Tips for Finding the Proper Printer For Your Home or
Office
by Larry Denton
The written word has existed for at least 5,000
years. The creation of writing had enormous
implications, because it allowed humans to
communicate across both distance and time. The
earliest known printed book, entitled the "Diamond
Sutra," was produced in China in the 9th century
using a hand-carved wooden block system. By 1050,
movable clay type was being used in China. In 1452,
Johann Gutenberg invented metal, movable type in
Germany and the race for sharper, less expensive and
faster printing was on. The first office duplicator
was probably the typewriter patented in 1867, and
the first practical mechanized type casting machine,
called the "Linotype," was created in 1884.
The early 1960's brought the next major printing
improvement with the use of cathode ray tubes (CRT)
being used for photocomposition. Today, most
functions in advanced composition
systems--justification of lines, hyphenation of
words, and calculations of page depths--are handled
by computer.
With the computer age came dot-matrix printers,
first for the office and then becoming affordable
for home use. Now, affordable, high-quality digital
printers have become available, at reasonable
prices, for use in the home or office. We have
certainly come a long way with printing devices over
the centuries. Today, a printer is one of the
essential peripherals you will need for your
computer. The difficulty in buying the right one is
complicated by the fact that are so many types,
models and features from which to choose.
The best approach when buying any major item is to
educate yourself. Start slowly, you don't need to
become a Canon or an HP expert. You simply need to
know some of the terminology so you do not feel
overwhelmed by the meaningless technical jargon used
by some salesmen who are more concerned about a
commission than your personal needs as a customer.
Some important terms to know include: inkjet, laser,
dpi, cpi (characters per inch), impact printers,
optical density, nozzle, cartridge, cpp (cost per
page), cps (characters per second), and toner.
Three different technologies dominate in the field
of personal printers: inkjet, laser, and to a lesser
extent, LED (light-emitting diode). Using
replaceable cartridges that spray fine droplets of
ink, personal inkjet are the least expensive, but
print slowly. Laser printers use a process similar
to that of a photocopier: a light-sensitive drum
rolls charged black toner onto the paper. This
produces crisp, fast printouts, but the machines are
more expensive to purchase.
Before comparing prices of specific brand or models,
first decide whether you want ink jet or laser. Your
choice should be determined by the jobs you plan to
send to the printer. Lasers still win the speed
contest, while ink jets offer an important advantage
of color printing. In the past, the choice was
fairly consistent: lasers were used in the office,
while inkjets were purchased for home use.
Fortunately, with the rapidly changing technology,
prices for both types of printers have been reduced
enough to make it possible to purchase one of each,
if you absolutely need both color and high-quality
text.
Another decision to be made before shopping would be
your resolution needs. Resolution--the sharpness or
the clearness of the image--is measured in Dots Per
Inch (dpi). A basic definition required for
different uses is as follows: general-purpose txt:
300 dpi; higher quality text and graphics: 600 dpi;
photo-quality images: 1,200 dpi; professional
quality photos: 2,400 dpi. Be aware that resolution
rating do not tell the whole story. Most vendors
design their own techniques for enhancing
resolutions through software algorithms.
Consequently, some 600 dpi printers will produce
images equal to a 1,200 dpi printer.
Other important considerations should be
speed--pages per minute (ppm); ink/toner
configuration; paper capacity and handling; the
connection type (will it interface with your
computer); driver software; media (can it handle
glossary photo paper, card stock and envelopes);
construction; the amount of space it takes at your
work space; and certainly, price. Surprisingly,
printers are now available under $70. Whatever your
budget, with a little comparison shopping, you can
find the printer that is right for your particular
situation at an affordable price.
About the Author
Larry Denton is a retired history teacher having
taught 33 years at Hobson High in Hobson, Montana.
He is currently V.P. of Elfin Enterprises, Inc., an
Internet business providing useful and valuable
information on a variety of timely topics. For a
print shop full of information, resources and
suggestions about printers, visit
http://www.PrinterPath.com
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