Printer Buying Checklist: What to Check Before You Buy

Buying a printer seems straightforward until you bring one home and realize it doesn't fit your workflow, costs a fortune to run, or can't handle the paper sizes you need. A solid printer buying checklist removes that guesswork. Whether you're shopping for a home office, a student dorm, or a small business setup, knowing exactly what to evaluate before you spend a cent can save you hundreds of dollars and hours of frustration. This guide walks you through every factor that matters — from print technology and speed to connectivity, ink costs, and long-term reliability.

Printers vary wildly in price, capability, and ongoing expense. The sticker price is rarely the full story. A $60 inkjet might cost you $300 a year in ink cartridges, while a $200 laser printer could pay for itself within months. Understanding these trade-offs is the core of any smart purchasing decision. If you're still deciding between technology types, our comparison of laser vs inkjet printer for photo printing is a good place to start. For those focused on value, we also have a dedicated guide to the best laser printer for home use that breaks down top-performing models by category.

Print Technology: Laser vs Inkjet vs Supertank

The single most important item on any printer buying checklist is the technology inside the machine. Each type has a distinct set of strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases. Getting this decision right first makes every other factor easier to evaluate.

Laser Printers

Laser printers use a heated fuser to bond toner powder onto paper. The result is sharp, smear-proof text that dries instantly — no waiting, no smudging. They excel at high-volume black-and-white document printing and are the gold standard in office environments. Toner cartridges last far longer than inkjet cartridges, which keeps cost-per-page low on big jobs. The trade-offs: higher upfront cost, larger physical footprint, and mediocre photo output. If your main task is printing reports, invoices, or study notes, a laser printer is almost always the better long-term choice. For detailed guidance on picking one, see our guide on how to choose a laser printer for home use.

Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers spray microscopic droplets of liquid ink onto paper. They handle color gradients and photo-quality prints far better than most laser printers at equivalent price points. Entry-level models are cheap to purchase, which makes them attractive for casual home users. The downside is consumable cost: standard cartridges print as few as 100–200 pages before needing replacement, pushing the cost-per-page much higher than it appears on the shelf. Ink can also dry out if the printer sits idle for weeks. For households that print photos, greeting cards, or creative projects, inkjet remains the go-to option — but watch the ink costs carefully.

Supertank / EcoTank Printers

Supertank printers (sold as EcoTank by Epson, MegaTank by Canon, and similar names by other brands) use large refillable ink reservoirs instead of disposable cartridges. The upfront cost is higher than a basic inkjet, but a single set of bottles can print thousands of pages, dropping the cost-per-page dramatically. They're an excellent middle ground between inkjets and lasers for users who print moderate to high volumes of color content. If you're not familiar with this category, our explainer on what is a supertank printer covers how they work and who they're best suited for.

Print Volume and Speed

How much you print and how fast you need results should drive your hardware decision as much as print quality. Matching the printer's rated capacity to your real-world usage prevents both overspending and buying underpowered hardware.

Understanding PPM Ratings

PPM stands for pages per minute, and it's the headline speed figure manufacturers publish. Be cautious: PPM ratings are measured under ideal conditions — typically black-and-white simplex (one-sided) text pages with minimal graphics. Real-world speeds, especially for color documents, full-page photos, or duplex prints, are consistently lower. A printer rated at 30 PPM might realistically output 10–15 color pages per minute in daily use. When comparing models, look for independent lab test results rather than relying solely on the spec sheet. For a quick personal print job, even a slow printer is fine. For a busy household or small office, anything below 20 real-world PPM will become a bottleneck quickly.

Monthly Duty Cycle

The monthly duty cycle is the maximum number of pages a printer is engineered to handle per month without risking premature failure. A home printer might be rated at 1,000 pages per month; a workgroup laser could handle 60,000. Don't run a printer at its maximum duty cycle continuously — a safe rule of thumb is to stay below 20–30% of the rated maximum for everyday use. If you regularly print more than the duty cycle supports, the printer's internal components — especially the fuser on a laser printer — wear out much faster than advertised. Factor your average monthly print volume into your purchasing decision, and buy with headroom to spare.

Print Quality and Resolution

Resolution matters most for photos and graphics. For standard text documents, almost any modern printer produces acceptable output. The key is to match the resolution requirements of your actual print tasks — not to chase the highest DPI number on the marketing sheet.

DPI Explained

DPI stands for dots per inch and describes how many ink or toner dots the printer places within a one-inch line. Higher DPI produces finer detail, smoother gradients, and crisper edges. For text documents, 600 DPI is more than sufficient and is what most laser printers deliver at standard quality settings. For photo printing, 1200 DPI or higher begins to show meaningful improvements, especially in shadow detail and color transition areas. Some inkjets advertise 4800 × 1200 DPI or even higher — these figures reflect interpolated or enhanced resolution modes that don't always translate to visibly better prints in practice. Our article on what is printer DPI and does it matter goes deeper on when resolution actually makes a visible difference.

