If you're in the market for a new printer you need to read this article before making a decision on a brand or model. We're going to look at the best brands, which ones you might want to avoid and the overall cost of ownership.
There are several major brands of printers that you'll see when you're shopping for a new model. The main ones include HP, Canon, Epson and Lexmark. Dell also makes printers but they're really only available directly from Dell so you won't generally see them in stores.
Each brand has strengths and weaknesses. HP has been making printers for a long time, and they tend to be pretty reliable with good print quality. Canon has also been doing it a long time and they have a strong background in the photography business, so their printers are one of the best for photo printing. Epson has been making printers for as long, or longer, than the rest and they also have excellent print quality. Lexmark used to be the printer division of IBM and while they haven't been at it as long, their printers are often quite inexpensive.
Which brand is best for you will depend on exactly how you expect to use your printer. If you expect to do a lot of photo printing, Canon or Epson are good choices. If you do more general purpose printing, HP is a good way to go. If you don't print a lot and just want something cheap, Lexmark is a good option.
One of the factors you need to consider is how easy it is to buy replacement cartridges. If you run out of ink in the middle of an important project, you're going to want to be able to make a quick run to your local computer shop and pick up a new one.
Dell is probably the worst choice based on ink availability. They use cartridges that are not compatible with any other brands and they're the only place you can get them, for the most part. If you run out of ink and need it quickly, you would have to order it from them and have it shipped. Even with the fastest shipping you would still have to wait a day or so.
Lexmark is also not as widely supported as HP, Canon and Epson, so you should make sure that your local shop carries the ink you need before choosing one of their models.
As far as the overall cost of ownership - aka ink costs - Canon and Epson tend to have the least expensive cartridges, particularly for color printing. If you do a lot of general purpose printing as well as photo printing, Canon is the best choice, otherwise either one will be suitable.
