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The printer is still a popular gadget to have around the home and office, but gone are the days of messy cables. With a wireless printer, you can print documents remotely and easily.
How It Works
Wireless printers are convenient because you no longer have to physically connect a computer, laptop or mobile device in order to print a document. You can set it up anywhere in your home and even connect multiple gadgets to it through the Wifi network. There are two types of printers — laser and inkjet. The former uses a toner cartridge filled with fine powder, and a heated fuser, while the latter uses liquid ink stored in cartridges. With laser technology, you get fast, high-quality printouts that are superior to those from inkjet printers. Colour laser printers are bulky and, generally, too pricey for home and small office use. More affordable are monochrome laser printers, but most popular with the average consumer are inkjet printers.
Ask Before You Buy
Most printers come with copier, fax and scan functions — ask yourself if you really need them, or if a basic printer will do. Also, are you printing more images or text files? If you don’t intend to print in colour, you may want to consider a monochrome laser printer over an inkjet printer. If you have Apple devices, look out for models that support AirPrint, for added convenience.
Our Picks
1. Brother MFC-L2740DW, $438
The multi-function MFC-L2740DW is a monochrome laser printer that's suitable for heavy-duty printing at home or in a small office. It comes with copier, fax and scan functions, a 250-sheet paper tray and a duplexer for two-sided printing. It is able to scan both sides of a page at the same time (no need to flip the paper) to various file formats, such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and save the scanned file to a cloud or send it as an email attachment.
2. Canon Selphy CP1200, $199
The Selphy CP1200 is a portable photo printer that uses the advanced dye-sublimation print technology. It can print 54 prints on a single battery charge. You can print your photos via the onboard SD-card slot, Wifi, PictBridge connection and Apple's AirPrint directly from your iPhone.
3. Epson Workforce WF-3521, $398
The Workforce WF-3521 is a reliable multi-function printer that can handle heavy-duty printing. Its paper handling and print speed are impressive, compared to other similar inkjet printers in the price range. There is also support for mobile printing, cloud printing and Apple AirPrint. It has a useful function that lets you print out both sides of an ID card onto a single sheet of paper with ease.