Computer Related Articles

Printers can now be considered as necessary devices related to the use of computers. You would need them all the more for your office and even at home, when you have a home office. Shopping for the right printer for you would mean that you have to decide whether to pick an inkjet printer or a colour laser printer. You can compare these two types of printers based on several factors. Even if you might consider the price as your priority, you should not forget about the quality and the speed of the printing as well. Each type of printer has their own merits that you need to look into with serious consideration.

Price
If you are a price-sensitive buyer, the price of the printer will likely be the first thing that you will search for. Generally, inkjet printers are cheaper than colour laser printers. The former also require low maintenance only. A laser printer makes use of toners which are considerably more expensive than ink cartridges. Thus, you might consider using an inkjet printer if you know that you will need to print many pages. You can still use it to print text, graphics, and photos. Your printing cost using the inkjet printer for the same volume would be 50% less than that of the lazer printer.

Quality of the Print
Colour laser printers print with far better quality than inkjet printers. In order to create their finished printed paper, the tiny nozzles inside the machine would let out ink and press this onto the paper. The resulting text or image would be in dot forms. The higher the resolution of the printing that you need, the closer the dots and the amount of the nozzles on the paper would be. The laser printer, on the other hand, makes use of toner and other devices which can help produce better printouts and an even higher resolution. The inkjet printer only works on paper which is not the case with lazer printer for it can print on just about any material.

Speed
If you always have rush work that concerns printing, it would be ideal to buy a laser printer. It is undoubtedly faster than how any regular inkjet printer would be able to do so. An ordinary laser printer can print as many as ten to fifteen pages per minute. No inkjet printer of any quality can even top this performance, even the most expensive inkjet printer. The laser printer would be ideal of use in a setting that requires high volume, quick printing. The toners used in this type of printer too can print more pages than do ink cartridges.

Size
When it comes to the size and shape of each printer, the inkjet printer would prove to be more mobile and flexible. It comes in several smaller sizes. This can fit in smaller spaces that you might have on your office table or library table at home. The usual build of a laser printer is large and bulky. If you are saving space, an inkjet printer would be the better choice among the two.

Networking
The laser printer can usually work with computers that function as part of a network of other computers. If you need to work with networks, this type of printer is a more practical choice for you. Most inkjet printers work only by staying connected to a single computer.

Author Bio: Label Dispensers Labelmate

When it comes to buying a printer, you could well find yourself surprised by the amount of choice you have. Printer technology has come a long way since the old dot matrix models (even though these are still around); allowing for faster print times, great colour reproduction, networking and multifunctional elements.

So to sort your laser from your inkjet and your duplex from your Wi-Fi, here are my top 10 tips on buying a printer:

1. Determine a Budget…and Stick to it!

Printers come in all shapes and sizes. They have a dazzling array of features, making them better suited for some environments than others. With all of this technology available, understandably the prices can differ. So before you get started on your hunt for the perfect printer, you need to have a budget set. This will ensure you don’t end up spending more on functions you don’t really need.

2. Determine the Main Purpose of Your Printer

If you are looking to do bulk prints regularly and don’t want to have excessive expense or hang around too long, then a laser printer or gel sprint (from Ricoh) would be your best bet. For smaller, infrequent printing jobs with no time parameters, go for an inkjet. If you want to integrate copier and scanning functionality, go for a multifunction model.

Maybe you will be just printing out high quality images or photographs. In this instance, only a good quality photographic printer will do.

3. How Many Users Will Need the Printer?

If you have a busy office and need a printer to service dozens of work stations, you will need to get a printer that has network capabilities. If the hardwire option of networking doesn’t appeal to you, perhaps you should consider a Wi-Fi printer. These wireless models use internet connectivity to send jobs from a number of different devices.

If it is for a single computer, whether at home or an office, you won’t need to worry about spending extra on network options.

4. Consider Future Requirements

It’s all well and good getting a printer that is perfect for your requirements here and now, but what happens a few months down the line when this changes? For example, you might find that you buy a mono printer to save a little money then, weeks later, you find that you need a regular batch of colour prints – suddenly you have to outsource or upgrade.

