Here at CityInkExpress, we are often asked for advice on which printer model would be best for our customers. In this blog post, we hope to shed some light on the sometimes bewildering array of options available in the market.

Toner or Inkjet?

Traditionally, businesses have always chosen a laser printer over an inkjet because of the reduced running costs involved with a laser printer. That is no longer necessarily the case, and many small or medium businesses (SMBs) are taking advantage of the latest business inkjet offerings from the various printer manufacturers, with real-world print speeds of up to 22 pages per minute. Fitting a continuous ink system can often be cheaper than using toner cartridges, and the reduced startup costs are very attractive.

Which Printer Manufacturer?

Generally speaking, Canon produce the printers most suited to photo printing, and many of their models are able to handle cardstock up to 300GSM (grams per square metre).

Epson produce fantastic all-round printers, and their small-in-one printers from the Expression range are well suited to families on a budget.

Brother printers are relatively fuss-free, cheap printers suited to a variety of uses. Whether you are a small business looking to print invoices, or need a printer to handle your children's homework, a Brother printer may well be the way to go.

How Much to Spend?

Budget is a concern for most people, and we will always do our best to meet all of your requirements, but as with everything you get what you pay for. We can help you find a professional quality photo printer, or a high-speed printer for invoices, for under £100, but there will be a trade-off in terms of other functions. Ideally, you should look to buy a printer which does everything you need it to, and nothing more. That way, you won't be spending money on a function you won't use.

There is also another key point to consider when buying a new printer: running costs. One of the cheapest printers currently on the market is the Canon iP2850, starting at around £30 plus VAT. If you need a basic printer for occasional use, it may well be the way to go, but the cartridges can cost £25 a set, and will only last for around 180 pages. Clearly, printer price isn't everything.

You're Not Helping. Which Printer Should I Buy?

Alright, back on topic. You need a printer, and you don't know which one. There are too many to choose from, and you don't know how to narrow it down. The easiest way to choose a printer is to ask yourself the following questions:

• How much do I want to spend?
• Do I need a scanner/copier, or just a printer?
• Should the printer be wireless? Will I want to print from my phone?
• What kind of things will I be printing? Is it for card-making, invoice printing, photo printing, or a mixture of everything?
• How much printing will I do?
• Will I need to print double-sided?
• Do I want to print in A3, or just A4?
• Is there anything else I want the printer to do, or any other features I would like (e.g. printing onto CDs, fax capability, or a rear tray for cardstock).

If you can answer most of these, we will find the printer for you. Here are some examples of printers which we might recommend for different uses^*:

"I just want a printer. For printing."

The Epson WF-3010DW is a fantastic little printer. It is completely lacking in bells and whistles, which means that the money goes to producing one of the best small printers on the market. At 9.2 colour pages per minute (or 15ppm in black and white), with automatic duplexing and wireless functionality, and a 250-sheet paper tray as standard, the WF-3010DW punches well above its weight in terms of print quality and speed. If you want all of this and a scanner as well, you would have to spend twice as much on the printer!

"I need something cheap with a scanner to print the kids' homework, and occasional photos."

Epson's Expression small-in-one printers are ideal for light use in a home environment. The XP-225 is the cheapest currently on offer, and for just £45 you can have a USB printer/scanner/copier capable of handling all types of printing.

"I need a printer for the office, as cheap as possible. I mainly print invoices."

Brother's all-in-one printers offer a very competitively priced option for small businesses or home offices. With prices from £75, the DCP-J4110DW is a real workhorse. With print speeds of 16 pages per minute, and the option of occasional A3 printing as well as a scanner/copier, many businesses should look no further than Brother's J4000 range of printers. For larger offices, the J5000 series is well worth a look, as they are more suited to heavy use.

"I want a professional-quality photo printer, but I don't want to spend any money."

The Canon Pixma iP7250 was made for photo printing. For just £60, you can have a wireless printer with a maximum print resolution of 9600*4800 dpi, and capable of handling cardstock up to 300gsm.

"I would like a printer for heavy use in the office."

This is a request we get a lot, and there are plenty of options to choose from. Whether it's Epson WorkForce Pro range, Canon's new MAXIFY printers, HP's OfficeJet Pro or Brother's J5000/6000 range, there is a huge range of inkjet printers available for SMBs. Different prices and print speeds, along with other options such as fax and double-sided scanning, enable you to find the perfect printer for your requirements.

"I don't like any of those. My needs are different."

That's not a problem. Drop us an email to admin@cityinkexpress.co.uk and we'll find a printer/CISS combination to suit any environment.

^*Prices and current models are correct as of 29/01/2015. Links provided are to printer bundles, with a CISS and 100ml bottles of ink included in the price.

It's been a while since we have posted - we have been very busy and are proud to launch our new range of ciss systems similar to Epson Ecotank range with Epson Genuine ink - yes that's right Genuine ink - For those customers that only use genuine inks and still want to save money - its a Win Win for you with on going running costs of around £1 a cartridge when compared to the standard fill OEM carts , currently available on a range of around 200 selected 4 and 5 colour models with more to follow. 

 The continuous ink systems are our new design in a handy 70ml version which is the same size as the refill bottles. We will be expanding the range in 2015 to include 6 colour printers in A4 and A3 size

In case you hadn't already noticed, here at City Ink Express we are champions of the continuous ink supply system (CISS). We would argue that using a CISS rather than your standard printer ink cartridges is far more efficient, time-saving and will not affect the quality of your printing. As well as a professional and efficient printing job, opting for a CISS system over a standard printer cartridge will save you a very significant chunk of money indeed!

