When the time comes around to get a new printer, we imagine a lot of head-scratching goes on!

We are printing specialists, but even to us it seems like every week there is a new manufacturer on the market, and every day there is a new model out vying for our attention.

As making any kind of decision can be difficult, we suggest finding a brand that caters to your needs, and taking it from there. As such, here are 3 of the most popular printing manufacturers available, and what they can offer you:

Brother – Function Over Thrills

Brother printers are a good all-round option that offers you solid function over any gimmicks – this makes them ideal for those who just need a reliable machine to print well and not much else. Ranging from around £50 to £200+ there is plenty of scope within their range for your particular needs, and their printers even frequent ‘best buy’ lists! They may not be pioneering cutting-edge print technology but their build quality is sound.

Canon – Image Is Everything

As you may well all know, Canon is an extremely well-known imaging brands who specialise in cameras and photocopiers alike. Their printers harness this knowledge and as such make some great quality prints – this makes them an ideal device for photographers and photo enthusiasts alike. It is not just photographers that can enjoy Canon products though as they can range from £29 - £350, making them accessible for a broad spectrum of users.

Samsung – All ‘Round Quality

 Samsung is probably better known for some of its other electronic products like mobile phones and televisions, but they have also lent their skills to the printing industry and done very well.  Samsung are now the UKs 2^nd biggest supplier of laser and all-in-one printers, so they must be doing something right! Ranging from around £50 – £250 you will be able to find a quality printer for your needs, and like Canon, Samsung also offer some great integration features if you have a Samsung digital camera.

Printers account for a mere fraction of Samsung’s vast product range, but don’t be fooled – just because they’re better known for mobile phones doesn’t mean that the Korean company is at all lacklustre in the printing department!

There are loads of Samsung printers on the market, and so we thought we’d help you to narrow it down a little bit. Here are a few of the best Samsung printers on the market; the best one for you will depend on what you need from it!

For high-quality colour printing...
SAMSUNG SL-C410W

  This model produces exceptional colour prints, especially for a laser printer. If you’re serious about the quality of your print-outs (perhaps you’re an avid photographer, for example) then this printer will be great for you.

Buy SL-C410W Toner Here

For fast bulk printing...
SAMSUNG ML-6510ND

Samsung make a variety of good high-volume printers, and this model won BLI’s Monochrome Printer Line of the Year award in 2012. The ML-6510ND is a good one for a busy office environment, offering no-nonsense monochrome printouts at a very quick pace indeed.

Buy ML-6510ND Toner Here

For printing on a budget...
SAMSUNG CLP-360

  A colour printer that, generally speaking, won’t cost you more that £100. This CLP-360 is a great choice for the home, with surprisingly good print quality considering the low cost.

Buy CLP-360 Toner Here

Canon is a huge name in the printing industry. This Japanese company has been on the scene for more than 75 years, and the brand is synonymous with top-quality printing and photography equipment. Canon printers can be found in homes, schools and offices the world over – no matter what you need a printer for, Canon is a great choice.

Here are some of Canon’s best printers as of February 2014:

Canon PIXMA iP2702
Brilliance on a Budget 

The iP2702 is one of the most inexpensive colour printers you’re likely to find. Some people have criticised it for its slow print speed and the amount of noise it makes while printing, but for just £14.90 (the Amazon.co.uk price at time of writing), you can’t complain, can you?

Canon PIXMA MG6350
Everything You Need

This is an all-in-one printer, which means that it can do scans and copies as well as straightforward prints. The quality that you get from the MG6350 is outstanding; it includes a ‘fast’ mode that cuts down on ink usage, and several Amazon reviewers have noted that the print-outs look great even in fast mode. 

Canon PIXMA PRO-100
The Best Your Photos Can Get

  Canon printers in general are pretty good for photo printing – after all, the company are arguably even better-known for their cameras than for their printers. Still, if you’re a professional photographer, you’ll want your snaps to look absolutely perfect when you print them off, and that’s where the PRO-100 comes in. It’s Canon’s top photo printer, and while it certainly isn’t cheap, the quality you get is well worth the cost.

Canon i-Sensys LBP7110CW
 One for the Office

This big, heavy-duty printer is perfect for a busy office environment. It prints quickly and crisply, and since it's a laser printer (as opposed to the inkjet printers found in Canon's PIXMA range), your documents won't get smudged and you won't have to change the toner cartridge very often!

Remember, if you do buy a Canon printer, you can get Canon toner and Canon ink cartridges right here at CityInk Express!

If you’re sick of going to the local library and forking over your loose change every time you need to print something, you may well have considered purchasing a printer of your very own. But if you’ve never owned a printer before, the unfamiliar jargon (not to mention the many available options) may leave you scratching your head. What’s a laser printer, and is it any better than an inkjet? What’s the difference between ink and toner? How on earth does a 3D printer work?

Fear not, citizen – CityInk Express will clear everything up for you. Here are some of the most common types of printer explained:

Laser Printer

Laser printers are popular for several reasons – they print very quickly, they’re reasonably quiet, and they’re pretty economical in terms of toner usage. Toner is more expensive than ink, but a toner cartridge will last far longer before it needs replacing. Also, since laser printers don’t use normal ink, you don’t have to worry about smudging that crisp new document you’ve just printed.

Inkjet Printer

That description of laser printers may make inkjet seem the far inferior option, but that’s not really true. In fact, an inkjet printer is probably the better choice if you want to print in colour – the photos and documents that you print will have a higher quality than those printed by laser. Inkjet printers also tend to be smaller (i.e. more portable) and slightly cheaper than laser printers.

As already mentioned, inkjet cartridges are cheaper and less fiddly to change than toner cartridges, although if you’re going to be printing a lot, a laser printer may save you money in the long run since it will last longer on one cartridge.

Dot Matrix Printer

The dot matrix printer was once the very height of printing technology, but nowadays, it’s considered somewhat obsolete. It’s kind of like a typewriter, in that it uses pins to strike the paper and press ink onto the page. This results in a much lower print quality than laser and inkjet printers, although some companies still use dot matrix printers because the ‘impact’ printing style allows for carbon copies to be printed simultaneously.

3D Printer

A relative newcomer to the printing scene, you’ve probably read a fair bit about 3D printers over the last year or so. Obviously, this isn’t what you want for your university essays; a 3D printer is used to create three-dimensional models right before your eyes. You can create your own designs, or download other people’s creations from Cubify. A different kettle of fish altogether, but worth mentioning nonetheless!