Color vs Monochrome

If you print exclusively text documents, contracts, or academic papers, a monochrome (black-and-white only) laser printer will serve you well and costs less upfront and per page. Color laser printers and color inkjets add flexibility but come with higher purchase prices and, in the case of color laser, four separate toner cartridges to manage and replace. Consider whether color printing is a daily need or an occasional convenience. Many households that own a color inkjet end up using it almost exclusively for black text, paying the higher cost-per-page of inkjet ink for no real benefit. For those situations, a mono laser for the desk and an occasional visit to a print shop for color work is often more economical.

Connectivity and Features

Modern printers offer a range of connection options that go well beyond plugging a USB cable into a laptop. The features you choose should match your devices, your physical setup, and how multiple people in a household or office will share the printer.

Wireless and Mobile Printing

Wi-Fi connectivity is now standard on most mid-range and above printers, and it's worth prioritizing even if you only have one computer. Wireless printing eliminates cable clutter, lets you place the printer anywhere within router range, and enables printing from smartphones and tablets. Most current models support AirPrint (Apple devices), Mopria (Android), and manufacturer apps that add cloud-based features. Some printers include Wi-Fi Direct, which lets devices connect directly to the printer without going through a router — useful in scenarios where the Wi-Fi network is unavailable. According to the ISO/IEC 24734 standard, printer speed and connectivity tests are conducted under specified network conditions, which is why real-world wireless performance can vary from lab results.

ADF and Automatic Duplex

An Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) is a tray that feeds multi-page documents into the scanner automatically, making it essential for anyone who regularly scans contracts, forms, or multi-page reports. Without one, you manually place each page on the flatbed glass — manageable for one page, painful for twenty. Automatic duplex printing (printing on both sides of the paper without manual flipping) is equally valuable for reducing paper use and producing professional-looking booklets or reports. Both features add to the purchase price but pay off quickly in time and paper savings for regular users. Check whether the ADF supports duplex scanning as well — some budget models only scan one side automatically.

Running Costs and Ink Economy

The printer itself is often the cheapest part of printer ownership. Ink and toner are where manufacturers recoup their margins, and where buyers get surprised. Scrutinizing running costs before purchase is one of the highest-value items on this printer buying checklist.

Cost Per Page

Cost per page (CPP) is calculated by dividing the price of a cartridge or toner by its rated page yield. A black inkjet cartridge priced at $15 with a 200-page yield costs $0.075 per page — which adds up fast on a 500-page month. A laser toner cartridge priced at $60 with a 3,000-page yield costs $0.02 per page. The laser printer that costs $200 more at purchase could save you $600 over two years of normal use. High-yield (XL) cartridges almost always offer a lower cost-per-page than standard cartridges; if you print regularly, buying XL versions is nearly always the right call. For students evaluating their options, our best printer for students guide factors in both upfront cost and long-term ink expenses.

Cartridge and Toner Yield

Manufacturers publish page yield figures based on printing pages that are 5% ink coverage — the industry standard. If your documents include large images, colored backgrounds, or graphics-heavy layouts, your actual yield will be significantly lower. Look for high-yield cartridge options and check whether the manufacturer sells individual color cartridges or only bundled sets. Printers that require you to replace a four-color combo cartridge when only one color is depleted waste money on ink you didn't use. Individual ink cartridges — one per color — are almost always more economical. For a detailed explanation of how yield figures work, see our article on toner yield explained: what page yield actually means.

Side-by-Side Printer Type Comparison

The table below summarizes the core trade-offs between the three main printer types to help you quickly identify which fits your needs.

Your Final Pre-Purchase Checklist

Before clicking "Add to Cart," run through each item below. This condensed printer buying checklist pulls together everything covered above into a quick decision framework.

• Technology match: Have you chosen between laser, inkjet, and supertank based on your print types and volume?
• Monthly volume: Does the printer's duty cycle comfortably exceed your expected monthly page count?
• Cost per page: Have you calculated the real cost-per-page using cartridge price ÷ rated yield?
• High-yield cartridges available: Does the manufacturer sell XL or high-yield ink options for this model?
• Individual color cartridges: Can you replace colors independently, or only as a set?
• Connectivity: Does the printer support Wi-Fi and mobile printing (AirPrint / Mopria) for your devices?
• Duplex printing: Is automatic two-sided printing built in, or does it require manual page flipping?
• ADF scanner: If you scan documents regularly, does the model include an automatic document feeder?
• Paper handling: Can it handle the paper sizes and types (cardstock, labels, envelopes) you need?
• Physical size: Have you measured the space where the printer will live, including clearance for the paper tray and output?
• Replacement supply availability: Are cartridges or toner readily available from multiple retailers, not just the manufacturer?
• Warranty and support: Does the printer come with at least a one-year warranty, and is local support available?

For ongoing ownership, don't overlook maintenance. Our laser printer maintenance tips guide covers how to extend the life of your machine with simple, regular upkeep. You can also browse our full selection of reviewed and tested models on the printers page to find specific recommendations matched to different budgets and use cases.