Inkjet Printers
You’re upgrading your PC soon. The thought of buying a new inkjet printer comes to mind. After all you’ve been using that old black & white printer for so many years. You might need to print some color documents from the web in the near future. With the rapid advancement in printer technology, you’re spoilt for choice. How do you decide which are among the best inkjet printers to get to save you money in the long run? Read on.
Inkjet Printer Buying Guide
1) Type: Basic or Photo?
Basic inkjet printers usually use 3-color combination i.e. cyan, magenta and yellow inks mixed together to produce a wide array of color spectrum, best for printing colored documents. Most, if not all also come with a separate black ink cartridge for printing sharper black and white documents instead of relying on the combination of those 3 colored inks. Basic inkjet printers are best used in home or office environment where the printing usage leans more towards text-heavy content such as Word, Excel etc. instead of photo printing.
Inkjet photo printers mostly use 6-color combination i.e. cyan, light cyan, magenta, light magenta, yellow and light yellow to create millions of colors to reproduce rich and detailed images, best used for printing photos.
2) Resolution
It’s the measure of how many dots of ink per inch an inkjet printer makes, both vertically and horizontally. The higher the resolution, the sharper the printing quality will be. Get one that offers at least 600 x 600 dots per inch (dpi) for basic inkjet photos and 1200 x 1200 dpi for photo inkjet printer so that you will get sharp printing quality.
3) Print Speed
How long does it takes to print an A4 page? The faster the print speed, the better because at times you might need to print out tens or even hundreds of pages of documents. Do take note that color documents print out a slower rate than black and white (draft mode).
4) Ink Usage
How many pages does the printer prints before the cartridge(s) runs out? As consumables take up the bulk of the inkjet printer costs in the long run, do choose a printer that prints out the least cost per page.
5) Printing Media
While inkjet printer prints best in plain paper, do take note if the printer is capable of printing is other media such as matte or glossy photo paper, labels, CDs, DVDs etc.
6) Additional Features
a) Old inkjet printers usually come with parallel port connections. Newer and better inkjet printer models are usually connected by way of USB 2.0 which offers faster data transfer rates.
b) For added convenience and functionality, better inkjet printer models do come with memory card slots which allow printing from memory cards such as CompactFlash, MMC, SD card etc. Make sure that slots are able to support your frequently used memory cards.
Inkjet Printer Reviews & Ratings
We found the best inkjet printer reviews from CNET, Consumer Reports, ITReviews, PC World and PCMag. Professional reviewers there reviewed some of the best inkjet printer models from established makers such as Canon, Dell, Epson, HP, Kodak and Lexmark. Inkjet printer ratings based on photo, text and graphics quality determines the best inkjet printers in their class.
Best Inkjet Printer (Basic)
Inkjet Printer Reviews #1: Jetting off to top position with rave inkjet printer reviews from owners and reviewers is the best rated HP Deskjet D4260 Printer. Functionality meets affordability to create this HP inkjet printer that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. This best inkjet printer from HP features 3-color combination inks + black to deliver 4800 dpi resolution for sharper black & white text and brilliant color documents. Optional 6-color inks prints detailed photos (with HP Premium Plus photo papers). Supports letters, envelopes, panoramas etc. At less than $60, it’s value for money.
Inkjet Printer Reviews #2: Standing tall with impressive inkjet printer reviews from users and experts is the Canon PIXMA iP3300 Inkjet Printer. Style and performance graces this Canon inkjet printer that makes printing such a joy. This best inkjet printer from Canon features patented print head technology, precision ink nozzles and microscopic 2-picoliter ink droplets that delivers 4800 x 1200 dpi resolution for detailed, high quality print for laser-quality black & white text and rich, vibrant color documents, not to mention distinctly sharp & crisp photo printing that lasts. Prints in every possible paper size from credit card all the way to A4 as well as photo paper ensures that your printing option is greatly versatile. At slightly above $60, it’s worth every penny.
Inkjet Printer Reviews #3: Speeding its way around to top spot with excellent inkjet printer reviews from reviewers and users is the best value Epson Stylus C88+ Inkjet Printer. For fast printing options, turn to this Epson inkjet printer to make it a reality. This best inkjet printer from Epson features DURABRITE Ultra pigment ink (at 3-picoliters droplet size) delivering 5760 x 1440 dpi resolution for printing sharp black & white text and colorful, detailed color documents at 23/14 pages per minute respectively. Supports 4" x 6" to A4 paper sizes. At slightly below $60, printing just got better and cheaper by the day.
Resources: Inkjet Printer (Wikipedia)