Printers only have a certain lifetime, but you need to make sure that you are able to get the very most out of it during that period. So allowing for future growth is not always a bad strategy.

5. Which Features Are Essential?

There are some features on a printer that we would all like, although the thought of paying additional cash for the privilege sews a few seeds of doubt. So it is important that you determine what is absolutely necessary for your home or business printing needs.

If you are likely to do a lot of major projects where double sided printing will be a major benefit, then you will need a printer with a duplex printing option. Perhaps your printing output is usually around 300 pages a day, in this instance you will want a printer that has a tray that is big enough to handle these demands without continuously having to replace the paper.

6. Research Models that Match Your Criteria

Don’t just go with the first printer that you find. Having determined how much you are looking to spend and what you need, it is important to find a few different alternatives to choose from. Weigh up the pros and cons of each, do a little research online and decide which one will work best for you.

7. Choose Your Brand

Not necessarily the most important, but you have to find a brand that is established and has a reputation for developing models of a certain standard. It’s all well and good saving some money by going with another brand, but if their consumables are exorbitant or customer services aren’t up to scratch, you could find yourself with all kinds of long-term headaches.

8. Find a Reputable Reseller

Whether shopping on the high street or online, you need to buy from a business that enjoys a reputation for providing great products and after care services. It might be slightly more cost-effective to go elsewhere, but if you don’t get a warranty or can’t deal with anybody if anything goes wrong, you could be on a hiding to nothing.

Look for reviews and talk with other people who have bought products from them in the past; this should give you a clear indication if it is worth going elsewhere or not.

9. Consider Long-Term Expenditure

Pennies saved today might cost you pounds tomorrow. Consumables vary in price and quality across the full range of printers that are available. So don’t just research how much it costs, or who makes it, ensure you know what toner/ink it uses and how much maintenance could end up costing you. Small differences in price can really add up over time, especially if you are printing in bulk.

10. Check the Small Print

Particularly if you are buying online, you need to know what guarantees the seller offers and what method of delivery they utilise. You need to be sure that you will be receiving exactly what you thought you would be getting, not a printer that is full of costly extras or something that is out of stock for weeks.

Author Bio: Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For a wide range of printers and products by brand, he recommends Printware Ltd, a leading provider of Brother Printers.

Canon and Epson are two of the leading manufacturers of inkjet printers worldwide and both are hugely popular when it comes to consumer choice in the UK. Making a decision on your next printer will undoubtedly be tough as both manufacturers are continuously striving to innovate in design, technology and features. Your final choice of an inkjet printer should boil down to the exact features that you need. Some of the best devices from both companies will be compared in various angles to make the decision easier.

Design

Canon is famous for their PIXMA series, with each model often having a black and curvy finish to blend in well with black desktops, laptops and other peripherals. Epson’s printers take a more traditional approach while their photo printers end up being quite compact.

Technologies and Features

Canon’s latest PIXMA models like the iP2702 are ideal for printing clear photos without depending on a laser, so the cost of the printer is lower. It uses a special system known as ChromaLife100+ for printing photos that are long-lasting. It even comes with a software package called “Auto Photo Fix II”, which enhances the quality of the photo. Borderless print options are available and speedy as well. It is also efficient in printing sharp text as it is backed with the Pigment Back Ink technology.

The price of the iP2702 is roughly £45and Epson has a few models that have the same price tag as well such as the Epson Stylus D120. This printer is aimed more towards the versatility of printing pages faster using a technology called the Dual Black System which virtually doubles the print speeds of traditional inkjet printers. The quality is up there as well thanks to the Epson DURABride Ultra Ink technology which is comparable to the quality of laser prints. Although the Epson Stylus D120 isn’t designed as a colour inkjet printer like the iP2702, it manages to print some impressive glossy photos.

Variety

Epson offers a greater variety of printers with prices starting £50 and rising beyond £700 where high quality office and photo printers are being offered. Epson looks to be a good choice for people that want a great selection of printers that can do a lot of different things so that a photo printer and laser printer aren’t needed in the same room.

