Which computer printer is best for you depends on how you will be using the printer. If you want sheer speed to print black and white pages fast, then a quality cheap laser printer is great. They generally print much faster than an inkjet printer. If you want to print relatively inexpensive color graphics, then a good quality inkjet printer is the best choice. There are color laser printers, but their cost is still quite high comparatively.

Laser Printers

    Laser printers utilize a laser beam to produce an image on a metal cylinder (drum). The light of the laser alters the electrical charge on the drum wherever it hits. The drum is then rolled through a reservoir of toner which is picked up by the electrically charged portions of the drum. Finally, the toner is transferred to the paper through a combination of heat and pressure. Copy machines work this way, too.

     One of the chief characteristics of laser printers is their relatively high resolution--or, how many dots per inch(dpi) they lay down. The standard available resolutions range from 300 dpi at the low end to 1,200 dpi at the high end. By comparison, offset printing (printing presses) usually prints at 1,200 or 2,400 dpi. Some laser printers achieve higher resolutions with special techniques known generally as resolution enhancement.

Inkjet Printers

    Inkjet printers work by spraying ionized ink at a sheet of paper. Magnetized plates in the ink's path direct the ink onto the paper in the desired shapes. Some ink-jet printers are capable of producing high quality print approaching that produced by laser printers. Typical ink-jet printer provides a resolution of 300 dpi although some newer models offer higher resolutions.

    In general, the price of ink-jet printers is lower than that of laser printers. However, they are also considerably slower. Another drawback of ink-jet printers is that they require a special type of ink that is apt to smudge on inexpensive copier paper.

    Because ink-jet printers require smaller mechanical parts than laser printers, they are especially popular as portable printers. In addition, color ink-jet printers provide an inexpensive way to print in full-color.

Computer to Printer Interface

    The accepted standard for connecting a printer to your computer used to be the parallel interface. However, over the past few years this standard has changed. Many printers are now using the USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface because it is so easy to connect and install. The physical connection using a parallel interface is not difficult, but it requires rebooting the computer the get the operating system to recognize and printer has been connected. With the USB connection, you can do it "hot", or with the computer on, and the system will immediately recognize and printer has been attached. All computers today will come with USB connections and the one you build will have them also. You will usually need to make the connection from the motherboard to the front of the computer case so you can connect USB peripherals.

     Most printer manufacturers today make excellent products. Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Epson, Lexmark and others all produce quality units that are easy to install.