|
The Specs Explained
We unravel the mysteries of print speed, print quality, and
maximum resolution--and tell you which specs are really important.
Printer Shopping Tips
Whether you want an ink jet for home use or a laser printer to
take care of the whole office, we've got recommendations to make
your purchase easier.
Do you remember a few years back when everyone was talking about a
paperless society? It was a nice thought, but it never became a
reality. In fact, if you look at our world today, we are as
reliant as ever on paper documents. Perhaps there is still a
paperless haven in our future, but, in the meantime, the printer
has become a constant companion to the computer.
Early printers were slow, produced questionable quality output,
and were expensive. Just a few short years ago, you couldn't buy
an inkjet printer for under $500. Ah, progress! And this time
evolution has moved in the consumer's favor. Today a printer does
not have to be a major investment. The market offers great
products that produce quality output at affordable prices. Printer
manufacturers are responding to a huge consumer appetite for less
expensive printers - both inkjet printers and laser printers.
Entry-level inkjet printers start about $49.99, but I have seen
them for as little as $30.00. Recently, the price has dropped
substantially on laser printers as well. Lexmark and other printer
manufacturers have come out with laser printers costing around
$200. Hewlett Packard's Laser Jet 1012 has a retail price of $199
and pumps out and amazing15 pages per minute.
Making Your Choice
Lower end printers are a great buy, so go for it. But to be happy
at the end of the day, you will need to do a little research. Here
are some pointers on buying a printer. One special note: be sure
to check out the cost of consumables, especially when dealing with
inkjet printers. Printer manufacturers are making up for profits
missed on the cheap printers by a hefty mark up on ink cartridges
and printer paper. Color ink cartridges and glossy photo paper can
set you back substantially. When buying a printer, it used to be
you needed to focus on how fast a printer could print and what
quality it could produce. Today's printer shoppers should be
checking out the operating costs as well as the printer's
capabilities and the purchase price.
When choosing a printer, the first thing that you should do is to
determine your printer needs. Consider both the quality and the
quantity of the documents that you will print. If all you print is
a weekly list of your investments and occasionally send a letter
to Aunt Suzie, then you may only need an inexpensive black inkjet
printer. If you want to print out photographs of the children or
grandchildren, you will want to look at a higher-end color inkjet
printer or a special photo printer. If you anticipate printing
dozens or hundreds of pages a day, then you may be looking at a
laser printer.
Inkjet Printers
Today, the two most common types of printers are the inkjet and
the laser. Each uses a different type of technology. The inkjet
printer works by squirting small dots of ink onto a sheet of
paper. Color inkjet printers can produce simple documents with
just a splash of color or a full-sized reproduction of a color
photograph. The black text output of a good quality inkjet printer
is almost as good as the output from a laser printer. It is
certainly good enough for most everyday home and small business
applications.
Inkjet printers can cost from $30 to over $500. As the price
increases, so do the print quality and the speed. Obviously, an
inkjet without color capabilities will cost less than one with
this feature.
Photo Printers
Some inkjet printers are labeled "photo printers". These will have
special types of ink, special ink cartridges, and unique features
for printing photos. Many photo printers can print "borderless
photos" with no white border on the outside. This is a special
feature that is not usually included in regular ink jet printers.
Some of the newer photo printers also have a small LCD screen and
slots for memory cards. You simply remove the memory card from
your camera, insert it into the printer, view the photos on the
LCD screen, and print the photos of your choice. If you purchase a
photo printer with these advanced features make sure that the
printer will accept the type of memory card that you use in your
camera.
Laser Printers
The technology used in a laser printer is similar to that of a
photocopier. The image is drawn with an electrical charge on a
drum inside the printer. An electronic charge attracts particles
of toner in the pattern that was drawn by the laser. A drum then
rolls across the paper, and the electrical charge causes the toner
to jump from the drum to the paper. The images that are formed by
the lasers can be quite detailed resulting in an excellent print
quality.
Laser printers are designed to handle a larger load than inkjet
printers. They tend to have a higher paper capacity, which means
that they hold more paper. The actual amount of printing that the
machine can handle is called the duty cycle and is usually stated
in so many copies per month. For example, a monthly duty cycle of
5,000 means that the printer can handle a volume of 5,000 sheets
in a month's time. If you anticipate printing a lot, you will need
to purchase a printer with a duty cycle that is high enough for
your needs. So if you will be printing a large number of
documents, a laser printer will be your choice.
