Inkjet Printers

The first step in deciding what inkjet printer is best for you is to decide the quality of images you require. Choose between a four-color inkjet printer or a photo printer.

Four-Color Inkjet Printers:
The standard inkjet printer is four-color. They either have two ink cartridges, one black and one color, or they have four ink cartridges for each color (CMYK). Four cartridges is actually a better value since you won't have to waste colors if only one color is out. Many four-color inkjet printers can print almost true photographic quality.

Photo Printers:
Photo printers are specifically designed for printing digital photos and, therefore, often come with a user-friendly LCD display and navigation buttons for one-touch printing and other great features that are extremely easy to understand and use. Higher end inkjet printers use a jet-spray technique to combine four to six colors of ink. This technology broadens the range of color-combination by having six-color ink cartridges. In several occasions, two of the ink tanks are actually specifically for photo printing. The photographic output from most photo printers in this category is amazing. However, in exchange for the excellent print quality the cost per page is higher and the printing speed is slower.

Once you make the decision between whether four-color printing is fine for your needs or you need five or six color printing; and whether you will only print digital photos (in which case a photo printer is best for you) or if you want to print a range of documents; deciding where you lay on the scale for the specifications below will be much easier.

Resolution:
This is determined by the number of ink dots per inch (dpi) on a printed page. The more dots, the more detailed the image and better quality. There is a resolution for black (or monochrome) and for color prints. The typical color resolution is around 4800x1200, the low end is around 1200x1200, and the high end is considered to be around 5760x1440. For black, the typical is around 600, the low end around 300, and the high end at 1200.

Speed:
The general rule is the faster the printer prints, the more money it's going to cost. Decide how fast you really need and compare that to the quality you desire. Higher-quality prints will take more time to print. Speed is measured by pages-per-minute (ppm) and is typically 14-16 ppm for color documents, and 20-24 for black and white output.

Paper Handling:
All printers handle legal and letter size paper, but if you need to print on photo sized paper (using nice photo paper) or to print on envelope sizes, then make sure the printer is capable. Also determine whether you need duplexing capabilities - this allows you to print on both sides of the paper.

Connectivity / Interfaces:
Be sure you have the proper connectivity to connect to your computer and any other device you might want to connect such as a digital camera. Common connectivity types are USB 2.0, parallel, serial or via a network connection. Popular interfaces on photo printers that connect your camera to your printer are Bluetooth, Pictbridge, or Direct Print.

In the end, deciding what inkjet printer is best for you will be based upon a balance of price, quality, and performance. Don't worry, there are many options to choose from whatever price-range / category you choose.