Do you need a few high-volume print devices or several less expensive personal print devices?
Choosing print devices includes selecting from among devices that are designed specifically for network use. These devices offer options such as automatic port and emulation switching, dual paper bins, and double-sided printing. Before deciding on your network printers, consider the following questions:
Do you need a few high-volume print devices or several less expensive personal print devices?
High-volume printers generally have more features but affect many more users if they break down.
How many pages do you expect to print?
You probably will experience fewer maintenance problems if you match printing volume with a printer’s duty cycle (the number of pages that it can print per month).
Which types of graphics support do you need?
The combination of Windows NT and TrueType technology makes it possible to print sophisticated graphics and fonts on most printers, even those that normally support only bitmaps and text. TrueType fonts are integrated with the operating environment so that every Windows NT application can use them without changes or upgrades. If you intend to print many graphs, charts, or halftone photographs, consider a printer that supports 600 dpi or greater.
How important is printing speed?
Whereas shared print devices traditionally are attached to the network through serial or parallel ports on computers, newer print devices connect directly to the network using built-in local area network (LAN) cards. Network links offer faster throughput than currently available parallel and serial buses. However, print throughput rates also depend on network traffic, the network interface card (NIC), the protocol, and the type of print device.
