There are several aspects to consider when purchasing a printer for home use. On top of considering what bells and whistles you need or want with a home printer, you may also want to take into consideration the following: available budget, primary printer use, frequency of printer use, access or connectivity, printer size or design and printer compatibility. We find it best to assess your printer needs by answering the following ten simple questions:

1. Primarily, what will you be printing from home?
2. What is your budget?
3. How often will you be using your home printer?
4. How will your computer connect to the printer?
5. Where will the printer be located and or stored?
6. What types of computers will be using the printer?
7. How much are you willing to spend on printer supplies and maintenance?
8. Will you be printing in black & white, or will you need to print in color as well?
9. Do you need other functionality such as the ability to copy, scan and fax?
10. Are you making a long term investment or do you just need a printer for occasional use?

Types of Printers for Home Use

Inkjet Printer

Inkjet printers are the most commonly found printers for home use.  They are typically inexpensive to purchase (although high-end inkjet printers are available) and can print nearly anything you desire in b&w or full color.  Inkjet printers have the flexibility of being used on higher volume or on a need basis depending on the model purchased. Ink cartridge replacements per purchase are lower than other printer types however the cartridges can get expensive for someone who uses their inkjet printer more frequently. It is important to read a host of inkjet printer reviews prior to purchasing any inkjet  printer for home use.

Laser Printer

If you are looking for a high quality printer then laser printers are the best bet. They tend to be higher priced, and maintenance can be expensive but their quality and speed cannot be matched by comparable inkjet printers.  There are typically two types of laser printers; monochrome laser printers and color laser printers. Color laser printers would be better suited to use as a home printer than a monochrome laser printer due to the color laser printers wider spectrum of functionality and affordability.

Multi-Function Printer

If you run a small business out of your home office, or if you are a college student then a multi-function printer is probably the best choice for you. Multi-function printers vary, however they typically are able to print in b&w, color, scan, copy and send / receive faxes. Multi-function printers can use laser or inkjet cartridges, so it is important to assess how much you would be willing to spend on printer supplies and maintenance costs. A high quality multi-function printer will be pricey, however if you are looking for a long-term investment then this could be a solid path. Budget multi-function printers are available but again we recommend you do your research either by shopping online or talking to someone at your local computer or electronics store.

Photo Printer

If you are a digital photography junkie then you should have certainly purchased a photo printer. However photo printers are not just for the professionals or photographers. Today with the advancements in technology – anybody can use a photo printer. Simply plug the photo printer into your computer or digital cable via a USB cord and you will be ready to print your favorite pictures. We recommend that you check out a few photo printer reviews prior to purchasing a photo printer for home use as there are several different options to fit your needs.

Specialty Printer

There are also printers available to cover a wider variety of specialty jobs. You can purchase a label printer for mailing and organizational solutions; wireless (WiFi) printers are becoming a standard on many of the printers mentioned above, portable printers are now becoming popular, dot matrix printers (typically lower printing costs & high durability), and DVD/ CD image painters (print images onto a DVD or CD) are just a few of the non-traditional available printers for home use.

Think you can spare a few minutes to give your printer a little TLC? Doing so can assist in prolonging the life of your printer. By removing dust particles or ink smudges, your printer will work better and hopefully last longer as well. Cleaning your printer eliminates paper jams, ink blotches and abnormal lines. However, if you are careless when cleaning, you can permanently damage the printer.

Before you start cleaning, make sure the printer is cooled down. Unplug the printer also, just to be safe. You might want to try cleaning out the printer when you are replacing ink or toner cartridges, to avoid damage to existing cartridges.

Use a soft cloth to wipe the exterior of the printer. Dampen the cloth, not the printer, with a light liquid. Try distilled water or a light cleaner, but stay away from ammonia or alcohol as they can crack or damage the surface. It’s best to clean the outside of the printer first, while the cartridges and trays are still inside. This way, dust and other small debris don’t make their way inside.

The way you clean the inside of the printer will vary a bit between laser and inkjet printers. Most inkjet printers have cleaning processes that can be initiated from the software that accompanies the printer. This cleaning unclogs the printheads that shoot the ink. Other inkjet printers have cartridges with printheads on them, so the printhead gets replaced with each cartridge change and does not need to be regularly cleaned.

To remove dust and debris from the rollers, paper trays and other parts inside of the inkjet printer, use a small duster or damp cloth to gently wipe all of the parts down. If you are a fancier cleaner, you can use purchase tools such as a computer vacuum or cleaning sheet for a sparkling printer. For example, many printer companies manufacture their own cleaning supplies, such as the Xerox cleaning wipes shown here.

With laser printers, you can clean the inside parts the same as you would an inkjet printer, except a soft brush is recommended instead of cloth or a duster. If you don’t have a brush, make sure to steer clear of the mirror inside to avoid damaging scratches. Also, the transfer rollers are the only part of a laser printer than cannot and should not be cleaned!

