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Buying
a Printer: Your Checklist
by my-tech-guide.com
Do
you remember the good old days of the dot matrix printer?
Do you remember the holed computer paper it required and
how hard it was to feed this continuous paper into the printer
without getting it in a bit crooked? Do you remember just
how loud the old dot matrix machines were? If you remember
all this, then you also remember the joy you experienced
when you laid eyes on your first laser printer! Of course,
printers have come a long way, and a laser printer is no
longer the holy grail of printers. If you are in the market
for a new printer, here are five essential qualities
you may wish to look for in your printer:
Resolution
is a number one quality. Dot matrix printers did
not deliver very good images, but inkjet printers (which
essentially deliver tiny droplets of ink onto the paper
when preparing the image) offer such a high resolution
that they are often used to create photo-quality images.
The resolution itself is measured as dots per inch (dpi),
and high end models deliver resolutions of up to 1440x720
dpi.
Operating
economy is a definite number two. As nice as the
high resolution images an ink jet printer creates are,
the ink is expensive and the process is comparatively slow.
For this reason, a laser printer makes for a wonderful
alternative. This kind of printer moves very quickly and
thus creates pages truly at the greatest speed imaginable.
80 to 100 page documents may be printed in a fraction of
the time an ink jet printer will require. Additionally,
a laser printer is less expensive to operate, since a toner
cartridge for such a device lasts for a very long time,
and thus in the long run makes it cheaper to operate than
an ink jet printer which needs to have its toner cartridges
replaced quite frequently.
Photo-lab
quality is a number three essential, since it only affects
a certain demographic of computer users. For most
users, an ink jet will offer enough resolution to create
photo-quality images but those who will rely on the computer
for most of their photographic imagery manipulation needs,
as well as those who are in the business of photography,
dye-sublimation printers will permit them to have their
own photo lab inside their office and home. Because of
the processes involved in this method of printing, individual
dots are softened by a gradation process, which will allow
these images to appear crystal clear.
For those
who regularly print large volumes of documents, black
print speed (which is the amount of time it takes for a printer
to print out a black and white page) is a serious concern,
yet since this is again a smaller demographic, it is rated
as a number four quality. Although much more expensive than
their slower working cousins, these printers offer a 400
x 400 dpi resolution and a speed 70 pages per minute which
is an amazing feat!
Final
considerations for those with special printing needs are
the maximum media printers. This form of printing
refers to the maximum size and format of paper (which is
the medium) which the printer is able to print on. Most
every printer uses the standardized 8.5x11 size sheets
of paper. Yet some printers will allow for specialized
receipt rolls or payroll checks which are essentially akin
to the old dot matrix continuous feed paper. Other specialized
printers may print out envelopes, folders, ledger pages
and even tabloid sized papers.
It is easy
to see that there is a specialized printer out there for
every need. Prior to running out and purchasing one, however, a
user must be very clear on the importance certain features
will or will not have for the intended use. It would
not make much sense to spend a lot of money on a high resolution
photographic image printer, when the actual use the printer
is intended for are long printouts of manuscripts devoid
of any images. Similarly, a laser printer is a great piece
of office machinery, but a home photo lab will not do well
in using it to create high resolution images. No matter what
the need is, we have come a long way since the first dot
matrix printers made their whirring sounds in the computer
landscape.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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