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How To Choose A Color Printers

Posted On : May-24-2011 | seen (582) times | Article Word Count : 699 |

This article describes how to choose the best color printer.
Because a wide array of choices exists among color printers, finding the right one can be difficult. Many people feel that a good place to start is by defining what your printing needs are. With an array of sizes and features, functionality can be of prime importance.

A good starting point may be figuring out if a lot of pages will be produced with the unit. Since businesses typically make lots of prints, a color laser machine may be a viable option. Even though these machines have a higher initial cost, they are very durable. The cost per page is much less when compared with ink-jet based units. Their resolution cannot be matched - more than nine thousand five hundred times two thousand four hundred dots every inch. Their print speed is fantastic - up to two hundred pages per minute for some models. When these machines print complex images they maintain their speed. Also, sitting for long periods of time will not damage them. That is because their ink is already dry and cannot clog the ink paths.

For businesses running exceptionally high volume of print, modern copy machines have crossed the line, becoming printers. These machines are superb if you have the budget for them. In many cases, you can lease this equipment for one, three, or even five years. One advantage to this arrangement is that a service technician comes at regular intervals to check the machine. These machines can hold multiple jobs at once. They can reduce or enlarge your print job. They can collate and staple finished jobs. They can even lighten or darken the final product. Since they usually have a large glass area, they can also be used as large, flat bed scanners. No other printer type can match their speed in output, running at up to two hundred or more copies per minute. Their cost per copy cannot be beat.

Some businesses, such as those printing on fabric, require special machines. The process of printing on fabric requires a thermal, or heat transfer, process. Additionally, large format printers use specialized ink..

For small businesses or individuals who have limited printing needs, toner cartridge machines usually are cost prohibitive. These machines can cost upwards of five to ten times more than ink-jet printers. Even still, ink-jet printers come in many varieties.

A special class of imaging devices dedicated to photos has become very popular. These machines can print edge to edge with no borders. They come with many nozzles, allowing finite control of ink placement. A universal feature of these devices is a card reader which accepts a camera's card. These units stand alone, with no need of a computer connection. Prints from these devices is the most expensive because of their specialty inks and photo paper. As far as quality goes, these specialty printers cannot be passed. Some machines are barely larger than a standard sized photo.

Many homes, on the other hand, have regular ink-jet printers. A plain ink-jet device must be connected to a computer to function. Lower end models come with one ink cartridge. These cartridges have four reservoirs - one for black, and one for each of the three base colors. Mid-range models separate out the black from the color and require two cartridges. Better machines divide out the tints into individual cartridges. Some of these models have three color cartridges, some have five. Upper end machines can have seven or more color cartridges. Most ink-jet printers have special photo cartridges that can be used for printing pictures.

Another variation are the 'all in one' machines. These feature additional capabilities such as scanning, copying, and some times faxing.

Black ink is less expensive than colored ink. So one disadvantage of color printers is the cost to operate them. A good way to lower this cost is by setting the print option to black or gray scale. A number of these devices do not use true black when printing unless forced to do so. Sometime user error accounts for this as well as sometimes a dark color is used in the document.

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_How To Choose A Color Printers _62814.aspx

Author Resource :
I have more reviews and information about inkjet printers at my Website.

Keywords : printers, computers, hardware,

Category : Computers : Hardware

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