These days, printer ink will still run you about $20 to $35 per minuscule cartridge, each yielding 400 to 1000 printed pages. In fact, unlike everything else in the world of consumer electronics, ink prices are going up--as much as 30 percent since 2009.

In a business where hundreds of pages are being printed each day, those costs are significant. It’s easy to dismiss a single page coming out of the machine as inconsequential, but with a price per printed sheet (per color used) now hitting anywhere between 3 and 10 cents, a business that goes through 500 sheets a week could be spending $2600 annually on printing--and many times that if staffers regularly print in color.

Printing is a substantial business expense, but ultimately you have more control over it than you might think. Sure, some printing--packing slips, mailing labels, legal paperwork, and so on--may be unavoidable, but there’s a lot you can do to cut printing costs. Here are some ideas, from the relatively painless to the rather aggressive.

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Want to buy a new printer? You have some decisions to make. Do you need only monochrome printing, or color capability? Do you prefer laser, LED, inkjet, or solid-ink technology? What about extras, such as wireless networking or multifunction copy/scan/fax features? Your choices will depend on what you want to do with the printer, how much printing you do, how many other people will also use the printer, and, of course, how much you can spend--for the printer itself and for the replacement ink or toner.

We'll help you figure everything out. In this article, we'll describe the major types of printers available, so you know what your options are. In another portion of this printer buying guide, we'll explain important printer specs to help you figure out which models would best fit your needs. And when you hit a brick-and-mortar store or a Website, our printer shopping tips will make your purchase easier.

Cloud/Mobile Printing Takes Off

As smartphones and tablets proliferate, so does the desire to print from those devices. That’s why we’re hearing so much now about cloud printing or mobile printing, two terms that mean more or less the same thing: sending a job to a nearby printer, or even a printer at another location, without installing a driver.

The concept isn’t exactly new. On the low end, many apps allow you to send a photo from your phone to a printer. On the high end, enterprise-level offerings for mobile printing have been around for years, most notably those from EFI and HP. Now, however, cloud/mobile printing is a universal function that could someday do away with the printer driver as we currently know it.

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When a paper jam occurs, some printers flash lights at you and scream for help. Others sense where the jam is and provide guidance on clearing the blockage. If your printer offers diagnostic advice, follow it. Also, take time to check the printer's documentation for help in clearing jams. Here are the basic steps you'll follow to correct the problem:

1. Turn off the printer. If you're going to be working inside the printer, you don't want any trouble with electricity or moving parts. And if you're dealing with a laser printer, you also don't want the fuser to generate additional heat. If the paper is jammed in or near the fuser unit (you'll feel the heat as you come near it), you'll have to wait for the fuser to cool off before clearing the jam.
2. Open all doors leading to the paper path. If you can't tell which door leads to the paper jam, start by removing or opening the input tray and following the paper path all the way to the output tray, opening every door or panel that you can find along the way.
3. Carefully pull out paper sheets and scraps. Check for paper sheets that are stuck or askew, as well as for paper scraps. Pull paper out of the path firmly but very carefully and slowly. When possible, pull paper in the direction it is supposed to go in under normal conditions--not backward, which could strain the printer's mechanics.Take care to remove all of the paper: As any scraps that remain could cause further jamming. If you have the misfortune of breaking a mechanical piece in the printer, stop what you're doing and call for service.
4. Close all doors and turn on the printer. Once switched on, the printer should reset itself automatically. If the printer reports that it is still jammed, double-check for stray paper scraps, and then close all the doors again. If the printer continues to complain, try turning it off and then back on. If the complaints continue, you'll have to call for service--and hope that a deep-seated piece of paper--rather than a broken mechanical part--is the source of the problem.

To avoid a jam next time:

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The "inkjet vs. laser" printer stereotypes are becoming less accurate. Once home-oriented, inkjets now include models that are sufficiently fast and capable to keep up with an office's demands. By the same token, the workhorse laser and LED printers of yore have spawned a new generation of machines that are small enough to fit into a home office.

Which one is best for you? Here's how to decide between an inkjet and laser printer to handle work around your workplace.

Before you start shopping, take some time to think about your printing habits--the kinds of things you print (plain text, graphics and photos, or a mix), how much you print (in pages per week, say), and whether you need to share the printer with your family or coworkers. If your prints include external communication or promotional materials, consider the content and print quality you need.

