How do I install and use it?
Before attempting to install any new component, read the owner's manual thoroughly. Remove the printer from the box and inventory all included parts to be sure that they are there. Remove any tape or other packaging that might be used for shipping protection. 

NOTE: Most printers are NOT packaged with a parallel cable. Carefully review the product documentation to see if it's necessary to purchase a cable. If you need to purchase either a USB or parallel cable, click on the Accessories link the printer's product page for compatible cables. 

Parallel Port:

1. Before installing, be sure your computer is shut off.
2. Disconnect any other devices that might be connected to the parallel port.
3. Connect the parallel cable to your computer by sliding it into the socket over the pins and fastening it into place (this might involve screwing down two posts or securing a couple of clamps).
4. Connect the other end of the cable to the printer and secure it into place.
5. Refer to the owner's manual for installing toner cartridges and paper.
6. Connect the printer's power cord to the printer and a power source (it's always recommended you connect your printer directly to your surge protector).
7. Power up your computer and insert the driver diskette into the appropriate drive (either your floppy or CD drive).
8. If you're using Windows 95 or Windows 98, the computer should automatically read the disk in the drive. If it does not, click on the Start button, select Run, and then Browse. Locate a file called either Install or Setup to install the drivers.
9. Follow the on-screen instructions.

USB Port:

1. Disconnect your existing printer from your computer and from its power source.
2. Connect the new printer to its power source and plug the USB cable into the USB socket in back of the printer.
3. Connect the other end of the USB cable to the USB socket in your computer.
4. Refer to the owner's manual for installing toner cartridges and paper.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions for installing the driver software.

How do I go about buying one?
The choice between laser and inkjet used to be pretty clear-cut: for business, you got a laser printer, and for home use you got an inkjet printer. No inkjet could provide the quality and speed that a business required, and no laser printer was cheap enough for ordinary home users to afford. That has changed with the quality of inkjet printing increasing and the price of laser printers falling. Both types of printers offer some advantages over the other and they are shown below: 

Price: When choosing between an inkjet and a laser printer, there are three main factors that most buyers consider. One factor is price. Inkjets are priced lower then ever, some even less than KD60. However, low-cost inkjet printers are limited in their abilities and features. They are generally slow and hold one ink cartridge at a time so you'll either have to swap them between color and black and white, or the printer uses the color ink to produce black text that is poor quality compared to a dedicated black toner cartridge. Almost everyone can afford a low-cost inkjet printer, making inkjet the usual choice for basic home PCs. However, there are now "budget" laser printers available as well. And while inkjet printers are more affordable than ever, printers that cost less than KD60 should not be considered. 

Color Printing: Another factor is color printing. Most laser printers only print in black & white. Some models can print in color, and their image quality is superior to almost any color inkjet printer, but color laser printers are very expensive and may not be within your budget. The only affordable color printing solution is an inkjet printer, and the color quality of most inkjet units is perfectly fine for non-professional uses. 

Workload: A third factor is workload. Only the most expensive inkjet printers can match a basic laser printer for sheer speed and volume of output. This makes a laser printer normally the best choice for office work. In home offices and small offices, it's not unusual to see two printers: an inexpensive laser printer to be the workhorse for text documents and an inkjet printer to produce color pages. Both printers together still cost much less than a single color laser printer. 

To save money, some home offices and small offices opt for a multifunction system -- a device that can perform the job of a printer, scanner, copier and fax machine all in one. Some multifunction units use inkjet printing technology and others use laser printing technology. The information in this guide can be applied to multifunction systems as well as to traditional printers. 

There are several key specifications you should focus on when considering any printer. They include speed, resolution, interface, and consumables. 

Speed:If you've ever spent time drumming your fingers on the desk while waiting for a slow printer to finish a page, you know how important printer speed can be. The speed of a printer is measured in pages per minute (ppm), and the number given for a particular model shows how many pages the printer can produce at a low resolution. Higher resolutions and color images take more time to print, which you should take into account. A cheaper printer may be fast enough when producing basic, low-resolution text documents, but it can wear your patience thin if you use it to print hi-res color graphics. 

Resolution: This is measured in dots per inch (dpi), and shows how many dots of ink the printer can lay down in a square inch of paper. More dots per inch means finer detail, which makes text appear sharper and cleaner, and color images more sharply defined. Resolution is measured in two directions: horizontally and vertically. A resolution of 1440 x 720 dpi means that 1440 dots are placed horizontally across one inch of paper, and 720 dots are printed vertically down an inch. This gives a total of 1,036,800 dots (1440 times 720) in that single square inch of paper. 

There are additional specifications to consider when shopping for a laser printer, such as memory and duty cycle. 

Memory: Measured in Megabytes (MB), the amount of memory a laser printer has can greatly affect its performance. Before printing a page, a laser printer stores in memory all the information that makes up the text or graphics on that page. A printer with more memory can handle more print jobs at one time and can often get through a work queue faster. If a laser printer will be shared among multiple users on a network, it is extremely important for the printer to have plenty of memory. 

Interface: The printer's interface is simply how it connects to your computer. The majority of printers interface with your computer with a bi-directional parallel cable that connects to the parallel port. An important note to remember when shopping for a parallel printer, specifically inkjet printers, is that most are not packaged with the necessary cable. Check the documentation carefully to see if a cable is included. If there is no cable, purchase a bi-directional parallel cable to ensure the greatest performance from your printer. 

Another interface becoming more common to printers is the Universal Serial Bus (USB). A USB connection offers simple setup, the ability to hotswap other devices, which means you don't have to shut the computer off before disconnecting and connecting the other device, and the ability to run over 100 devices from a single port. If your system is capable of supporting a USB device and uses Windows 98, consider a USB compatible printer for its ease of use and slight edge in speed over a parallel interface. 

What products are most recommended? 
Economy: If your intended use is for casual, black and white printing, then a low-end, economy printer is sufficient for your needs. 

Value: Small offices and home offices should give serious consideration to value-priced, mid-range printers as they offer more features and faster print speeds in both black and white and color. They produce better quality than economy printers do, too. 

Performance: Professionals with frequent and/or large print jobs should consider a performance laserjet that's built to handle the workload. And for the same reason, any printer that's to be installed on a network for three or more users, a performance machine is recommended.