There are a host of features besides print quality that you have to pay attention to when buying a printer.
Connectivity is one. It is the simplest thing to deal with. Universal serial bus (USB) is the latest buzzword in connectivity. Unless you own an iMac, USB is one of those things you do not really have to bother with.
It does have advantages over parallel or serial port, but unless you need to connect and disconnect your printer constantly, these advantages will not mean anything.
If you are a Mac user, check out manufacturers' Web sites before you buy. Many of them are adding Mac drivers for their USB printers. As some of these drivers are only in the beta stage of development, dealers will not know about them.
A step up from any of the above-mentioned connection types is Ethernet. It can allow you to connect several computers to one printer, or several printers to one computer.
Ethernet is fast - something that will make a difference with a laser printer but not with most inkjets which run at top speed with any type of connection.
For a connection between just two devices, such as a printer and a computer, you do not need a hub. If you need more connections than that, a hub can be had for only a few hundred dollars.
