Tips for Finding the Proper Printer For Your Home or Office
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.