In todays world printer is the most and a must in every office due to the high advances in the technology.Printers are used to serve various purposes in homes, offices, and businesses. Here are the common uses of printers:

Home use, you might require to print some text documents or some photos in your home. In such a case, a light weight printer will come in handy.

The business setting, printing business can be a profitable one, Epson L386 inkjet Printer especially when set in an area where hard copy documents are required in large numbers. Examples of such places are, around universities and colleges, around government offices, court areas, etc. In most of these places, text documents are required in large quantities. This also means that the kind of printer should be able to handle large operations.

Photo production,although it is still inline with a business setting, this time round a printer will not be required for text document production. It should have efficient features in photo quality and color printing. Mostly it applies to photographers.

Graphic design, professional graphic designers will always require a printer to carry out their design printing. A printer with good image quality, a variety of color tanks, and probably with 3D printing capabilities is required.

Types of printers

If we go back to the computer class notes, we will find the types of printers mentioned. The two broad categories are impact and non impact printers. We are going to look at none impact printers since impact printers are rarely used or no longer in use.

On none impact printers, we will learn about the most used for their economical nature and broad features. That is, Inkjet printers and laser printers.

Inkjet printers

These printers usually perform their operations by spraying ink on the paper. The buying cost of these printers is low but will require high maintenance costs. The reason being the use of liquid ink cartridges that require constant replacement. These printers are often small and require less space. The best use case for this printer is; printing photos, graphics, and documents that require high color quality. However since the printer ink will wet the paper, the drying period is usually longer and may result in smudging if not left to dry. The print quality of text for these printers is not high and hence they are not recommended for text documents printing. If you are into photography or graphic design, this type of printer will not be a bad choice. However, it is worth noting that you will constantly need to replace or top up ink in these printers.

Laser printers

These ones will use light laser e.g from light-emitting diodes to create an image on paper. They use ink toners which are easy and cheap to replace. The laser printers are costly when buying but have a lower maintenance cost. They are best recommended for text documents since they produce higher-quality text. Also, they serve for long before requiring ink replacement and are also capable of bulk operations. Hence, if you want to start a text documents printing business, these ones will be a good fit. They however require large spaces, they are also not recommended for photography. Since ink dries up fast, the smudge effect is minimal in this printer.

You will still find other types of printers such as 3D printers, Dot-matrix (which are impact, the traditional type), and Dye-sublimation. Other printers are multi-functional with the capabilities of printing, scanning, and photocopying.

Features of printers

Most electronic devices come with unique features in each model to serve our needs. We consider these features and choose the best that can serve our intended purpose. Printers are not an exception, here are some of the features to consider:

Quality of printer out, the hard copy produced have to meet certain quality according to the use. The quality of print out of a printer is indicated by dpi which stands for dot per inch. This is the amount of dots per inch that a printer can squeeze. A printer with at least 600 by 600 dpi is not bad for a text document printer, this means 600 dots horizontally and 600 dots vertically. For photo printing, a higher dpi is required.

Operating system compatibility, modern printers will come with an operating system or will require installation of one. Also, the source of the document to be printed is from a computer, a smartphone, etc, the printer you go for should be compatible with the OS of your device e.g Windows, Mac, Android, etc.

Dye tanks, according to your color combination need, you should consider the number of ink tanks e.g 8 tanks, 6 tanks, etc. This mainly applies to ink jet printers. If you are into photography and graphic design, this is very important, the more the ink tanks, the more the colors available.

Printing speeds, printers with high printing speed are important especially in cases of business bulk printing.

Wireless connection, some printers will come with a Bluetooth connection or Airprint connection. This allows you to easily send documents from the device to the printer without using wires.

USB and Memory card slots, this will allow you to directly print documents from the storage.

Page production, the number of pages a printer can produce is very important. It largely depends on your use, for commercial purposes, a higher number of pages is required.

WiFi, if you will be using documents from the internet, or for sharing purposes a printer with the feature is important.

Best printers in Kenya

With the gained knowledge, you can now be able to choose the best model of a printer from the following brands. For prices of printers or to order printers from sellers in Kenya, check on The Brands app. The app protects you from cons through lipa an escrow, 

Canon printers

This brand has been in the market for a long and has a reputable name. They have a pool of printers to choose from, especially inkjet printers. The printers come with high features such as quality printing, with in-built scanning and WIFI functionality.

Epson printers

This is another reputable brand, they offer high-performing printers. Some of their printers will come with quality features including multi-functionality, WIFI enabled, and good for both office and home.

Brother printers

The brand offers printers in both the inkjet and laser categories. If you are looking for a multi-functional printer too, this brand has them for you. Their printers have high print speeds with a bunch of colors and printing to high quality.

HP printers

Hp is popular for its quality laptop production. Its printers are no less, they offer inkjet and laser printers of high quality that are worth checking. The printout is good and most have USB ports for software installation.

Kyocera printer

Kyocera produces printers fit for commercial use. The printers come with high print-out quality features. USB ports to allow direct print from the source and a high number of pages per minute.

The above are just but among the top printer brands. Get more printers in Kenya from The Brands app including user reviews to help you make the best decision.