown pictorially is mainly based on my experience with refilling HP deskjet cartridges. I also include information about using special cleaning cartridges for Epson printers.