larrybobba wrote:
• I wish to purchase a new printer and I seek advice on which model to buy.
Will use with: iMac, iPad, & iPhone.
Criteria:
Personal use (not commercial)
• low to medium workflow
• Laser (not ink jet)
• Copy capable.
• Easy set-up with Mac OS and iOS
• Wireless would be nice but ethernet is also OK.
• I'd prefer a printer that works directly from the Print Command on my Mac and does NOT require that I install the printer's software. (But maybe that's not a smart requirement)
• Color would be nice but simple B&W only is okay.
• Scan & fax would be nice but not necessary
It's been many years since one needed to worry about "compatibility" with Macs. For instance, I have a Canon All In One printer from 2011 and an Epson All in One printer from 2014 and both have worked with Macs fine from the get go, including most recently with Sequoia. The Canon one doesn't even offer current drivers because it is no longer supported by Canon but still works fine with all print and scan options usable. The Epson one has some extras like printing onto blank DVDs and CDs and still works fine. All print using the Print command (how else would one print).
What I suggest is narrow down your candidates to the ones that have the options you want. Often the lowest cost printers use the most ink, which costs more in the long run. You can select models that use less ink, or are faster, or have other capabilities like printing on large format paper or other media.
Here are factors that I have paid attention to:
- Size and type of media one can print to
- Having a document feeder, this is quite useful when one wants to scan or copy multiple pages. Also, a document feeder that can handle both sides of the paper is nice to have, greatly simplifies scanning or copying when the originals are two-sided.
- How many sheets of paper you can put in the tray
- How easy it is to load paper in the tray. Oddly, on some models this is not very easy to do. My old Epson printer has a paper tray that is somewhat inconvenient to reach and re-insert for replenishing paper.
- Having separate paper trays for different sizes of paper, including ones sized for photos.
- Reliability (prone to needing service) -- Consumers Reports rates printers for this based on surveys it sends to millions of readers. You can also look at user ratings in large resellers such as Amazon, Best Buy, etc.
- Speed of printing -- this is also rated/ranked by Consumers Reports and you can see the manufacturer specs, but those specs are likely for lowest quality prints.
- Cost of ink under normal use -- also noted and rated by Consumers Reports.
- All my printers are on WiFi. But take note, are they using 2 GHZ or 5GHz WiFi, or do they select the band with the best signal.
- AirPrint -- almost all modern printers are AirPrint compatible, which is nice to have.
Printers are really like a common appliance nowadays -- just select based on price, features you want, performance in the areas that matter to you, and reliability. There are many printers suitable for Macs, as Phil points out, that's not really an issue and hasn't been for many years.
