Once you get beyond the printer's ink application technology, your next consideration should be the inkjet printer's resolution. Today's better inkjet printers are all capable of producing laser printer quality black text and a stunning variety of photo-quality printing in full colour.
The degree of quality in the inkjet printer output is determined mostly by the printer's resolution or the number of dots of ink being applied per square inch. This measurement is often listed as "DPI". Generally the higher the DPI number is, the better the resolution is.
Just to make sure that you don't have too easy a time picking an inkjet printer for yourself, the manufacturers have another measurement for you to consider. This one is called "Picoliter Droplet size". This is the measurement of the size of the ink drop that is applied to the paper. One picoliter is roughly equal to one one-millionth the size of an ordinary raindrop. The numbers typically range from one through ten. In this case a smaller number is better than a higher one.
All inkjet printers produce colour the same way. The use four ink cartridges that come in a colour combination known as "CMYK" which stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These four colours can be mixed in precise proportions to produce any of 16.7 million colour variations. Actually, I lied. Some printers, notably the higher priced ones, can use up to six cartridges. They add a "light magenta" and a "grey" to trick the eye into believing that the DPI is even higher than it really is.
Printing speed is another important consideration when buying an inkjet printer. Printer speed is measured in pages-per-minute or "PPM". Higher numbers are better although true PPM is not always what you see listed on the box. Printer speeds are affected by a variety of factors including the software being used at the time, your PC's printer port configuration, and the density of the image that you are printing. The more work the printer has to do, and the more ink that has to be applied to the paper, the slower the effective PPM will be.
That about covers the basic properties on the various brands of inkjet printers on the market today. Your next decision point is printer functionality.
This is where you need to decide what you will being mostly using your printer for. If you require a scanner and/or a fax machine then you might want to get a multi-purpose inkjet printer that has these features. If you will be printing a lot of photographs then you should lean towards one with a high resolution and a low picoliter number.
Your final consideration is the actual ink cartridge that your printer uses. As I said earlier, all colour printers will require at least four-colour cartridges. The prices for these cartridges vary widely so you should know what your costs will be. Inkjet printer ink is the most frequently replaced item in your printer so this can add up to a real expense. Be sure to check the various sources for remanufactured inkjet cartridges as well as the various do-it-yourself refilling kits that are available.
For a "general purpose" business environment you'll want to look at inkjet printers with these basic specs:
Resolution (DPI): 1440 or higher.
Speed: 8 PPM or higher for black ink, and 6 PPM or higher for colour.
Paper Size: Multi-size support including 8.5 x 11, A4, labels and envelopes, and various odd sizes if you will be printing greeting cards, postcards, or photographs.
Of course, you need to make sure that the printer is compatible with your PC's operating system. Most printers are Windows, MAC, and Linux compatible right out of the box, but double-check just to make sure. Also make sure that your printer includes a cable, or that you know what kind of cable you will need to buy. There was a time when all printers used the standard "Parallel Port" printer cable. Not so now. In fact, most Windows-based inkjet printers connect directly to your PC's USB port so make sure that you have one free on your PC. As a side note, it will be worth the few bucks that it takes to upgrade your USB port to a high-speed port if it is not already. The speed of the port will definitely affect the PPM output of your printer.
With inkjet printer prices being so low there's one available for every need and budget. I hope that I've made the process of choosing one a bit easier for you. Good luck choosing your inkjet printer and happy printing!