How to choose a printer?

Printers, despite the growing popularityMultifunction devices (MFPs) are still in high demand. After all, a device designed to perform a single task will always perform it much better than the one in which such a task is just one of many.

When choosing a printer, you should, first of all, decide: what kind of information should be printed. Because the capabilities of different printers in relation toPrinting text and graphics, photos with high quality or printing on different media are different. Thus, if you most often need to print, for example, text documents, you can limit yourself to an inexpensive model, without the possibility of color printing.

Another important parameter is the so-called format printer. It is determined by the maximum paper size for which printing is possible. Traditionally, graduation is carried out in accordance with international paper formats from A0 (the largest format) to A6 (the smallest). Format A4 - the most common in offices and at home. Its dimensions are 210 * 297 mm. A3 format is used less often (297 * 420).

When choosing a printer, you should also pay attention to the color printing capability. Color printing is irreplaceable, if you want to print pictures and presentations, color photos.

From print quality depends on how clear the image will be on theprinted document. This parameter is estimated in the number of dots per inch - the more of them, the higher the print quality. For the text, a resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi) is sufficient, but for photos, at least 1200 dpi is required.

Print speed can also play an important role in the selection ofprinter. The speed of printing is usually measured in pages per minute (pages per minute - ppm). When printing black-and-white or color documents, the speed may vary. High-speed printers are needed mainly for office work, where you have to print documents often and in large volumes.

For photos or drawings is also importantthe ability of the printer to print without margins. If the printer is not purchased for a normal home PC, then special ports for connecting to a computer may be of great importance when choosing a suitable model: USB, LPT, LAN, WI-FI, SCSI.

In addition to the cost of the printer itself when choosing a modelit is also important to take into account the cost of consumables: paper, ink or toner, cartridges, etc. After all, if consumables are very expensive, but you need to constantly print in large volumes, then the cost of printing each individual page is increased.

The most popular nowadays are inkjet and laser printers, you can rarely see dot matrix printers. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these technologies?

Matrix printers, despite the fact that they are considered obsolete,and to this day are successfully used in financial institutions, in accounts departments, in production premises. In matrix printers, the image is formed using small printing needles, which, hitting the ink ribbon, leave small points on the paper in the right places.

The advantages of matrix printers includevery low cost of consumables. Disadvantages of this type of printer more. They print slowly, noisily, only b / w (but there are exceptions - four-color matrix printers). At the same time, the price of matrix printers is by no means symbolic.

Inkjet Printers most common in home use,often used in offices. The principle of printing inkjet printers is to apply liquid ink on the paper, which form the image. Inks are applied with special nozzles.

Among the advantages of inkjet printers: both color and b / w printing, high print quality, satisfactory printing speed (10-40 ppm), low noise. Prices for medium-class inkjet printers are quite acceptable, although printers with "photo-quality" prints are somewhat more expensive.

Consumables for inkjet printersrather expensive, so for large volumes of printing, it is unprofitable to use them. In addition, if the printer has not printed for a long time (more than 1-2 weeks), ink residues may dry out in the print head nozzles. Cleaning the nozzles from these residues results in an additional waste of ink.

Laser printers their calling was found in the office press. Special powder - toner - is fed to the magnetic drum and sticks to the heated paper in the right place.

The advantages of laser printers include high speed and print quality, low noise level, low cost of consumables.

Disadvantages of laser printers are not very many. First, it is, of course, still very high cost compared to other types of printers. Laser printers are predominantly monochrome. Colored models are very expensive and are rarely used for everyday non-specific work.

When using laser printers, remember that sputtering toner is harmful to health, so it is necessary to regularly ventilate the rooms where these printers are installed.