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Buying Guide - Printers
Types
The laser printer type has been around for over 25 years, although the technology has advanced significantly during that time. Laser printers work by projecting an image of the item to be printed onto an electrically charged drum, which electrostatically picks up dry ink (toner) particles onto the charged areas, and then fuses them to the paper using a warm roller.
You can find both black and white and laser colour printer models, and the speed and crispness of picture will vary between models.
Inkjet types of printer work to create an image by sending a very precisely controlled stream of tiny ink drops onto the paper. Today's inkjet printer models produce crisp images, both for text and pictures. There are many general purpose and photo specific inkjet models of printer on the market, and different manufacturers use very slightly different techniques, so always ask to see a printout from the specific printer model you are interested in.
Inkjet printers are generally slower at printing than laser printers, although the finished product can be very high quality, so inkjet printers are usually more suited to home environments where they will not be printing numerous images on a daily basis.
If you are looking to use a printer to print digital photos from a digital camera, you may want to look at a dedicated photo printer. These may be inkjet printers, but more often use a technique called dye-sublimation, which produces a picture by transferring ink in a continuous strip from a ribbon on to the paper using heat to lay each colour separately, finishing up with a clear laminate overlap on top. This printer produces a clear, natural looking photo that is dry when it emerges from the printer.
Finally, it is possible to buy multifunctional or all-in-one printer models, which offer multiple printer capabilities in one machine, usually a printer, scanner, photocopier, and fax together. These printer types will appeal to small and home business users particularly, as they are very space efficient.
You can find both black and white and laser colour printer models, and the speed and crispness of picture will vary between models.Inkjet types of printer work to create an image by sending a very precisely controlled stream of tiny ink drops onto the paper. Today's inkjet printer models produce crisp images, both for text and pictures. There are many general purpose and photo specific inkjet models of printer on the market, and different manufacturers use very slightly different techniques, so always ask to see a printout from the specific printer model you are interested in.
Inkjet printers are generally slower at printing than laser printers, although the finished product can be very high quality, so inkjet printers are usually more suited to home environments where they will not be printing numerous images on a daily basis.
If you are looking to use a printer to print digital photos from a digital camera, you may want to look at a dedicated photo printer. These may be inkjet printers, but more often use a technique called dye-sublimation, which produces a picture by transferring ink in a continuous strip from a ribbon on to the paper using heat to lay each colour separately, finishing up with a clear laminate overlap on top. This printer produces a clear, natural looking photo that is dry when it emerges from the printer.
Finally, it is possible to buy multifunctional or all-in-one printer models, which offer multiple printer capabilities in one machine, usually a printer, scanner, photocopier, and fax together. These printer types will appeal to small and home business users particularly, as they are very space efficient.
Ink
Most common desktop inkjet printer models use what are known as aqueous (which means water based) inks, which are actually a mixture of water, glycol and colour dyes. These inks provide printer models with a wide variety of vivid colours. Printer types using aqueous inks will normally print a layer of laminate on top, as otherwise the ink is likely to run.
Inkjet printers used in professional settings are more likely to use solvent inks, which allows for printing on many types of surface, including the boards and vinyls used to make, for example, stickers, billboards, and banners. Some professional inkjet printers use UV curable ink, which is cured (dried) by exposure to UV light. This produces an image that dries immediately and can by printed onto a wide range of uncoated surfaces, making them suitable for many industrial uses.
Inkjet printer ink is very easy to purchase, both from the manufacturer of the printer and also from third party manufacturers. Ink cartridges typically produce around 100-200 pages of printing before needing replacing, though this will vary between printer models.
Some printers require ink tanks, which are effectively just plastic cases full of ink, with more recent printer models taking one black tank alongside individual cartridges of the other main colours, which has the advantage of only replacing the colour that has run out. Other printer models may require you to buy a complete printhead ink cartridge, which replaces the printhead at the same time, with the idea of maintaining high print quality.
Laser printers take toner cartridges, and these normally last longer than ink ones, producing several thousand pages before needing to be replaced. Toner cartridges for a laser printer will have an expiration date, so ensure that they are used up before that date is reached.
Inkjet printers used in professional settings are more likely to use solvent inks, which allows for printing on many types of surface, including the boards and vinyls used to make, for example, stickers, billboards, and banners. Some professional inkjet printers use UV curable ink, which is cured (dried) by exposure to UV light. This produces an image that dries immediately and can by printed onto a wide range of uncoated surfaces, making them suitable for many industrial uses.Inkjet printer ink is very easy to purchase, both from the manufacturer of the printer and also from third party manufacturers. Ink cartridges typically produce around 100-200 pages of printing before needing replacing, though this will vary between printer models.
Some printers require ink tanks, which are effectively just plastic cases full of ink, with more recent printer models taking one black tank alongside individual cartridges of the other main colours, which has the advantage of only replacing the colour that has run out. Other printer models may require you to buy a complete printhead ink cartridge, which replaces the printhead at the same time, with the idea of maintaining high print quality.
Laser printers take toner cartridges, and these normally last longer than ink ones, producing several thousand pages before needing to be replaced. Toner cartridges for a laser printer will have an expiration date, so ensure that they are used up before that date is reached.
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