Inkjet Printers - Fitting your needs from HP to Epson
Mar 24 '01
The Bottom Line Speed, resolution, technology, system configuration, connectivity and compatibility - the essentials of understanding inkjet printers.
Choosing an inkjet printer is as varied as the individual needs of the user. If you understand your needs, you are closer to finding an inkjet solution. Consumers today, not always sure as to what those needs might be, require a reliable system.
First, I will cover the basic technologies that comprise inkjet printing. Second, I will offer some possible solutions that address a variety of needs. Even if you don’t care about these technologies, you will be a step closer to making an informed purchasing decision.
Today, there are two types of inkjet technologies:
1.Micro Piezo
Micro Piezo is the proprietary technology used in Epson printers. Micro Piezo is the process of putting ink to paper with an “electronic bump.” Ink being forced through the nozzle of the printhead is shot out similar to the way a squirt gun dispenses drops of water.
2.Thermal
Thermal is the technology used by Hewlett-Packard, and other printer brands, where heat is used to force the ink through the nozzle of the printhead onto the paper. Think of the geyser Old Faithful, only smaller.
The object of an inkjet printer is to capture laser-quality black text while also containing the ability to render photo-quality images. The quality of this output is called the resolution. Resolution is measured as dots per inch or dpi. The higher the dpi, the better the resolution. Colors are richer and tones are deeper due to the ability to add more dots per inch.
Picoliter
Droplet size is another factor in determining the overall output quality. The inkjet industry measures inkjet drops by the industry standard - picoliters. A picoliter is one-millionth the size of a raindrop.
Inkjet manufacturers boast the smallest picoliter output in the given product classes - three-picoliter droplet output versus four, five, six or even ten. As you can see by the size of the picoliter, this is somewhat subjective industry jargon that may not effect most inkjet users. It’s truly a question of how much we can really see with the naked eye – one picoliter is microscopic.
Color
The standard inkjet printer uses four colors. CMYK - cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These are the colors that comprise the spectrum known as true color – 16.7 million color variations. These four colors alone produce the wide range of colors and shades available in photo quality reproduction.
Speed
Inkjet speed is measured as PPM, pages per minute. PPM is somewhat of a marketing misnomer when designated to the printers you see on the shelves in the market. True speed is determined by a variety of factors. These include system configuration, software drivers and the complexity of the image on the page you wish to print.
Now that you have an understanding of the inkjet printer technology basics you have to figure out what you want to accomplish with them. Many inkjet printers have multipurpose solutions. Letters, homework, business correspondence, greeting cards and presentations can be achieved on a multitude of inkjet systems.
What to look for
Resolution
Look for an inkjet printer that has high resolution. Over 1440 dpi is good. 2880 x 720 dpi is the maximum resolution currently being offered by Epson printers.
Speed
Speed should not be a major concern unless you are doing a relatively high volume for business purposes. Most people doing the occasional print job at home won’t need the extra speed. 8 ppm black text, 6 ppm color is a reasonably quick inkjet printer.
Paper Size
If you are doing spreadsheets, blueprints, or CAD/CAM drawings you might want a printer that can handle paper sizes up to 8.5” to 44”.
Compatibility
Windows USB for Windows 98/2000
Parallel for Windows 3.1x/95/98/2000/NT
Mac USB – System 8.1 or later
These inkjet solutions just touch on a few of the inkjet solution available on the market today. Other considerations must be made for digital camera users, Memory Stick users, professional photo quality, large format graphics and Ethernet networks. Armed with this new information, there is a perfect fit for all your printing needs.
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