If you’ll be printing from a Chromebook, the main difference is that you have to have a cloud-ready printer with connectivity options that are compatible with a Chromebook.
Apart from that, there isn’t much difference between choosing a printer for a Chromebook and a regular one. So let’s dive into it:
Table of Contents
Inkjet vs. Laser Printers
The first thing you’ll have to think about is whether you need an inkjet printer or a laser one. This choice depends on the nature of your printing.
Inkjet Printers
Generally, color inkjet printers are the most popular on the market because they’re able to work with a wide array of media, including glossy photos, essays, pie charts, and much more.
If you’re looking for an AOI (all-in-one) unit that has scanning, copying, and possibly faxing, it’ll probably be an inkjet one.
Finally, their printing speed is superior to laser ones.
Laser Printers
A laser printer is a perfect choice for an office printer that is going to print in black mainly.
Most monochrome laser printers come at a very affordable up-front price. Not only that, but they also have a lower running cost per page than their inkjet counterparts.
However, steer away from color laser printers as their cost per page is a lot higher than color inkjet ones. Which brings us to…
Check Also: The 5 Best Printers for Chromebooks 2020 [Buying Guide]
Cost of Supplies
After you’ve spent your initial investment on the price of the printer, you’ll keep spending on ink or toner cartridges as well as paper.
Having a duplexing feature (2-sided printing) can cut the cost of paper to a half. It also cuts the operation time during scanning.
Cartridges, on the other hand, however, need extensive research before you make your purchase.
How often you have to replace your cartridges, and the yield of each one makes a lot of difference in terms of the supplies’ budget.
You can try refilling your cartridges instead of buying completely new ones to reduce costs. However, the ink-tracking chips that companies implant in their cartridges may be an obstacle in the refilling process.
Color Printing
Printing in color invariably increases the running costs, and a color printer typically has a higher upfront price. So if you’re not going to print in color, stick to a monochrome model.
A very important factor to consider is whether your cartridges are separated or not. It’s always better if they are. This way, you won’t need to replace all the cartridges if only one color runs out, forcing you to throw away half-full or almost full cartridges.
Read also: The 5 Best 11×17 Printers 2020
Size of Your Prints
The more diverse the sizes of paper your printer is able to print, the more versatile its functions will be.
Most printers will be able to print 8.5 x 11” paper, so you should look for a printer that’s able to print smaller or bigger numbers as well. Other sizes also include indexing cards and envelopes.
Connectivity Options
Check out your printer’s specs to see if it supports various protocols like Apple’s AirPrint software that enables you to print directly from an iPad or an iPhone without requiring to install any other apps or software first.
A wireless printer is also a very great option as it enables you to connect it to various devices simultaneously as well as print from different sources.
Print Speed
A high-speed printer is a necessity if you’re going to do large-volume printing as it would save you lots of precious time.
On the other hand, if you’re not going to print huge amounts of paper, you can sacrifice some speed for a more affordable price.
Print Resolution
A printer’s resolution is measured in dots per inch (DPI), and the higher this number is, the better the quality of your output.
If you’re only going to print text documents, you may not need that high a number. However, if you work with images and photos, a higher DPI would have a crucial impact on how your final output would look.
See also: Famous Printer for Cricut
FAQs
How to Print from a Chromebook?
- Make sure your printer is added to the list of Cloud Print Devices in Google Chrome’s Settings.
- Once you’ve set it up, add it to the list and click the menu icon in Chrome. Select the print option from that menu or press Ctrl+P on your keyboard.
- Adjust the settings according to your preferences.
- Finally, press print.
And here are the screenshots for those steps mentioned above:
Is a Chromebook Compatible with an HP Printer?
Yes. Almost all recent HP printers are compatible with Chromebooks and are cloud-ready.
Can You Plug A Printer Into a Chromebook?
If your printer has a USB connection, you’re good to go as most printers come with USB ports for direct connection.