The bottom line is that you have to be very careful when removing and replacing all parts. Remember to be gentle and leave out the elbow grease. Again, taking just a few minutes to detail your printer can improve the performance and add pages onto your printer’s life!

Printing on the run now has a new meaning. New iPhone apps now allow you to print just about anything directly from your smartphone! The top apps are reviewed, in no specific order…

Print App

1. “Print” by EuroSmartz – Price: $4.99

Tired of transferring your iPhone pictures to your PC for printnig purposes? “Print” for iPhone lets you print information from your iPhone/iPod touch to a printer connected to your computer, via network or local.

When you install “Print” on your iPhone and download the free WePrint software for your desktop/laptop computer, you can then print directly from your iPhone. You could even print remotely to your home or office printer. Imagine taking a photo while on vacation and then printing it on your home printer.

“Print” for the iPhone prints web pages, contacts and images. “Print & Share” also prints emails, stored files and also shares files with your desktop computer.

This app requires both an app installed on your phone and on your pc.

2. “Print Magic” by Wellala – Price: $5.99

Print Magic is the first application for the Apple iPhone & iTouch products, which allows for wireless printing through IPP.

With Print Magic, you can now print images, text, and even web pages directly from your iPhone or iPod Touch.  Print Magic can print almost anything, from any application, with no additional software to install.  If you can select it and copy it using the Cut and Paste feature of iPhone OS 3, Print Magic can print it — including from applications like Mail, Safari, and of course Photos.

This app only requires an app installed on your phone. It connects directly with your printer.

3. “PrinterShare” by Dynamix – Price: FREE

With PrinterShare you can print directly from your phone to anywhere in the world including your own printer. First, you need to install PrinterShare Mobile on your mobile phone and either login with your existing account or create new one of the fly (it’s free).

Then you need to find and select the printer you want to print to. The computer connected to the printer needs to have PrinterShare software installed, just like when you print from computer to computer using PrinterShare. In addition, from your mobile device you may look for printers shared by others, select one and print on it.

This app requires both an app installed on your phone and on your pc.

4. “ePrint” by Microtech – Price: $2.99

If you have ePrint and required printers, you don’t need your PC anymore to print. ePrint has print settings such as paper size or color. Print photos or contacts in your iPhone or iPod touch. You can also check printed image beforehand with print preview.

This app only requires an app installed on your phone. It connects directly with your printer.

5. “Printer Whisperer” by Lunaticity - Price: FREE

The “Printer Whisperer” iPhone app is great. Aside from being a completely free app, it can cause hours of problems for your office IT manager!! Don’t worry, it doesn’t cause any real harm to you printer. Here is what the app can do… If you have a networked printer (unfortunately it can only be a HP Laserjet networked printer) and it has an LCD display, this app is a must download. You simply type in the IP address for the pritner into the app and you can change the display message on the LCD screen. Favorite messages include “Printer Will Self Destruct”, “Pen is Stuck”, “Don’t Panic”, and many others. Have tons of fun while your IT guy scratches his head. The message resets when the printer is turned off.

This app only requires an app installed on your phone. It connects directly with your printer.

Epson Stylus Pro WT7900

Epson America Inc., announced on December 8th, 2009 that the Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 would be the world’s first printer to utilize aqueous-based white ink printing technology, which has been developed by Epson America Inc.  This will enable packaging designers, flexographic and gravure printers to use white ink on materials such as transparent and metallic films. This aqueous-based white ink technology will drastically lower manufacturing costs while significantly increasing the quality of work.

What is Aqueous-Based White Ink

Aqueous based white ink proofing technology was developed for the sole purpose of producing higher quality white yields. This technology drastically increases ink density, provides custom white color toning, and allows white ink to be displayed on a range of substances like never before, including; inkjet coated transparent and metallic films. The secret you ask? Epson UltraChrome™ HDR White Ink, which is a water-based resin that doesn’t consist of any known carcinogens.

Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 Review

Epson America Inc., says the Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 will forever transform the package proofing and prototyping industries.  This printer will utilize the Epson UltraChrome HDR White ink as well as their cutting edge printhead, the ten-channel MicroPiezo Thin Film Piezo (TFP) with ink repelling coating technology.  The MicroPiezo TFP also enables the WT7900 to be virtually maintenance free, due to it’s auto cleaning function as well as ink provides a repelling coating that reduces the chances of nozzle clogging.  Consistency won’t be an issue with Epson PreciseColor, their groundbreaking production technology, which automatically evaluates and collaborates during and after each print.

The Stylus WT7900 provides several inivative printing options, such as the reverse-white and surface-white. Reverse-white printing mode allows the WT7900 to print in color first, followed by white ink. While surface-white printing mode is just the opposite – the white is printed first, followed by the color. These are just two of the numerous printing modes and features tha the Stylus WT7900 has to offer.

The Stylus Pro WT7900 will be available in early 2010 and has a MSRP of $8,495.

For a full list of features and specifications, check it out on Epson’s website.