Advertisement

Engadget's back to school guide: Printers

Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we've got printers in our sights -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides.

Even if your textbooks, your movies, your music, and the photographic evidence of your quasi-legal sorority hazing exists purely in the digital domain, you'll have to print out things like term papers and court documents sooner or later. (Thought we forgot about that hazing, didn't you?) We know that's money tight, so we've found something to suit every budget. Now, on to the printers...



On the cheap


This bad boy keeps things simple, the way we like it: a low-end print / scan / copy station with borderless photo printing to boot.

Key specs: 80 sheet capacity, up to 28 ppm (mono) and 22 ppm (color), Up to 600 dpi (mono) / up to 4800 x 1200 dpi (color)

Price: $59 at Best Buy




Mid-range


Kodak ESP inkjets use the company's patented pigmented inks for what it claims are the lowest total ink replacement cost in the industry.

Key specs: 200 sheet capacity, up to 32 ppm (mono) and 30 ppm (color), fax at 33.6 kbps

Price:
$160 from Office Max




Money's no object


This machine is not fooling around: print via WiFi or Bluetooth, dedicated photo tray, fax, scan, and copy up to 50 pages unattended using the automatic document feeder. This is some serious kit -- perfect if you plan on dropping out early and starting the next Microsoft.

Key specs: 125 sheet capacity, 20 sheet photo capacity, up to 33 ppm (mono) and 32 ppm (color), HP ePrint-print compatible


Price: $299 from Staples