Inkjet Printer Buying Guide

An inkjet printer is very useful when only few numbers of pages are required to be printed and also when colour printouts are needed. They produce clear and neat colour printouts, with even the budget models giving a very good quality. The cost of it depends on the size of the printer and also on the size of the printouts required. So the fist thing to find out is the size of papers that is to be printed.

The resolution that is to be provided is a very important aspect. This determines the printout resolution and quality. Even if the resolution of the image in the PC is more, it will print only to the maximum resolution capacity, so the resolution plays a very important role. This is calculated in dpi, that is, dots per inch. The standard range is 600x600 dpi for a basic model and can go up to 4800x1200 dpi.

Speed is the next factor to be considered. It is to be noted that speed is inversely proportional to the resolution, that is, greater the resolution of printing, the slower the speed. Mostly the manufacturers exaggerate about the speeding capacities of their printers. The numbers that they put is usually for low resolution prints. The best way to find out is to carry a disc with different types of text and getting a sample print done.

The next thing to consider is the paper size. This definitely depends on the need. Mostly the models come with an A4 size paper printing. Also A2 sizes are also available for that large paper printing. Most of the inkjet printers come with a paper tray that can accommodate up to 100 papers at a time. Also other larger capacity paper handlers are also available, if the need is high.

Sometimes, printing of photos is required in certain conditions. Inkjet printers are capable of printing photos as well. In fact, there are specialised inkjet printers called photo printers that can print hi-quality photos with a myriad of colours! There are also options of taking photo print outs straight from the digital cameras, without feeding into the PCs, with the help of PictBridge technology. Editing is done in the LCD of the digital camera itself and it is sent to the printer to be printed.

Connectivity is usually done to the PCs with the help of USB ports. The PC should also be compatible to use the model, that is, the basic necessities in the operating systems should be required in the PC for connecting it.

An inkjet printer requires ink cartridges to print. It is important to check the type of ink cartridge being used, as it should be inexpensive and readily available, to serve the purpose efficiently. Different types of cartridges are available in the market. They must be checked properly before buying, else a discount got while buying them might prove expensive when purchasing the consumables for the same!

In short, the decision taken to buy an inkjet printer must be done sensibly, thinking about the pros and cons of each feature mentioned above. In fact, before buying any product, it is better to do a complete research in order to own the best and the long lasting.