All-in-Ones. A booming printer category, an all-in-one machine combines a printer (usually a color inkjet) with an image scanner (for turning documents into digital files), which also lets you make copies and (in some cases) send faxes. You get a lot of capability in one compact machine.
On the other hand, a separate scanner moves easily from room to room, while an all-in-one stays put. For photo printing, look for an all-in-one with more than three ink colors. Also, if family members like to print photos directly from their digital camera or memory card, a large LCD preview screen and memory card slots are important features.
Compact Photo Printers. Here's a great solution for the family shutterbug eager to crank out 4x6-inch snapshot prints. You can't beat the ease of use, with a single paper size (no trimming!) and results that compare well with prints from your local retailer (though homemade prints, contrary to expectation, cost roughly the same or slightly more than store-bought). A compact photo printer also provides portability, letting you take the printer with you on vacation. And you can often run it off optional batteries or a car adapter.
Compact photo printers are available based on two different technologies, inkjets and dye-sublimation (or dye-sub), with both producing high-quality results. Dye-sub prints have a glossier finish and usually cost slightly more than inkjet output.
Inkjet Printers. The relative importance of photo printing versus text is still a major factor in choosing an inkjet. Even a basic, sub-$100 inkjet today can handle the kids' computer artwork and website printouts--and turn out respectable photos given the right photo paper. Photo hobbyists, though, will want to invest in a more photo-centric machine, with multiple ink colors beyond the basic three-plus-black for greater color accuracy.
As for text output, a higher capacity black ink tank means more economical printing. Some of the cheapest printers out there don't have a black ink cartridge at all, creating black out of three colored inks. Not only are printouts from these machines unattractive, they're also expensive on a per-page basis-–just say no.
Laser Printers. Most families don't even consider buying a laser printer, but that can be a costly mistake. While there are color laser printers, they're mostly for business users. A black-and-white laser turns out perfectly crisp text documents faster than an inkjet, at a significantly lower cost per page. The ink alone can cost 11 cents for an inkjet-printed page versus 3 cents for toner (used instead of ink) in a laser printer. What's more, the toner cartridge lasts for months, virtually eliminating frantic runs to the office supply store.
For college students, 90 percent of their printing consists of school assignments-–why use expensive inkjet cartridges for all those pages when personal laser printers are available for well under $200 today and cut the per-page printing cost in half?