Canon has a significant advantage in photo printers since Canon offers a greater variety of digital cameras than Epson. Features like camera connectivity and overall photo quality are their strong points while Epson makes a slightly bigger impact for businesses.

Overall Quality

Taking the technologies and different models into the equation, both Canon and Epson showcase some fantastic models for both business and home users. Users that want a reliable photo printer should stick with a Canon brand, even though Epson offers some decent models as well. Canon camera owners will better benefit from the consistent photo quality coming from the image down to the print. Epson shouldn’t be counted out either because of their innovative technologies that prove that inkjets will still have a place in the industry despite the success of laser printers.

Author Bio: Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For a wide range of printers and products by brand, he recommends Printware Ltd, a leading provider of Canon Inkjet Printers.

Printer jams are an unfortunate bi-product of printing, particularly in large volumes. They often happen as a result of paper not being fed into the drum properly or a mechanical glitch during the printing process. Prevention is often the best cure, but in this instance, preventing a potential paper jam isn’t all that straightforward.

One thing that you can do is to ensure that the paper is sat level in the tray and that there are no marks, tears or scuffs that could lead to it being taken through the system improperly. When it is pulled through the printer, even minor imperfections can be exacerbated leading to the dreaded paper jam.

You should also ensure that your printer is regularly serviced. If the components are cleaned and properly maintained, you should find that the likelihood of a paper jam is severely diminished. That isn’t to say they can’t happen, but it certainly shouldn’t happen with any kind of regularity.

If you’ve had a paper jam, despite all of these preventative measures, you have to go about trying to clear it. Quite often a printer, particularly more advanced laser or multifunction printers, will provide an accurate display of where the paper has become lodged. This will provide you with a better understanding of what may have happened and give you an indication of where to enter the machine – if necessary of course.

If the issue is mechanical and the paper has become lodged within the working components of the printer you may have to attempt a manual removal. This will often mean opening up the printer, ordinarily using one of the front or side panels, and visibly locating the problematic paper. If it is possible to extract the paper or clear the jam by hand, then do so.

You do have to be careful though when doing this. Especially if you are attempting to pull the paper through. Don’t tug at it as this can cause damage to the printer’s components and may well cause the paper to rip. Both will cause more problems than you have actually managed to solve. So the best way to avoid this is by applying even pressure to the paper and slowly pulling back through the rollers. You shouldn’t have to dismantle anything; the idea here is just to get the paper out safely.

Most printers will also feature an automatic feed button. So if there is a paper jam, you might want to consider pushing this as it could, at the very least, free up the offending page and make it more accessible. You might need to combine both the aforementioned manual extraction method as well as the more mechanical paper feed to end the paper jam issue.

If the paper has become caught up in the gearing or any of the mechanics other than the rollers, extraction may become more challenging. Manually, you might struggle to remove it without ripping the paper. Obviously you don’t want to cause more harm than good, so if the system is fully clogged up and you don’t fancy attempting to get it out yourself, it might be time to get in a professional. An engineer should really only be needed in the most extreme cases. It certainly shouldn’t be your immediate go-to, unless of course you have one on site.

But in summary, the first thing you need to do is locate where the paper has jammed. Attempt to override the system by using the auto-feed button. This might loosen it up or send through the partially complete printed page. If that doesn’t work, don’t keep trying. You might ruin the system. You might then want to consider a physical, manual extraction. This will simply involve opening up the printer, visibility weighing up whether it is accessible and then trying to pull it through – using even force remember, not tugging or dragging at a corner.

Of course, those of a technical nature might be inclined to try a full system restart to see if that helps override the printer’s memory and pass through the paper. Whilst switching it on and off might sound like a ridiculous solution, it can help on occasion.

If you don’t think that the above techniques will work, or you’ve tried them unsuccessfully, you might then want to get in a skilled pair of hands. Engineers deal with these problems all the time and so can have your printer up and running in no time at all. Before doing anything you should consult your printer’s user manual though, just in case there is anything more specific to your model that you need to consider.

Author Bio: Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For a wide range of printers and products by brand, he recommends Printware Ltd, a leading provider of Printers and Printer Inks and Toners.

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