Due to the unreasonable cost of ink jet cartridges, ink-jet cartridge printers will not be allowed to be sold in the nation. Instead, the only printer kinds that can be sold are ink-tank printers, laser printers, and thermal printers. All of these printers are valid options, and in the long run much more affordable than ink-jet printers.
Ink tank printers are as the name implies, an ink tank that is in the printer. Each color gets its own tank, and the customer will buy ink in bottles rather than cartridges. Since there is no cartridge that requires circuits, and the plastic that surrounds the ink, there is no need to charge a ridiculously high cost for ink. This allows the bottles of ink to be cheaper, and more cost efficient.
Next are laser printers. Like ink tank printers, there are no expensive system for delivering ink. Instead, the customer would buy toner cartridges, and while more expensive than ink tank printers, there is a much larger output for the number of pages that can be printed. Laser printers can come in monochrome (black only), and color (color as the name implies). The difference is that laser printers burns the image on the paper. This means it is more resilient to water, and the paper getting wet.
Thermal printers uses special papers, or label tapes to print on. One common example is receipt printers located at the store register. Another example is a label printer. These printers uses heat, and in some case – special coated labels. Heat is applied to the printer head, and creates the image on the tape. In turn, the image is expelled from the printer, and the customer can tear take the tape and use it as necessary.
Recommendations
While not required, the following are recommendations that the NSC will endorse, and will give priority with any printer meeting these standards when purchasing their own printers.
Multiple trays will be invaluable. A user will be able to have tray 1 with papers for letters, and tray 2 for envelopes. This means that the user can print either one of these options without having to change papers, or use a priority print feeder. Mind you, a second tray will increase the size of the printer, but those who see the potential will consider this a small sacrifice.
The next option is scan capability. Not all printers will be required to scan, and adding a scanner will allow the user to scan to .pdf files which will go to a computer, SD Card, or USB-C thumb drive. In addition, any printer with a USB-C thumb drive port or SD Card will be able to print files on the drive by using a very simple file manager on the screen of the printer.
Another option will be fax capability. Current fax capable printers will require the use of an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter), but new ones endorsed by the nation will support setting up the credentials for faxing capability. This will mean the printer will just need to connect via Wifi, or LAN. The user will need to get the credentials from their telephone provider.