Choosing a printer for college may seem like such a simple decision to make. However, it is not that straightforward. There are several things you need to take into consideration when choosing a printer in order to get one that is functional, as well as economical for you as a student. If you are taking a course that requires you to do a lot of printing, such as art, photography, English or any other Humanities course, you will be using your printer quite a lot, and it will therefore affect your college life significantly. It could literally be the difference between a smooth college life and a nightmarish college experience. Imagine having to fight with your printer every day trying to get it to work; hitting it to remove stuck papers, or having to reprint a couple of times before getting a good copy because the ink keeps getting smudged. Nobody wants that kind of life. Your printer should be the least of your worries as you already have your grades to worry about.
Here are a few things you need to consider for when choosing a printer:
- Size
If you are going to a college that is far away from home, which is often the case, you will probably be living in a dorm. Your space will be limited and you therefore want a printer that takes up the least amount of space. Check out https://www.hereon.biz/college-printer/ for some of the best printers for college.
- Printing technology
You can either choose to go for an inkjet printer or a laser printer. Being a student, you probably need a printer to print your assignments. In most cases, an inkjet printer should suffice. The print quality might not be as good as that of a laser printer. However, for a student, this should not be a big problem; as long as your work is neat and legible. Laser printers are generally more expensive and bigger in size compared to inkjet printers. They are mostly meant for office use, but new models have been developed specifically for students. These are much smaller and much more affordable and as mentioned above, the print quality is better than that of inkjet printers. Therefore, for the more demanding programs like art and photography, you may be better off going for a laser printer.
- Ease of setup and use
You want a printer that is easy to set up and use. It should be easy to connect to the printer and secure the connection. You also have the option of going with a printer with wireless capability, but note that you may have to deal with interference regularly. Some wireless printers may require you to enter the security key manually every time you need to print something, and this can be quite annoying. This is something else you need to consider.
- Functions
As a student, you probably just need a printer and a copier. Multifunctional printers can also scan and fax, but you are unlikely to need these functions. They are also bigger and more expensive. Therefore, just go for a basic machine that can print and copy.