Printers

 

        There are many different kinds of printers:  thermal, wax, dot-matrix, impact, plotter, inkjet, and laser.  But for community association management companies there is really only one choice:  laser.  You may be tempted to purchase an ink jet printer because of the initial low cost, but just say no.

 

Each workstation does NOT need a printer.  “Department” sized printers (designed to serve multiple workstations) are much faster and the cost per page is less.  Besides, the idea is to get rid of paper.  So email your correspondence instead of printing it.  And email your newsletters … that way you get a color newsletter for no additional cost.  It makes a lot more sense to put a scanner at each desk in order to eliminate the paper.

 

LASER vs INKJET Black and White Printers.  It’s a matter of cost per page.  Manufacturers are now literally giving away ink jet printers for $100 or less and these printers print with outstanding quality.  The problem is that the manufacturers screw you with the cost of the ink cartridges that only yield a couple hundred pages with a cost per page of over ten cents per page.  The toner cartridge for a laser printer yields thousands of pages with a cost typically between two and three cents per page.

 

INTERFACE.  Serial, parallel or USB.

 

MULTI-FUNCTION Printers.

 

COLOR Printers.  Separate color tanks for low volume color ink jets.

 

MICR Check Writing Printers. 

 

HP Printers.  We recommend HP printers because of their reliability, compatibility, serviceability and the availability of low cost recharged toner cartridges.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:  An HP Laser Printer with USB interface with toner that is able to be recharged (refilled).  If you need multiple printers for an office, try to stay with the same toner cartridge type in order to simplify inventory and supply.

 

 

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