bettertechxperts
p r i n t
th is!
Put yourself in the picture with this guide
to buying the best printer for your needs
H
ow many times have you gone to print an important
document, only to find your printer isn’t working
properly or is out of ink? W ith printer prices at an all-
time low, now’s the time to upgrade to a new' machine that will not
only take care of your document printing needs but also print your
photos and mobile phone pics, and photocopy, scan and even fax.
There are two main types of printer: inkjet
and laser. Inkjet primers are the besc way
to go for most home users, as they’re good
all-rounders and can handle documents as
well as photos. Laser printers tend to be for
higher quantity black and white printing.
If you’re going to be primarily printing
photos, you may want to look into a more
specialised photo printer. However, most
modern inkjets are more than capable of
handling basic photo printing.
W h at to a s k ?
Jack of all trad e s
Two of the best all-round printers on the
market are the HP Envy too e-All-in-One-
Dqioa, $250, and the Canon Pixma MG8150,
$299. They both offer wireless printing,
lots of features and intuitive display screens
that make setting up and printing easy. The
Envy is an environmentally friendly, PVC-
free printer which allows you to print
when you’re out of the house, thanks to
HP’s mobile ePrint. The more advanced
Pixma offers you the ability to scan your
old slides and negatives, print direct from
H D video and print onto CDs and DVDs.
These days, printers seem to be able to do
just about everything, so it’s worth looking
through the extra features on offer to
help you pick the one that’s right for you.
Do you need to be able to photocopy,
scan, fax or print pictures? Do you need
a wireless option so that you can print
from several computers in the house? How
about a USB port so you can print from
other devices? Or do you need the printer
to be portable so that you can take it with
you? Also, don’t forget to check how
widely available replacement
ink is for your printer and
how long a new cartridge
should last befor
need to change it.
^
N o t just for c o m p u te rs
W hat about a printer just for your
mobile phone or camera? Polaroid
has the answer with the new P0G0
printer, $129.95 (pictured). About the
size of your hand, the P0G0 plugs into
your phone or camera, allowing you
to print business card-sized pics on
the spot. And thanks to its specialised
Zink technology, you never
need to replace the ink
- all the colours are
contained in the paper!
For shopping details,
see Stockists page
Q
ls it possible to recycle
mobile phones?
A
lt sure is. There are
millions of disused
mobile phones cluttering
up drawers around the
country, and most of them
will end up as landfill. But
they often contain corrosive
and potentially dangerous
parts, such as batteries,
so throwing them in the
bin can be harmful to the
environment. That’s why
recycling is such a good
option. Recycled phones
are broken down and used
to make everything from
fence posts to jewellery
and even new phones.
Most mobile retailers
have a special recycling bin
in-store and there are also
companies that will mail you
out special bags to post
the phones back to them.
One company, MobileMuster,
www.mobilemuster.com.au,
will even donate money to
charity for the phones they
receive, helping to protect
children from cyberbulling
through The Alannah and
Madeline Foundation, www.
amf.org.au But before you
recycle your phone, make
sure you delete any personal
information on it.
Got a tech question
you’d like answered?
Email it to us at
200
Words Damian Madden;
photography iStockphoto