Print Quality
Print quality is generally quoted in the printer specifications as
the resolution, which is stated as dpi or dots-per-inch. The more
dots per inch of paper, the better the quality of the printed
output. Just a few short years ago, we were all using 300x300 dpi,
even for important business documents. Now inexpensive inkjets
boast print qualities as high as 1200x1200 dpi.
The dpi will give you an idea of the quality of the output.
However, you will find that each printer manufacturer has its own
method of improving the print quality. Hewlett Packard uses
technologies called PhotoRET, ColorSmart, and RealLife Imaging.
Epson uses systems that they market as PerfectPictureTM Imaging,
Micro PiezoTM inkket technology, and AcuPhoto HalftoningTM. If you
want to do a little research, it can be fascinating to investigate
all of these different technologies to determine which one(s) you
like best. However, if you just want to buy a good printer without
spending hours reading about print technologies, let your eyes be
the judge. Many stores have demonstration units where you can see
the output from the different printers.
When you look at printer output, look first at the clarity of the
text printout. Look closely to make sure the characters don't look
jagged. Check out the lightness or darkness of the printout and
make sure the characters look clean and crisp. For color prints,
look for good contrast and vivid colors. Make sure that the colors
don't bleed into each other and be sure to look for clear, clean
lines where black lines meet the colored areas. See if you can
view the output on various types of paper. Printer, Laser Printer
Review, Printer Ink,
While some printers do
better on expensive photographic paper, others excel at printing
on plain paper.
Speed
Most printer speeds are measured in ppm or pages per minute. There
is usually a different speed listed for printing in color. For
example, black text may print at a speed of 12 ppm while color may
print at a speed of 10 ppm. Speed may be important to you, or it
may not. If you want instant results without a wait, look for a
faster printer. If you're on a tight budget, look for a printer
with the best color reproduction and don't worry about its speed.
Cost of Operation
When you use a printer, the cost of consumables should be
considered in addition to the initial cost of the printer. Inkjet
printers use ink cartridges, while laser printers user toner
cartridges and drums. The cost of ink cartridges can be
surprisingly high. I recently found an Apollo printer that could
be purchased with rebates for $30. However, the ink cartridges
cost $30 each.
The least expensive printer may be the most expensive to operate.
Some printers may themselves be inexpensive, but hefty ink or
toner cartridge prices can make them more expensive in the long
run. It is easy to check the price of toner or ink cartridges
before you purchase the printer; however, it can be difficult to
judge the yield that you will get from one cartridge. Some printer
manufacturers like Hewlett Packard and Epson give the technical
specifications for page yield per cartridge; others give some
indication of yields. However, some printer cartridge
manufacturers give no specs of this type, leaving the purchaser in
the dark as to the actual cost of operation. Many manufacturers
offer good information about how long a print cartridge will last.
This information is usually found under the product specifications
for each printer. I was disappointed to find that Hewlett Packard
did not give a per page cost. Epson, however, was more detailed in
their information and included data on both the black and color
ink cartridge life for each of their printers. They gave details
regarding the number of pages to expect from a cartridge. This is
very important information, since each printer uses a specific
type of ink cartridge. Although most of these cartridges cost
between $25 and $40, they hold different amounts of ink.
canon Printer |
HP Printer.
Connection
Most PCs have a parallel port that can be used to hook up a
printer. Newer PCs and Macs have USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports
that can also be used to hook up a printer. Many printers today
will allow you to use either of these ports. If you have the
choice, the USB connection will be easier to set up and faster to
use. If the printer is USB 2.0 and you have USB 2.0 ports on your
computer, the communication between the computer and the printer
will be very speedy. If the printer is USB 2.0 and your older
computer has USB 1.1 ports, the printer will still work fine, it
will simply communicate with the computer at a slower speed.
Warranty
As usual when purchasing computer-related equipment, it is
important to check out the length of the warranty and the strength
of the technical support team. You may also want to see if the
printer manufacturer has a toll-free telephone number and check on
their support hours.
Software
Many printers today come with additional software. You should make
your printer selection based on the print quality, speed, and
other printer features. However, be aware that some of the
additional software may provide a compelling reason to purchase.
The software should not be the basis of your decision on a
printer; consider it a bonus. But check out the software as well,
judging it on its stand-alone merit. Often the software is geared
specifically to either the home user or the office user. Whether
you are getting software for making T-shirt transfers or printing
business cards, it should fill a real need for your home or your
office.
A Great Time to Buy
Again, go for it if you are considering one of today's
attractively priced printers. But take the time to do your
arithmetic. You don't want the money you saved on the purchase
price of the printer to be gobbled up by the cost of the paper and
print cartridges.
|
