The printer is the most important output peripheral of a computer system as it enables the production of a hard copy of your work. Although you can send your work via email and other electronic means, you still have to print it out especially when your recipient prefers a hard version. To ensure that your recipient appreciates your work, you have to make sure your printer does not let you down. Therefore, it is essential to have a good printer. Having a printout of your work also helps especially when you cannot retrieve information from your PC due to hardware or power failure. With my many years experience working with various printers which includes dot matrix, daisy-wheels, ink-jets, and lasers, I have come to the conclusion that a good printer should have the following features:

1. Compatible with your PC.
The printer must be compatible with your computer system. It is no use paying for one that does not work properly or does not work with your PC at all. This means if you are using an IBM PC or an IBM PC compatible, you have to make sure that your printer is compatible with such system. The packaging of the printer should tell you if it is workable with you system.

2. User-friendly
The printer should be user-friendly so that you do not have to waste time trying to figure out how to get it to do the work for you.

3. Reliable.
The printer should not breakdown too often or have annoying problems like paper jam. It must have something to guide the paper to pass through the printer head smoothly without being stuck somewhere in it. No one likes to experience a paper jam. It is a waste of time, and money as you have to take time to print your document again, and to further use your ink.

4. Help saves your time.
Time is precious. Therefore, your printer should not be too slow so that a lot of time can be saved. The speed of a modern printer is measure pages per minute (PPM).(1) The higher the PPM, the faster the printer is. In my opinion, the speed of the printer must be at least 50 PPM to be considered fast.

The software that controls the printer must show a clear indication on how much ink you have left so that you can buy a new ink cartridge to replace your current one on time before it runs out. The printer must also have a paper holder or cartridge so that you do not have to waste time putting in a new piece of paper for a new page. The ink cartridge should be easily obtainable from a store nearest to you, or from the Internet so

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Features that a good printer should have?
We want to hear your view. Write now!