Choosing a printer for your home or office can be a daunting choice when you consider how many different printer options are available for any sized home, office and budget.

What you choose should be based solely on what your needs are. For instance if you take a lot of digital pictures you’ll want a printer that can handle heavy-duty high quality printing. If you have an office that needs to print large volumes of material then you’ll want a printer that shoots out pages at high speed.  All in one printers combine the function of a printer, scanner and copier all together, the perfect solution for a home based business. Canon makes a great line of printer, the Pixma series. Here’s a brief guide to what the top selling Canon Pixma printers are and why.

Canon Pixma MX700:

This is a standard office printer. It can do everything, print, scan and copy. It pumps out paper quickly. It’s the perfect choice for a small office. It can be added to a network for multiple computer printer sharing.  One of the nice features of this printer is it has a preview screen so you can see exactly what the print will look like before using up paper and ink.

Canon Pixma Pro9000 :

The Pixma Pro900 is a great choice for the photo hobbyist. It uses a dye ink instead of a pigment-based ink. Dye ink is less expensive but still produces great pictures. While this printer isn’t the best choice for large format commercial work it’s great for printing out family snapshots and vacation pictures.

Canon Pixma MP210

The Pixma MP210 is the budget option in the Pixma line. It has most of the features of the higher end units but at a fraction of the price. The print quality is great but it is a bit slower than the other Pixma models.

Most of us use printers almost every day. It’s amazing how far the technology has come from the old tractor feed dot matrix printers. Back then all you had to worry about was the ink ribbon running out. These days our printers can make high quality photo prints. This means the technology is much more complex and the ink jet nozzles are smaller and more delicate than ever before.

So it stands to reason that occasionally an inkjet will get clogged up. It will be obvious; your print will be blotchy or not print in a color. There are a few options for fixing a clog; here are a few tips on how to clear and prevent getting a blocked printer head.

• To prevent a printer head from jamming up it’s a good idea to use a bit of preventative maintenance. Periodically use the clean function on the printer. This will exercise every one of the printer inkjet ports. This keeps the ink from drying out in the less used nozzles.

• If the printer head is already blocked then the first step should be just like above. Run the clean cycle on the printer then print out a test page. If this works then you’re set. If not you’ll need to take a few stronger measures.

• Print a test page again. What isn’t printing? If it’s only 1 particular color then you can address that individual port. There’s no need to run multiple cycles and waste the other ink colors.  Simply open up a paint file, draw a large shape and fill it with the blocked color. Print out a couple copies of the file until the blockage disappears.

If neither of these options work then you’ll need to remove the printer cartridge and clean it.  Pop out the cartridge and swab a commercial cleaner on the nozzles. Let it set a few minutes. Wipe off the inkjet nozzle, reinstall and print out a test page to make sure everything is back in tiptop shape.

If you want to have any sort of productivity at home you’ll need a printer for your computer.

Whatever type of printer you choose is a personal choice depending on the features you require.

If you want to print out digital photos then you’ll want a high quality photo printer. If you just want to print out the occasional email or Word document then there are lower end of the scale printers that are perfect for that.

Before you get all worked up on just what the right printer is, it’s helpful to do a little bit of research about printer ink cartridges. There are good reasons why you should choose your printer ink first, printer second.

Printers are really well built these days and can last through several computers. The biggest expense with a printer is the printer ink. So it makes sense to look for a printer that has the lowest cost printer cartridges to reduce your overall operating costs.

The first thing to check out is how much a brand new cartridge from the manufacturer costs. If the print cartridge costs more than the printer then it’s really not worth it.

Instead look for an inexpensive replacement cartridge.

Look for aftermarket cartridges as well. There are plenty of manufacturers that provide new inkjet cartridges at a much lower cost than factory originals.

You can find refurbished cartridges for even cheaper than aftermarket ones and they will work just as well.

The final option in printer cartridges is refillable ones. With this you just buy a refill syringe and kit and do it yourself. Be careful though it can be messy!

Cost is the main reason why you should choose your printer ink first, printer second. By shopping around you can find a printer that will suit your needs but has lower operating costs.

Every printer needs paper. The type you choose though can be quite specific for whatever task you’re working on.  You can find everything from cheap commercial stock through heavy bond professional paper. Whether you are printing out photos, making wedding invitations, or just need to print out a recipe there is a type of printer paper out there for every use.

Here’s a guide to buying printer paper.

If you’re looking for just generic stock paper then shop around for whatever is the cheapest.  You aren’t really looking for quality here just bulk.

If you’re concerned about the environment you can find recycled paper that’s much more eco-friendly. You’re saving trees and energy at the same time. Recycled paper is normally cheaper than new paper as well. You get to help the environment and save money at the same time.

If you’re printing out some family photos then you’ll need to choose what type of printer paper you want. You can find photo paper in either glossy or matte finishes. It’s really just a personal choice. Both work equally well and will give you a great frame worthy photo.

For more formal documents like wedding invitations and resumes you’ll want to spend a few more dollars on a heavy bond paper. A heavier bond paper gives a look and feel of quality and elegance to what’s printed on it. The few dollars you’ll spend on higher-grade paper is quickly offset by not having to pay the expense of going to a professional printer to get your work done.

This guide to buying printer paper should help you get started on choosing just what works for you. Buying printer paper  online is a quick and easy option.  Just shop around for the best price for whatever your printing needs are.