Is It Time To Upgrade Your Printer?

Printers are generally thought of as being a ‘once in a blue moon’ purchase, the kind of thing you buy and then continue using the next five or even ten years.

Unlike computers and laptops, for which new models seem to have all sorts of technical wizardry bolted on every two minutes that have you wanting the next model sooner than you’ve plugged in the new one, printers all largely carry out the same function; print.

And if you don’t print that often, you may not see any benefit to splashing out for a new machine that essentially does the same thing as the old one, albeit maybe to a slightly better quality.

However, not upgrading your printer with some degree of frequency can lead to the sort of gripes that you often see filling up the customer service forums of major manufacturers. Printers, like computers, depreciate over time, their performance getting slightly worse as they get older.

Even if your printer isn’t that old, it’s also worth considering an upgrade. There are a vast array of features that are fast becoming must-haves, improving the printing experience of all who choose to invest in a brand-new shiny printer.

Here are a few of the signs that it may be time to upgrade your printer:

No wireless connectivity

Wireless connectivity was once seen as a luxury that few could afford, a feature reserved for the Blackberry-wielding elite. Now, with everyone and his grandmother owning a smartphone and/or a tablet, wireless connectivity has become essential.

Being able to print wirelessly opens up all kinds of possibilities; you can send camera photos directly to your printer, cutting out the time-consuming uploading process; you can send photos to the cloud, to be printed on someone else’s printer; and finally, you can have multiple devices connected to one printer, allowing everyone to print whenever they need to. You can even manage your printer settings using your mobile device.

No/small LCD screen

Most printers feature some kind of LCD screen, letting you know that a print job has started, that ink levels are low or displaying one of those ever-so-irritating error messages. It’s an essential part of any printer, and you can usually pick up a printer with a screen for relatively cheap.

However, if you print from memory drives or cards frequently and have to go through the arduous process of uploading, it might be worth investing in an LCD screen through which you can manage and print documents directly from a memory device. Some will even allow you to edit the photo on the printer itself, allowing you to crop, resize and add pretty little flourishes to your images.

Performance Issues

Believe it or not, the performance issues that seem to be inherent with all printers aren’t actually included in the initial design; they usually arise as a result of poor care or the printer being quite old.

If you are experiencing frequent paper jams, streaky prints or your printer is just plain old slow, then it might be time to consider upgrading. All of these issues can, of course, have other causes but if they’re persistent, think about changing your printer.

Expensive ink / toner

Undoubtedly the number one gripe of anyone who owns a printer, expensive ink and toner cartridges are often seen as a necessary evil. It doesn’t have to be this way though; different printer models use different models of cartridge, and each of these cartridges have a different price-per-page.

If you’re finding that you’re spending an undue amount on printer supplies, take a look at the cartridges of other models. Alternatively, you could choose to shop for high-quality printer cartridges at a fraction of the cost at Cartridge World!

No multifunction

Most printers manufactured over the past five – or even ten – years will be ‘all-in-one’, with a printer, scanner and photocopier combined. The price of these printers is now so low that they’ve become the standard type of inkjet model; if you haven’t got a multifunction, but feel like you could do with one, now is the time to upgrade.

For more information on how to cut the cost of printing, take a look around the blog. For a cheaper way to print, take a look around the site or pop down to your local Cartridge World store.