Inkjets Keep It Simple, Excel at Photos

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If you have a photo printer (see PCWorld's recommendations), you have three good options for turning your digital photos into beautiful printed pictures. The first two ways involve using the Windows Vista and Windows 7 picture import wizard--a powerful yet straightforward tool for transferring images from camera to computer. The picture import wizard works seamlessly with most cameras and lets you organize and print your favorite shots easily. The third way relies on a technology called PictBridge to print directly from your camera, bypassing your PC altogether.

Print Photos From Your Windows PC

1. To transfer images from your camera to your computer, power down your camera, connect it to your PC via a USB cable, and turn on your camera. If you are working with a Windows Vista or Windows 7 PC, turning on the connected camera should engage the AutoPlay wizard.

2. To start copying your images to your computer, select Import Pictures and Videos.

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If you share a computer, you might want to limit who can use it for printing files. Unauthorized printing gives others the opportunity to walk away with digital material, and it wastes consumables such as ink and paper. There are a couple of ways to secure your printer without compromising your own ability to print.

Set a Password

Installing a commercial program like Amanda Group's Printlock lets you protect your printer with a password. Once you've created the password, no print job will run until the user provides the correct credentials. Printlock works with any printer connected to a Windows PC and will prompt the user for a password whenever someone sends a document to the printer.

1. Browse to the Printlock Website, and download the software from it.

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Whether you install a new printer or already have multiple printers installed on your network, you have the option to choose which printer you want to use as your default printer so that Windows and your applications know where to print.

If you are installing a new printer, follow the instructions on your CD. During installation, the Add Printer Wizard is displayed and you will be given the option to install your new printer as the default printer.

Step By Step

1. When the Add Printer Wizard / Default Printer window is displayed, place a check mark in the Yes box, click Next, and continue to follow the instructions.

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The printer ate your TPS reports, but no excuse matters when you're rushing off to meet clients empty-handed. No wonder everybody loves to hate printers. When you need them most, they'll display a stupefying error message and create a hot mess of jammed paper and spilled ink.

But before you pick up a baseball bat to express your printer rage, take a deep breath. With some patience and attention, you can probably overcome the printer problem that vexes you--and avoid having the nightmare recur in the future. Here's how to address five of the most common printer complaints.

1. Paper Jams

Printer jams occur when the paper feeding through the printer goes awry. Sometimes the printer ignores the problem, soldiers onward, and extrudes a crumpled mess into the output tray; on other occasions, the printer stops in midjob, and the crumpled mess--or part of it--remains trapped somewhere inside the machine.

When a paper jam occurs, some printers flash lights at you and scream for help. Others sense where the jam is and provide guidance on clearing the blockage. If your printer offers diagnostic advice, follow it. Also, take time to check the printer's documentation for help in clearing jams. Here are the basic steps you'll follow to correct the problem:

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If you're about to go shopping for a printer, whether in person or online, keep the following tips in mind.

Set your budget: How much can you spend on a printer? $100? $200? $1000? It's important to know your price range, as you can expect different levels of quality and features as you go up the scale.

Decide on must-have features: What do you want your printer to do? Is photo printing a must? Do you need to print on both sides of the page automatically? What about single-function versus multifunction--are there any trade-offs? For help deciding, read our discussion of your printer options. Based on what's available in your current price range, you might find that you need to spend a little more--or possibly less--to get what you want.

Know your ink and toner costs: A printer is only as cheap as its consumables. If a specific model has caught your eye, check out its ink or toner costs to make sure that you won't be bleeding money over the long term. We show you how easy it is to do the math for ink costs on the next page.

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Ready to buy a printer? These are the specs you need to understand to make an informed choice.

For a general discussion of the kinds of options you have, see "Major Printer Types Explained." And for advice to keep in mind when you go to the store, see "Shopping Smart."

Basic Printer Specs

Dots per inch (dpi): This number defines how many dots the printer can fit onto a square inch of paper. Due to baseline specs set long ago, all dpi numbers are a multiple of either 300 or 360--for example, 1200 dpi or 1440 dpi. The higher the maximum resolution, the more detailed an image the printer is capable of creating. Vendors use other technologies to stretch the capabilities of those dots, however, so the actual number is not quite as important as it used to be.

Engine speed: This number is usually expressed in pages per minute (ppm), and sometimes as characters (cpm) or images (ipm) per minute. In any case, check the claims carefully. Vendors often show performance numbers that reflect printing in draft mode, which is faster but not as good-looking as the standard-quality setting; or worse, they omit the initial processing time before the first page prints, which is an unavoidable part of every print job. An industry standard for "laser-comparable" printing has evened the playing field, and you'll see that spec on some printers. Note that print speed varies depending on the complexity of the job, too; printing complex graphics or on both sides of the page (duplexing) will slow your printer.

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