DCIScouts

Let me first preface this by saying this is not a quality review of brands of printers, but more what to look for when purchasing a new printer.

Table of Contents:

1. Print speed
2. Printheads
3. Cartridges
4. Miscellaneous Features
5. Vacations/Storage


1. Print speed

As with many things on a printer, these are the "rated" results, in this case, the print speed under optimum conditions. So, if one printer boasts 30 pages per minute (PPM) and another 29 PPM, they are essentially the same speed. There is an actual scientific system to how they rate this, but it's fairly complicated. