Buying Guide Printer
Printers are essential peripherals, performing a vital role as they provide electronic information in body searches or leaving material. You just do not use the computer to its full potential if they are unable to print reports, presentations, letters, photographs, or whatever you need for production. Choosing a printer can be confusing, however, today's competitive, ever-changing landscape. This shopping guide rounds some of the most important criteria to consider before making that all important buying decisions.
Printing Technology
This is the most important decision to make before anything else. Your choice should be based on how it works and the type of output expected from the printer.
Injection Printers: The ink-Jet Printers can provide stunning color, so this is the way to go if you care about photo printing. Inkjet can be used to print text, but the printing speed is too slow if the main purpose of the printer is printing documents. For more photo-realism, Inkjet choose a wider range of colors including light cyan and light magenta in addition to the standard four color CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). The additional colors provide subtle gradations of color in the blue sky and skin tones. And if you print a large amount of black and white photos, view photo printers more than a variation of ink ink black or gray. Many photo printers use color inks to produce a composite black, resulting in color mud. A second black ink cartridge and different shades of gray help maintain a neutral tone, allowing the subtle shadow gray ink and therefore improve the quality of black and photographs blank.
Sublimation Ink: Dye-sub printers can print continuous tones and a superior range of color laser printers can not, making them ideal for the most demanding graphics applications or color. Dye-sub prints are also less prone to fading and distortion at print time dye-based ink. In addition, many consumer-based dye sublimation printers can print directly from digital cameras and memory cards accepted cards. They are, however, more limited in scope and size of media that can be used usually letter-size paper or smaller.
Laser: Laser printers are the perfect choice if you need to print large quantities of text documents. It print faster than ink jet and with lower cost of long-term operation-although it may cost more to buy initially. There are advantages and disadvantages, however. Monochrome laser printers produce sharp black and white text, but can not be used for color printing. Color laser offers excellent text and graphics, but are much more expensive and can be costly hold.
Using the Printer
Some printers are good for general printing, while others are better at specialized tasks or combine multiple functions in one machine.
Photo: If you take many photos, consider buying a photo printer. Photo printers can be as inkjet pictures you can print photos and text, snapshot photo printers to output small 4×6-inch prints, or professional photo printer for large photos tabloid-sized and often including network connections to enable sharing of the printer. Most consumer and professional photo printers use of inkjet technology, while most snapshot photo printers that print 4×6-inch prints are based on technology dye sublimation. Regardless of the type or technology used, the most important quality to look for in a photo printer is photorealistic. Everything else is secondary.
General Use: As its name implies, general purpose printers can be used to print almost anything, including text and photos. Choose a printer usually with a laser format if you print more text than photos, and choose a format inkjet printing if more pictures than text.
Multifunction: Multifunction printers (MFPs) combine in one device several functions such as printing, scanning, faxing and copying. MFPs cost less than buying separate individual devices and reduce the hassle of creating individual machines. If you are short of budget or space, consider these all-in-one devices. Take note, however, that a malfunction of a component determining the whole device, and individual components may not be upgradeable. Multifunctions are available with laser printers to print text highlight the fast and the output occasionally graphic, or available with printers inkjet photo printing vibrant.
Environment and Applications
When deciding on a printer, think about where and how used. The home user will have the impression that the different needs of the office worker, photographer, or travelers.
General / basic consumption: Versatile, affordable printers are the best options here, and usually inkjet printing needs of most users seek out photos from your digital camera or other printing needs from light. Ink cartridges can be expensive, so look for inkjet cartridges separated for each color. In this way, you need not throw the whole cartridge just because one color has been used up in front of others, but only replaces they are exhausted.
Home Office: A Multifunction Printer can be a great device to have in your home office, especially if it comes with an automatic feeder documents that can process multi-page documents without supervision. Extra memory increases efficiency and allows the processing of graphics and documents more easily. If scanning and photocopying are important to you, get a multifunction printer with higher resolution.