Here are the two main reasons why CISS systems save you money:

1. They last far longer than a traditional ink cartridge 

Your CISS system is a fairly large tank with four separate containers for the different coloured inks. There is significantly more room in each of these containers than in any individual printing cartridge meaning that naturally the ink in your CISS system will last far, far longer than in any ink cartridge for there is simply more of it! 

2. They are much cheaper to refill 

Though purchasing and setting up a CISS system can be relatively costly, once you have your system in place the price of the ink refills are dramatically less than you would pay for a standard ink cartridge. Therefore, with a CISS system you pay out once and then have a stress-free printing life with cheap refills, but with purchasing ink cartridges you pay out a hefty sum every time you're out of ink! 

And there you have it - the lowdown on CISS systems. We know which printing option we'd prefer. 

We honestly don’t mean to intentionally blow our own trumpets all the time, but we really believe we can offer you the best deal on printer ink refills anywhere on the internet.

For years now we have specialised in CISS printers – Continuous Ink Supply Systems - as well as the printer ink refills to supplement them. The basic principle behind these printer systems is by allowing yourself a continuous connection the ink jets can use a much larger ink reservoir. This then means you can purchase your printer ink refills in larger volumes and save yourselves a ton of money on printing costs.

It’s clear then why you would want to incorporate a CISS printer into your home or office space, but why should you then choose City Ink Express to purchase it from? Well while we’re on the subject of cost, we do offer the most competitive price around, so as well as saving on printing costs in general, you can save on the refills when they do eventually need replacing too – bonus.

Not all printers are able to install a CISS system, but we’ll even sell you a CISS printer bundle which includes everything you need to start saving money today! When you do purchase a printer or printer ink refills from City Ink Express, you’ll also have access to our massive resource of printing-related material, should you have future difficulties installing or refilling your printer.

At City Ink Express, we’re passionate about printing, and we aim to leave a good impression!

If you hadn't already gathered by now, continuous ink supply systems or CISS systems are a speciality for us here at City Ink Express. With continuous ink supply you are saving an incredible amount of both time and money with your printing, without ever compromising on quality. Our CISS systems are extremely popular, but they can be fairly tricky to fit and install. We offer as many installation tutorial videos as we possibly can over on our YouTube channel, but of course with the extent amount of printer manufacturers and models we cater for it's extremely difficult to get a tutorial done for them all! 

This is where our CISS printer bundles come in handy: you can purchase a fantastic quality printer with a built in CISS system and have it delivered to your doorstep. This is fantastic value for money and requires zero effort apart from the click of a button your end - what could possibly better? We have found our CISS printer bundles an extremely attractive option for customers, which is why we thought we'd draw up a quick top 5 list to show you which printer bundles our customers tend to opt for to help you make your decision! 

If you need any help making your choice please don't hesitate to get in touch with us - we are always more than happy to help.

Submit your review of our products to reviews@cityinkexpress.co.uk quoting your order number, to be in with the chance of winning this month's fantastic prize - £100 gift card to spend at Amazon!

 

 

 

June's winner of the brand new 32" flat screen tv was Derek : "The TV has arrived and works wonderfully. Our old one was just going on the blink - in fact our son had started praying for a new one"

 

 

 

 

May's winner of the Apple Ipod Touch 8gb was M.Swinden, Birmingham, Spencer Swinden Design

Full terms and conditions apply and can be found here

In august 2010 I bought a new printer. Two days later I saw City Ink Express CIS for my new Epson.

I really didn't know whatit was but I thought that I would save money with their ink… so I ordered it.

Today, in February 2013, one and a half years later, I still haven't used all the ink from my original purchase. I've printed everything I needed! This has been one of the best buys I've ever purchased.
My family and friends spend more than me on ink in one month than I've used from my original purchase a year and a half ago.

When I got it I was a little afraid because I had to do some modifications to the printer and because the supplier is a UK company and I live in Barcelona (Catalonia). I had no problem at all, the instructions were well documented and I received the product in a few days.

I would never buy another printer now without first getting advice from cityinkexpress on whether they have a ciss for it.

Carles

Submit your review of our products to reviews@cityinkexpress.co.uk quoting your order number, to be in with the chance of winning this month's fantastic prize - a brand new Samsung Galaxy 7" Tablet! 

 

 

 

 

June's winner of the brand new 32" flat screen tv was Derek : "The TV has arrived and works wonderfully. Our old one was just going on the blink - in fact our son had started praying for a new one"

 

 

 

May's winner of the Apple Ipod Touch 8gb was M.Swinden, Birmingham, Spencer Swinden Design

Full terms and conditions apply and can be found here

I first bought a Ciss system from city ink express 3 years ago. From the day it arrived I have been extremely happy with their service and products.  I have since bought 3 more Ciss systems for other printers and each time I have been very happy.

I have bought both pigment ink and dye ink refills and can say that the quality of both is superb. Thank you Cityink Express you have saved me hundreds of pounds, and each time I press the cartridge reset button It makes me smile thinking about all the money I am saving.

Keep up the good work.

James

Hi City Ink Express

I have a home business and I use a lot of printer ink and paper. I used to print stuff off and photocopy duplicates.  Since being introduced to the CISS Ink system I can't rate it high enough.

The ink is great, the system is simple and the service from City Ink Express is outstanding. If you haven't got your system yet I suggest you do it now.

Jason L.