Selecting From Among Color Printers

Because there are so many options to choose from for color printers, deciding on one can be difficult. A lot of people believe defining your printing needs is a good starting point. With the many available options, sorting through the possibilities to find one that best fills need is important.

When selecting a printer, one of the better places to start is figuring anticipated print runs. Businesses usually print a lot more than home users and many prefer a color laser printer. These machines have a greater starting investment. But with a long life, the price difference is minimized. In addition, although their cartridges cost more, they contain much more ink. Because they print so efficiently, they are actually cheaper per copy. Plus their images are sharp. That is due to their high resolution, or number of dots per inch. These machines can usually reach resolutions of ninety six hundred by twenty four hundred. Even printing with this clarity does not slow these work horses. Their output can reach blistering speeds of more than ten thousand in an hour. Because of they use toner, these machines can actually sit idle for several months without damage.

Some businesses with an exceptionally high volume of print have found that modern copy machines act as printing peripherals. These superb machines are fantastic. Many companies use this equipment on lease for terms of one, three, or sometime even five years. A huge plus for most companies is that a technician comes to give regular maintenance. These machines hold multiple jobs. They will even reduce or enlarge print jobs. With built in collating and stapling features they can produced finished product. They give the user control of lightening and darkening features. With their large glass area, they serve as deluxe flat bed scanners. Concerning speed, no other printer type can match them in output. They can make 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..

Small businesses and individuals with limited printing needs usually find these machines to be too expensive. The price on these machines can range upwards of five to ten times more than ink-jet printers. Also, with the many varieties of ink-jet printers, most find a machine to fit their needs.

Photo printers are a sub-type and are configured to print from one edge to the other without a border. These heads on these machines contain many ink nozzles, allowing very fine control of ink placement. Photo printing machines are equipped with a card reader. That way you can place your camera's storage card into the slot and print. Therefore, these units can operate independently of a computer. However, the product coming from these devices is the most costly to produce. Specialty ink and paper drive up these costs. But, if you need a photo, nothing compares to the quality of one of these machines. They come in a wide range of sizes, the smallest is just bigger than a standard picture.

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.

Some people want additional functionality from their machines. Procedures such as faxing, scanning, or copying are sometimes built into a unit. These devices are known as 'all in one' machines.

One draw back of color printers is cost. Colored ink and toner costs much more than does black ink. One way to reduce the cost of your color printing is to set the printer to black or gray scale printing. Only select the color option when you need to. One reason to do this is that sometimes you may really be printing in dark navy or some other tint that looks black. Also, some printers use a composite of colors to mimic black unless forced to do other wise.