- Laser Printers
- Inkjet Printers
- All-in-One Printers
- Thermal Printers
- Multifunction Printers
- LED Printers
- Solid Ink Printer
- Digital Printers
- Dot Matrix Printers
- Wide Format Printers
Let’s look into different types of computer printers for enterprises to help you make the right call.
Types of Printer for Enterprises
The following section will highlight the different categories of printers available for enterprise use.
Laser Printers
A laser printer uses a toner cartridge consisting of powder ink to print high-quality documents. Laser printer prints 20-60 pages per minute (ppm) for color and white print and has a duty cycle of 100,000 pages per month varying from model to model. Enterprise prefers the best HP laser printers over inkjet printers due to their low printing cost.
- Color Laser Printers: Offer versatile color prints with only four cartridges: CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) which stimulates other colors.
- Monochromatic Laser Printers: Better warm-up time produces sharp black and white prints using only one cartridge, further reducing printing costs.
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Inkjet Printers
An inkjet printer uses liquid color or ink cartridges to print text and images. The number of ink cartridges varies with different inkjet printer types. Enterprises prefer inkjet printers over laser printers due to photo printing and superior prints. They have a speed of 10-20 ppm, with a duty cycle typically around 5,000 pages per month, though this can vary depending on the specific printer model. Here are some different types of inkjet printers readily available on the market.
Business Inkjet Printers
Business inkjet printers offer high printing volume at a speed of 15 – 30 ppm especially designed for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMEs). These printers strike a perfect balance between quantity and quality, offering high-quality prints with a robust duty cycle of 20,000 pages per month. Business Inkjet Printers have a low cost of running and often come in compact sizes, saving valuable office space in SMEs.
Supertank Printers
Super tank printers are a subcategory of Inkjet printers with large refillable ink tanks instead of traditional ink cartridges. Color super tank printers have 4 tanks for CMYK, while monochromatic has 1 or 2 ink tanks for black only. These printers have high-volume printing capacity with an incredible 10,000-per-month duty cycle at 10 – 20 ppm speed. Enterprises opt for super tank printers due to their large refillable ink tanks and zero cartridge waste.
Ink Tank Printers
Ink tank printers are cartridge-based and cost-efficient, with sufficient ink capacity for small offices. These printers require less refilling than other inkjet printers but more frequently than super tank but it mostly depends on the printer model. Ink tank printers offer a speed of 10 – 20 ppm with a duty cycle of 10,000 pages per month. They have refillable ink tanks: 4 for color and 2 or 1 for black/white print similar to supertank, offering eco-friendly solutions to disposable ink cartridges.
Photo Printers
Photo inkjet printers use a special white paper known as photo paper to prevent the ink from smearing with normal paper types. These printers have separate paper trays for photos and other papers. Photo inkjet printers have a speed of 1 – 10 ppm, and a duty cycle of 500 – 3000 pages, varying with printers. These printers use a higher number of ink cartridges than other inkjet printers and require extensive care for proper use. Businesses use photo printers because they are specifically tailored to offer increased flair and vibrant prints.
Color InkJet Printers
Color inkjet printers come in two ranges: high-mid end and low-end. The only difference between the two is the number of ink cartridges used. Low-end inkjet color printers have only 3 basic colors (CMY), while high-mid consists of 4 cartridges CMYK. Both color printer range offers almost the same printing speed ranging from 10 – 20 ppm and a duty cycle of 5000 pages. However, there is a visible difference in print quality between low-end and high-mid-end color inkjet printers.
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All-In-One Printers
All-in-One printer offers a combination of a printer, scanner, and fax machine in two types of printers: Inkjet and laser: Both types of all-in-one printers have the same speed and duty cycle as a traditional laser and inkjet printer. These printers offer wireless printing, and documents can also be sent and received via fax. They are larger than simple printers, yet offer high-speed prints, faxes, and document scanning operations, making them a complete package for SMEs.
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Thermal Printers
Thermal printers are best known for producing images on paper using heat without ink. Enterprises opt for thermal printers due to their high-speed printing and incredible quality. The best part about thermal printers is that their total cost of ownership is reduced as they only rely on thermal papers to print images. Many categories of printers are available in thermal printers, from banking sectors to grocery stores.
Label Printers
Label printers produce high-quality shipping labels and enable seamless shipping for enterprises. Typically, the speed of label printers ranges from 200 – 300 mm per second for various label sizes. Label printers produce vibrant, rich, detailed color or monochromatic labels for your shipments.
