<p>Many/most of my D’s papers and assignments were submitted to profs on line, she rarely printed them out. And there are a number of places (like the library) where students can upload to their account and print, so unless your child likes to review drafts in hard copy, I’d say a printer may not absolutely be needed. That said, last year Apple was offering a basic but quite servicable printer/scanner with the purchase of a laptop with virutally a full rebate making it free. PC makers often bundle these too since printer companies make money on the ink cartridges not the hardware. If not free they can be gotten quite cheaply.</p>
<p>As to color, I suppose charts and graphs do better with color and students like to print other things out for themselves and photos so color is useful. Most students get inkjet printers all of which these days feature color.</p>