Hey everyonew we are looking for tips from you established member that would help the newbies to the site and to the computer harware category

Jon

I think I have come across more printer reviews than other reviews I’ve read but most were brief and incomplete (based on my standards). Since printer is an important (but not an integrated) part in a computer system, I think a description of its general features, capabilities and hardware and software requirement is very helpful.

Type of printer (inkjet – type of ink/cartridges used, laser, etc.)
Features (what it can do: print only, or combine with scan, fax, photocopy and print, etc.)
Interface (parallel, USB, etc)
Hardware minimum specs: CPU, RAM, hard drive space, etc.
Software OS: Windows, Mac, etc. (specify which OS used for the reviewed printer)
Print capability (media type supported, size; print resolution, speed, mode, etc.)
A general description of its built, design (size, weight, space, paper loading method, etc)
Brief mention of included items in the package (warranty and service support provided by manufacturer), what may be needed to complete installation (e.g., cable, ink cartridges, etc.)

Installation is probably one controversial issue I have come across. Most printers I work with install very easily on Windows 2000, but sometime I cannot get it right on Windows XP on the first try (USB connection). A first-hand discussion on any problems or advice on installation that is not trivial is also very helpful.

Installation (cable connection, printer driver and software support)
Software installation and operation (features and selection, etc.)

For a discussion of printer’s performance, I would include:

Print quality (text, graph, photo – its overall color, a mention of which or what type of paper works best is also a good info)
Software operation and usage
Print resolution
Ink usage (projected expenses on ink per number of prints, …)
Print speed (specs vs. actual print speed)
Mechanical performance (operation noise, shaky or steady during printing, paper handling--loading and ejecting, issues on paper jam, etc.)
General comments on quality and performance: features vs. price, print quality vs. features, comparison with competing models or similar, etc.

These are some of the topics I would consider included in a printer review (and they are topics I look for in a review). I may have missed other things, so please feel free to add…

Paul

You covered it all, Paul. I would reiterate the point that many people seem to forget in the reviews, and that is the prints/cartridge and cost/cartridge to arrive at an actual cost of ownership. I see this left out quite often, and to me this is the most important factor in a printer. If you buy a printer for $50, yet each print costs you a quarter due to ink, you are really not saving much in the long run.

Printer reviews often leave out the very important "How the printed pages look" aspect. They will have all of the technical information that I can look up, but fail to tell me the qualitative aspects of the printer. How big is it? How well do the prints look? How loud is the printer, and does it recalibrate often, costing me even more valuable ink? To me these are as important if not more important that reiterating the information you can find on the manufacturer's page.

Please do not misinterpret this as saying that specs have no place in a printer review, as some definitely do. I do not want to have to click to the manufacturer's page to find out if it is an inkjet or laser printer and what the resolution for the printer is. Specifications that are critical to a decision for the average consumer should be added. I am simply stating that this is half of the review; the consumer side of the information that Paul included is critical as well.

Jason

Thanks for both of your contributions, this is exactly what we were looking for.

Jon

The vast majority of printer reviews fail to present the cost of the supplies required to keep the printer from becoming something other than a Chinese made paper-weight.

Compare the Cost of Printer Purchase to the Cost of a Cartridge.

Provide the Monthy Duty Cycle: Maximum recommended pages per month.

Calculate Cost Per Page: Per Ream, Per Thousand, Per 10,000

Calculate Cost of Ownership: Purchase Price + Supplies Plus
Average Number of Repairs (By Brand) X after
cost of service call.

At what page in a run does the printer actually reach the ppm advertised? It takes longer than you can imagine.

Too often, reviews leave out real world concerns such as cost, or probability of the machine being down for repairs under warranty. In 2004 Lexmark printers had more than 3 times the number of warranty repairs in the first year of ownership as did Canon printer.

In several surveys, Lexmark ranked last in satisfaction with the printer and the service.

People need to know these facts - no opinions when evaluating purchases.

Buyers need to know more than the myopic "we learned this by running a couple of hundred pages" kind of info in print.

Could anyone please, recommend a good product?

between Show & the Ratings? I posted a review in Printers category and received a Helpful rating. Then I looked at another epinionator rating and he had a "show"