No matter what you need to print, whether it is a school essay, coupons, or last-minute directions to your aunt’s house, you can easily find the best printer for home use that suits your specific needs. However, shopping for a home printer might be tricky considering all the available options in the market, and those technical terms that make the process even more complex and mind-boggling.

Below is a short guide to help you buy the best printer for your home:

Choose between Laser or Inkjet
The very first thing that you need to tackle when buying a printer is how much, and what you plan to print. An inkjet printer uses an ink cartridge that is applied wet to paper, then quickly dries up. A laser toner, on the other hand, uses toner, which is a kind of ink dust that can bond to paper for efficient resource use and fast results.

Today’s market is mostly made up of color inkjet printers since they have the ability of printing almost anything, from pie charts, to essays, and even glossy photos. Modern all-in-ones and inkjet printers are fast, usually with printing speeds that can rival or even outdo laser printers.

A laser printer is still a great choice for office settings if most of your printing needs is only in monochrome. Monochrome laser printers are available at affordable prices for the most part, while offering good print speed and providing cheaper printers per page compared to color inkjet printers.

Multifunction Printers
Multifunction printers can also be considered when looking for the best printer for home use. These printers can fax and scan, aside from printing alone. A multifunction printer comes in laser and inkjet varieties alike, and is often referred to as MFPs or all-in-ones.

A multifunction unit is a sensible choice for home use not just because it is more affordable than purchasing a standalone scanner and a printer, it also helps you save space as well. All-in-ones are highly recommended as the best printer for home use because they are very common, with manufacturers rarely charging a large premium for these units. Scanning in particular is a useful aspect of your printer because it can make it easier to directly scan documents to your computer.

Photo Printers
Finally, if your goal is to preserve your family pictures on paper instead of printing off pie charts or homework assignments, you might want to settle for a single function or dedicated photo printer. Although they are not as flexible as multitaskers, they typically have better print quality that often exceed or rival the quality of what you can get from a mail-order service or a kiosk. However, expect that the price you need to pay for this type of convenience will come out in print cost.

Buying the right printer for your home doesn’t have to be such a difficult process. Remember the tips above to find the best printer for home use that suits your needs and your budget.