PVC Printer
A PVC printer directly prints plastic cards, commonly used to create ID cards. It typically uses thermal technology to produce vibrant, lasting prints without ink. PVC printer’s speed ranges from 120 – 150 cards per hour and offers high-quality color and monochromatic prints.
Barcode Printer
Barcode printers are easy to use and create high-quality scannable barcodes. They have a speed of 200 – 300 mm per second and help create unique identifiers like product information and shipping details. Moreover, depending on the barcode printer type, some have built-in batteries to offer remote on-demand printing.
Receipt Printer
Receipt printers are commonly used to issue receipts to record their day-to-day payments and transactions, maintaining accurate accounting records. Portable mobile Point of Sale (POS) printers and stationary desktop POS printers are two types of receipt printers. Both types of POS receipt printers offer a speed between 150 – 250 ppm. They are commonly used in retail and designed for lasting durability.
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Multifunction Printers
Multi-Function Printers (MFPs) are specially designed for enterprise heavy-duty printing operations with duty cycles of 100,000 pages. MFPs combine printing, copying, and faxing into a single device, ideal for diverse enterprise usage. These printers are available in both laser and inkjet technology allowing you to prioritize based on your enterprise needs. It’s important to note that multi-functional printers are generally placed in large enterprises while SMEs opt for all-in-one printers for normal usage.
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LED Printers
LED printers use Light-Emitting Diode for printing instead of lasers. They offer a speed of 20-60 ppm which is comparable to laser printers but with less cost per page. Moreover, it has a massive duty cycle of 75000 pages per month, depending on the printer. Unlike laser printers, they have fewer moving parts, making them more energy-efficient and cost-effective. However, only some companies manufacture such printers, which makes them tricky to repair or replace.
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Solid Ink Printers
Solid ink printers use ink made from non-toxic vegetable oil in the shape of solid ink sticks that are melted and applied to paper. They offer vibrant colors and high-quality prints at a speed of 30 ppm which varies with printer model. Enterprise opts for Solid Ink printers for their eco-friendly benefits as they don’t use traditional ink cartridges, reducing waste and cost.
Digital Printers
Digital printers print digital-base images, which are directly sent via digital files such as TIFF or PDF. These printers don’t require printing plates and can print directly on photo paper, fabric, cover, canvas, and more. They offer cost-effective short runs compared to traditional printing methods due to zero setup cost. This is perfect for printing small quantities of items in an enterprise without incurring additional expenses.
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Dot Matrix Printers
Dot matrix printers have minimal mechanical parts and fewer electrical components making them faster than other printers. These printers strike the ribbon against the printer using ink and produce basic ASCII and bitmap graphics at 100-600 characters per second (cps). Enterprises opt for dot matrix printers to print pages, with an incredible duty cycle of 10,000 to 50, 000 pages per month, enabling cost-effective prices than other printers.
- Multifont Dot Matrix printer: Offers a myriad of choices between font styles to provide greater readability and enhance the visual appeal
- Color Dot Matrix Printer: Capable of printing in multiple colors using different color ribbons perfect for producing multi-color documents and graphics.
- Bidirectional Dot Matrix Printer: Print left-to-right and right-to-left to increase the printing speed, efficient for high-volume printing operations.
- Serial Dot Matrix Printer: connects to a computer using a serial interface, offering reliable data transfer over long distances
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Wide Format Printers
Wide format printers are the oldest printers available for enterprise and have seen rapid transformation over the past two decades. A wide-format printer prints 12 to over 100 inches of paper using dye sublimation, UV, pigment, and latex to produce large-format copies. These printers are expensive due to quick printing speed and large print volumes. Generally, these printers, are controlled via computers.
- A2 Printers: Prints a paper size of 16.5 x 23.4 inches and lower, ideal for printing medium-size posters and other large-form graphics.
- A1 Printers: Offers print from size 23.4 x 33.1 inches and lower suitable for design industries for architecture designs, requiring precision
- A3 Printers: A3 printers print on large paper sizes 11 x 17 inches, offering high-quality printing for producing large documents, posters, and brochures.
- Plotter Printers: Draws lines onto a long sheet of paper over 100 inches or less using a computer-aided design or schematic programs
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Frequently Ask Questions:
What Is the Most Common Type of Printer?
Inkjet and laser printers are the two most common in all types of printers.
What Type of Printer Uses a Fuser?
A laser printer uses a fuser to bond the toner to the paper.
Which Type of Printer Is Best for Office Use?
It varies based on workload type, but laser printers are generally considered best for office use due to their speed and efficiency.
