Guide to Inkjet Printers

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Kinds of Inkjet Printers include the following:

Home inkjet printers

Home inkjet printers can print text documents, photos, and basic computer graphics. They usually have compact bodies and simpler controls, and usually connect to the computer through the USB, serial, or parallel port. They tend to print slowly and noisily.

Small office/home office (SOHO) inkjet printers

SOHO inkjet printers have larger ink cartridges that cover more paper area for faster printing. They are heavier and bulkier than home inkjet printers, and usually have more controls for resolution, speed, and paper orientation. They also have larger paper feeds. They can be connected directly to the computer or to an Ethernet or wireless port to be shared in a local network.

Photo inkjet printer

Photo inkjet printers are designed to print high-resolution photographs with accurate color and detail. They have more ink cartridges and use special photo ink designed to work with photo papers. They usually support borderless printing, allowing users to print over the entire sheet without having to cut off the borders. Some models connect directly to digital cameras or other external sources without using the computer interface.

Printing speed: Choose an inkjet printer with a printing speed of eight to 20 pages per minute (ppm). Note that color printing and high resolution settings can slow down printing speeds.

Resolution: Choose an inkjet printer with a standard 300 dpi resolution for general printing. For printing photos and high-resolution graphics, look for a resolution of about 1200 dpi.

Connectivity: Choose an inkjet printer that uses common connection ports such as USB and serial ports. Look for one with a memory card slot so that you can print several files without having to plug in different sources.

Duplex printing: Look for a model with a duplex option, which allows you to print on both sides of the paper. This is ideal for printing long text documents and newsletters.

Paper size: Look for an inkjet printer that supports a wide range of paper sizes, including small envelopes and large A3 formats.

Memory: Printer memory temporarily stores files which are queued for printing. Choose an inkjet printer with a 768KB to 8MB RAM for printing multiple files or files with heavy media content, such as photos.

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