Laser and inkjet printers are the most popular choices for home or small-office use. Both produce high-quality prints. Laser printers are typically less expensive to operate and use a wider variety of papers, but inkjet printers are less expensive, physically smaller, and produce very good colour images for their price. There are two competing technologies in the inkjet market: conventional inkjets and “bubble jet” printers. Their printed output is similar, but they print using different mechanisms.
Print Basics
Early computer printers functioned similarly to typewriters. An inked fabric ribbon was used to stamp a letter shape onto the paper, leaving an imprint of that letter. Later models, known as “dot matrix” printers, used a set of fine pins to form letters from individual dots. They were faster and more versatile, but the print quality was mediocre. Dots are also used to form letters in inkjet printers, which were first developed in the 1960s. Individual dots or pixels, on the other hand, are much finer than with dot matrix printers, and the resulting print is of higher quality.
Conventional Inkjet Technology
An inkjet cartridge is made up of an ink reservoir and a network of fine nozzles that produce the droplets used to print text and graphics on your page. Each nozzle contains a tiny piezoelectric crystal, similar to those used to generate buzzing sounds for alarms. When an electric signal is applied to the piezo crystal, it vibrates extremely quickly. The crystal squeezes out a tiny droplet of ink on the forward stroke of the vibration. It creates suction and draws ink from the cartridge’s reservoir into the nozzle on the backstroke, preparing it to print the next droplet.
Bubble Jet Technology
An inkjet cartridge is made up of an ink reservoir and a network of fine nozzles that produce the droplets used to print text and graphics on your page. Each nozzle contains a tiny piezoelectric crystal, similar to those used to generate buzzing sounds for alarms. When an electric signal is applied to the piezo crystal, it vibrates extremely quickly. The crystal squeezes out a tiny droplet of ink on the forward stroke of the vibration. It creates suction and draws ink from the cartridge’s reservoir into the nozzle on the backstroke, preparing it to print the next droplet.
Choosing
Bubble jet technology can be found in Canon printers, as well as other brands that use Canon print mechanisms. Canon claims that its process produces more consistent droplet size and thus higher-quality print. However, for both home and business users, the technology used by a printer is less important than its applicability to the job and where it fits in your budget. Consider your printer’s anticipated workload as well as the cost of its consumables. Purchase a machine with a high enough duty cycle to meet your printing needs and low enough ink costs to fit your budget.
