Printer Reviews

Printers are “buy once” occasion. Meaning if you purchase one machine you can’t just shelf the printer if it didn’t turn out to be a better purchase and buy another. Printers are mighty expensive; especially those high end models and such fact would inhibit buying of several brands to see which works best.

The solution is as always: read product reviews. It is where any prospective consumers can gain insights on what to buy, what model to choose and which one to avoid. Though some others are slightly inclined on a specific brand, which is only natural by the way, the bulk of the review should be at least truthful and honest. For example, expect someone eyeing other product line to naturally consider getting a Canon printer after reading the printer reviews. On the same token, those that met several difficulties (which is on some occasions isn’t the manufacturer’s fault but the consumer’s) will bash at a certain product’s worthiness. So where can you read product reviews?

The web is a fine source for any media, printer reviews notwithstanding. One such site is C/net at http://reviews.cnet.com where you can Google printer reviews according to brand, model, printer technology, media type, connectivity technology (for wireless or wired), output quality and of course printer price. C/net offers editorial reviews as well as user’s review and that should ensure that you will see both sides of the coin.

While editorial reviews may be the better source for technical data, the user end’s reviews are better source for information regarding the low downs of a certain model. Rational discretion should be practiced, however, since most user end reviews, if reviewing negatively would rant at the product’s failure but sometimes not of the user’s ineptitude in servicing the product. Editorial reviews may be more fair and straight, but with concerns of advertising and sponsorships, negative remarks are kept at minimum or just simply avoided.

Another printer review site is IT Reviews at www.itreviews.co.uk. This site should cover most new arrivals as IT Reviews gets updated frequently. You can also compare prices with IT Reviews and/or even buy directly online from their page. The only downside is the absence of user’s review which, as discussed earlier, is an essential aspect in reviews.

Review forums are also good sources for printer reviews. DPReviw.com at www.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1003 is a printer user community and a good place to ask the about a specific model or a suggestion on the best machine for a specific job.