Photo: printers photographs are the obvious choice if printing photos is your main thing. Choose the smallest, the snapshot photo printer that produces prints 4×6 inches, or choose larger professional photo printers that are capable of delivering tabloid-size 11×17 inch prints even full-bleed 13×19-inch prints, which include a border to allow for registration marks.
Printing text: If you print large amounts of text is what we to do more, standard monochrome laser printers are the best option as it can be converted into page after page of text defined fairly quickly. These printers are ideal for printing black and white text and simple graphics, which may have to obtain a separate inkjet or photo printer to print photos in color unless you want to invest in more expensive color laser that can print black and white documents and color.
Small network: A laser printer working groups may be what you need if your home office or small office is built around a network. Workgroup lasers speed packet print faster and have more memory to handle multiple print jobs. They also offer advanced management capabilities such as large trays, and can offer duplex (double sided), sorting, and stapling. More expensive than standard laser printers, most monochrome lasers workgroup are designed for printing text and simple graphics.
Traveler: For the businessman on the road and look at print, printers provide portable solution with its compact size (small enough to fit in a suitcase), lightweight (less than 5 lbs.), and power Useful (runs on batteries or with a car charger). Newer models can print wirelessly and it is not a problem if you forget your USB cable at home. Some notebooks offer extras such as a sheet feeder for automatic feeding of pages, can handle transparencies, envelopes, and even support optional scanner cartridge replaces the ink cartridge from the printer and a scanner becomes. Portable printers are more expensive and slower print to standard printers, but the convenience is what you pay.
PC-free printing
, With something called PictBridge support, printers Photo not need to be connected to computers to print photos. PictBridge is a standard adopted by manufacturers of printers and digital cameras for printing without a PC, allowing photos to be printed directly from your digital camera to the printer by simply connecting via a USB cable while digital camera and printer are compatible. A variant of this idea is the ability of printers to read memory cards directly from a digital camera or image of another storage device by simply inserting the card into the designated slots on the printer.
Once you connect the camera or the card is inserted into the printer, Photos can be reviewed in a number of ways, depending on printer model. Some may feature an integrated LCD screen, allowing shots to be reviewed, edits that were made, and those chosen to be printed directly from the screen. Other models that may allow you to create an index sheet similar to a contact sheet printing of the film so you can dial to choose to print and rescan the sheet. Other printer models let you decide which photos to print directly from the digital camera. Many types of memory cards available on the market today, so make sure that the printer accepts the kind used by the camera so you can enjoy the card direct photo printing.
Paper Handling
Paper is obviously an important issue in print. Here are some important tips on managing paper for printers:
When buying a printer, make sure you are equipped to accommodate all the sizes and types of paper used. If you need to print on heavy, for example, make sure that the printer can handle more paper you use. To this end, the a printer's paper path gives an indication of how it handles the paper inkjet often used directly-through paper paths, while lasers S-shaped U-shaped paths. In general, the straight path, the thickness of the media that can be used. However, the curved paths Typical laser printers have also enables flexible configurations for input trays and output.
Use the correct type of paper also make a difference for printing. Inkjet can print on a variety of matte or glossy photo paper, but be sure to choose the right kind of printer paper for best print results. For example, matt papers are suitable for both pigments and dyes, while the gloss finishes are generally more suitable for dye-based inks.
In terms of size, most inkjet and laser printing can handle sizes letter and legal. If you need to print more copies, however, consider a printer that can handle large sizes, like 11 by 17 inches. You might also consider getting a printer with multiple paper drawers if you are going to switch between different sizes of paper on a regular basis. For a laser printer, multiple output trays, duplex (two-sided) printing, collating, and automatic stapling may be additional useful features.
If using third party paper, make sure it works well with the printer. Before purchasing a large amount of third-party role, try some specimens of the same photos paper, both the printer manufacturer and third-party document, and then compare the results.
Printer Specifications and Features
Printers have different specifications, so browse the spec sheet intelligently requires familiarity with what each specification entails according to the printing technology in question or the type of intended use for the printer.
