Whether you’re producing invoices, simple brochures, business cards or letterhead for snail mail correspondence, one vital piece of equipment you’re going to need is a printer. Your options in this area can quickly appear overwhelming, but a recent article in PC World can help you focus in on your printing needs and avoid getting too little (or too much) printer.

In addition to highlighting what they have found to be four of the top printers for small/home offices (Canon Pixma iP4500, Dell Laser Printer 1720dn, HP OfficeJet Pro L7680, Dell Color Laser Printer 1320c), they also offer a brief buying guide so that small business owners can better determine their needs. One of the biggest decisions facing most small businesses in the market for computer printers can be summed up in a simple question: inkjet or laser?

Inkjets are generally less expensive up front to buy, but also less expensive over the long run per page to operate, as the cost of ink cartridges can be half that of laser’s toner cartridges (per page). Lasers, on the other hand, are considerably faster than inkjets, so if you do a lot of printing and need it quick, a laser printer may be worth the extra money. One point I did not know was that one type is better at graphics, one at text:

An inkjet printer excels at painting a picture. Though inkjets have made great strides in speed and text quality in recent years, their forte is graphics quality–especially photo prints. Inkjets can achieve a wider range of colors and produce smoother-looking images than all but the most sophisticated (and astronomically priced) color laser printers. Some can print well even on everyday stock.

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A thousand words (or spreadsheet lines) will look better coming from a laser. Lasers set the gold standard for printing precise text–and if that’s all you do, a simple monochrome laser could fit the bill nicely. Color lasers (or solid-ink color printers, such as those from Xerox) can handle simple graphics such as pie charts and logos, and they can print decent photos, too.

Another decision you’ll have to make is whether to buy a standalone printer, or one that is bundled with a scanner and fax machine in a multifunction machine. These are more expensive to buy, but you do get considerably more functionality out of one machine. If you think you’ll use all of the components, a multifunction machine may be a good, space-saving alternative to springing for an individual scanner, printer and fax machine.