Home and office printers have quite distinctive differences and buying the latter when you need the former can lead to some pretty trying times. In addition to this, there are multiple factors and options to consider before buying a printer. Read on to know which ones to keep in mind when buying a printer for the home.

Buying a home printer
The following are the top things to consider before looking at multiple options and buying a printer for your home:

• The first thing to do is to understand your needs. When you buy a printer for your home, you need to consider the purpose. If it is just to print documents occasionally and just want to have it as a standby, you can consider buying an inkjet printer or an entry-level laser printer.
• If you are buying a home printer for your kids to print their assignments and projects, then you will definitely want a color printer. A color laserjet will be expensive so instead, a color inkjet printer can be considered if your print requirements are not heavy. Please note that the per-page expenses of inkjets are more compared to laser printers.
• If you have a small home office, then you are likely to require a printer for your home needs and for your work. You can consider a multi-function printer that allows you to take printouts and make photocopies. You may want a scanner to scan documents to store in your system. Some printers even come with a fax machine. Depending on the work you do, you can decide the printer type.
• If you do design work using software like CAD or CAM, then you need a high-quality printer and will need to set a budget aside accordingly. If you do design work at home and mail the output to your clients, then an ordinary printer will do, else you need the best quality color laserjet printer.
• Connectivity through USB is common and you must look for that in the printer you buy. Wi-Fi connectivity is commonly used and it is better to get a printer that allows one for further ease of usage. If you print from your mobile, look if connectivity is possible from mobile to printer.
• The printer you choose should obviously support the operating system you have. It is possible that you will have more than one computer/laptop in your home. One may have iOS, one may have Windows, and the other Linux. Make sure your printer supports all the OS you have or are likely to get.
• Look at the cost-effectiveness. Offers on home printers are usually attractive and tempt you to make the purchase immediately, but when you start printing, you may realize that the per-page costs are very high. This may result in you having to buy printer cartridges or toner regularly, which can be expensive.