Printers for Small Businesses, Home Offices, and Beyond

Whether you are printing everyday office documents or brilliant HD photos, printers are a key tool for your home and business. With the numerous all in one printer models available today, you have got key tools like a scanner, copier, and fax machine at your fingertips - and with the boom in wireless printers, it is easy to send a job from wherever you are.

Almost all modern printers fall into one of two categories: inkjet or laser. Inkjet printers use ultra fine jets of colored ink to form images and characters on paper. Laser printers, on the other hand, draw their designs using a laser print head, and then roll electrically charged toner particles onto the paper.

Both options provide excellent results in standard printing applications, such as home office work. Inkjet printers tend to offer the best performance for color printing of HD photos and graphics, while laser printers offer outstanding longevity and crisp black and white printing that make them an excellent choice for bulk office printing applications. Along with our standard options, we also offer specialty label printers with the ability to quickly produce large batches of custom labels for your office or warehouse, as well as portable printers that can provide basic printing wherever you need them.

Choosing The Right Printer for Your Needs

These are some important factors to look at when you are evaluating the best printer for your needs:

Scanning, Faxing, and Copying: If you are looking for an all in one multifunction printer, note whether you need scan, fax, and / or copy functionality and find a printer with the right features.

Connectivity: In addition to a standard USB connection, many printers now offer WiFi connectivity so you can print your documents wirelessly.

Paper Size: Check a printers supported paper sizes if you need the ability to print non standard sizes, such as 11x17 ledger paper.

Print Volume and Speed: Do you print hundreds of pages a day, a handful a week, or something in between? The printer duty cycle, a rating of its approximate monthly page output, is one of the most important stats to consider for anyone who needs high volume printing. Other important aspects for volume printing include a fast print speed, expressed in pages per minute, and high maximum paper capacity.

Color vs. Monochrome: Consider whether and how often you will need color printing. Both inkjet and laser printer technologies are capable of producing high quality color, although laser printers tend to be geared toward business and educational use rather than photos, and the additional cost of color toner can be substantial. Some office laser printers offer only black and white, which can eliminate the additional cost of color toner if your application doesn’t require it.

Resolution: Need to print or scan ultra HD images? Be sure to check printer and scanner resolution, expressed in dots per inch or DPI, to determine whether it meets your needs. If print quality is important to you, consider a photo printer for precision printing.

Toner and Ink Cartridge Services: Whether you have a monochrome or color printer, you will eventually need to refill your ink or toner. That means you will want to check the cost of ink or toner cartridges when you evaluate new printers and do some comparison shopping. Because shopping for ink and toner can be time consuming, many printer manufacturers make it easy through subscription services that automatically order high quality OEM ink and toner cartridges and ship directly to your home or business when they detect low levels in the printer. Some offer free trials of ink replenishment services with the purchase of specific models, as well as other potential benefits. Other printers come with large pre filled ink tanks designed for a long lifespan, which helps offset an initially higher price point.

Micro Center offers an unmatched lineup of office and home printers from top brands like Epson, Canon, HP, Brother, and more. Browse our full selection here, or see our printer ink and toner finder to ensure you get exactly the right ink or toner at a great price. Looking for a 3D printer? Shop dozens of 3D printers at a wide variety of price points.