Resolution: For laser printers, 300 dpi is adequate if all you need is to print black and white text, but choose at least 1200 dpi for printing in grayscale or color photo quality. For inkjet, choose one with 1200 dpi resolution or higher with a drop size of 4 picoliters or less for the treble output, clean. With photo printers, the resolution varies according to technology: the output at 300 dpi for photo printers using dye sublimation technology is comparable to the photo printers using technology inkjet printer to output at 1200 dpi or more.
Speed: Speed ratings vary greatly, and the print speed before manufacturers generally do reference to printing in draft mode or lower resolution. For laser printers, a more accurate way to measure the actual print speed is the time just the time it takes from the moment you hit "Print" to the time it takes the printer warms up in the job queue in the print queue, and for output finally printed out. For inkjet, printing speed is not one of its strongest suits, so do not worry too much with this specification.
Memory: The additional memory will be useful for laser printers that can handle large graphics and documents more easily. Check expandable memory maximum allowed for the printer, if you have a hard drive with expandable memory similarly, and if the printer can use generic memory or the needs of the manufacturer's brand. For inkjet, memory is embodied and upgradeable, but this is not a problem as it is processed on the equipment side so there is no need for large amounts of RAM installed, to begin in Inkjet Printers.
Connectivity: Most printers today no support and parallel connection of older people, but instead feature a USB 1.1 or Hi-Speed USB (USB 2.0) or that it should work fine with USB computers. For printers for use in a network must have an Ethernet port to enable printer sharing. For more flexible printing options, you may want for printers with infrared input / output ports that allow wireless printing from laptops or other devices with infrared ports. And if high printing speed or long distance is what you need, consider printers with a FireWire port.
Consumption and cost per page
The price purchase of the printer is just the beginning of the total cost, because over time, the hidden cost of ink or toner, paper, and the parts are added. These "hidden" costs are consumables; dividing the total cost of consumables by the number of pages that can be produced from given supplies cost per page. Printers lasers offer the lowest cost per page, using relatively inexpensive toner and normal weight, uncoated paper. Moreover, the cost per page for injection ink can be four or five times, depending on the amount of ink used and the cost of paper usually more expensive paper, coated, bright for increased production color quality. The configuration of the inkjet tank must also be taken into account. Inkjet cartridge with a single color inks incur higher replacement costs because the cartridge must be replaced as soon as one color runs out, even if the cartridge still a lot of ink for all other colors. To save costs, get an inkjet printer with separate cartridges for black and each individual color.
Print Quality
All specifications and features Luxury on your printer does not mean anything unless you have good solid print quality whether text or photos to a backup.
Text: The text should be smooth and crisp. In the smaller font sizes, individual letters should be clearly legible, and should not bleed each other. Sized fonts should not fuzzy edges, and especially the largest sources in bold should be filled with solid black, not a mud-brown or bluish tone. It should also be able to see well trained and well-rounded accountants (openings) in the letters, if unpaid, is often a sign of the printer laying down too much ink. (Remember, however, that the inkjet printers will print out some wick on the plain, 20-lb. paper as ink bleeds along the paper fibers.)
Graphics: For color printing, look for gradients or areas where the color goes from dark to light. The color should smooth transition, and should not see any color bands, where different bands of progress from darkness to light. In a test page, you will likely see a gradient bar from white to black through a series of gray tones progressively darker, the transition from shadow to shadow should be smooth, without a line of remarkable. Also, look for a good balance of colors in the color of graphics printing, something that is not too saturated, or flat and colorless.
Photo: A good printing photos like the original photo. Colors should be accurate and balanced, lively, but not saturated. A good record should be present in all areas without jagged lines or pixels or other artifacts visual. There must be good contrast between shadow and highlight areas or no mud flat and colorless. You can not always be able to tell the difference a great impression to another, but almost everyone can recognize a bad impression when they see it. Relying on what he sees.
About the Author
Microtek Lab Inc. is a consumer electronics company focused on scanners, plasma and lcd televisions, digital projectors, lcd monitors, digital cameras, home theatre equipment, and accessories. You can view their online store at http://store.microtek.com Use of this article is permitted provided that the article is used in its entirety.
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