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Service Hints & Tips

Document ID: DETR-3UFP7P

Crossbrand - Tips For Buying A Printer

Applicable to: United States

Often, a printer is the first major purchase after you buy a computer. This article is also helpful for those who are thinking about upgrading to a new printer or adding a second printer.

Dot-Matrix Printers

Dot-matrix printers are the lowest-cost to own and operate. The printer ribbons are made of an endless loop of fabric, and they last a long time, as the ribbon is continuously recirculating in the ribbon cartridge. A dot-matrix printer can be purchased in a 9-pin or a 24-pin model. (Think of the 9-pin as characters being formed by 9 "number-2" pencils. Think of the 24-pin as characters being formed by 24 "number-3" pencils.) Speed ratings are often misleading, because when printing from Windows, the slower graphics mode of the printer is used. Dot matrix printers can be noisy if people are trying to sleep or hear the television. Dot matrix print technology is really needed if you wish to use multi-part forms (carbons). Color models often take a long time to print, as colors are often formed by printing one over another, like blue over yellow to obtain green. Dot matrix printers can print usually from 180 to 360 dots per inch. The ribbon cost comes out to about less than a half-cent per page, for black & white printing.

Ink Jet Printers

Ink jet printers are a very quiet technology; they print by forming very small dots sprayed by 48-50 electronic nozzles at the often same clarity of more-expensive laser printers. Newer models are also capable of printing color. Compare the availability and prices of replacement cartridges. Some models use a combination of a print head and ink cartridge that is replaced as a unit. Other models use a permanent print head, and use a replaceable ink cartridge.

Ink jet printers can print from 180 to 720 dots per inch. A 300 dot per inch ink jet printer will printer better quality than a 360 dot per inch dot matrix printer. This is because the ink jet prints characters formed by smaller dots. As the amount of dots per inch (resolution) increases, and colors are used, expect a "delay" before actual printing can begin. It takes time for all the "dots" to get "computed. This is perfectly normal. Ink jet models are ideal when you will print less than 50 pages a day. Check the printer documentation for any manufacturer-recommended special papers or restrictions on envelope size.

Laser Printers

Laser printers are needed when you will consistently print more than 50 pages every day. They print using the same technology the average copier uses. All of the data for the whole page is sent to the printer, before the actual printed page is ejected. There is a "warm-up" time before the first page starts to print.

General Information

Laser printers and ink jet printers have replaceable supplies that affect the cost of each page printed. For black and white printing, these costs can range from 2-4 cents per page.

Ink jet is "on top" as the printing technology of choice among the small office/home office segment and the home consumer market. In these settings, ink jet is ideal because the print quality is excellent (very comparable to laser) and the cost is reasonable. A good monochrome unit sells for about $250 while a similar color unit is in the $300-400 range. Ink jet units print more slowly than laser models.

Printer Checklist

When buying a printer, compare and consider:

1. Warranty length and cost of extended warranty
2. Supplies cost and availability at local stores
3. Technical support from printer manufacturer
4. Print quality
5. Printer emulation modes and availability of printer drivers from printer manufacturer and major software publishers
6. Standby power consumption
7. Ease of installing replacement supplies in the printer
8. Ease of printing envelopes
9. Online support from printer manufacturer, like on: Prodigy, CompuServe or America Online
10. Time it takes 1st page to print (laser printers)
11. Cost of additional printer memory to print full-page high-resolution graphics (laser printers)
12. Availability of "economy" modes to save supplies costs

PLEASE NOTE:

Regardless of which printer type you choose, be sure you use a quality printer cable. Printer cables are the major cause of printing problems not fixed by the printer setup in the software. Try to use a 6-foot parallel interface cable that feels "heavy." Lighter ones will often not have as much copper or enough conductors.

	Search Keywords
	Hint Category	Printers
	Date Created	23-04-96
	Last Updated	10-12-98
	Revision Date	10-12-2004
	Brand	IBM Aptiva
	Product Family	Aptiva, PS/1, PS/2
	Machine Type	2134, 2176, 2168, 2144, 2011, 2121, 2123, 2133, 2155
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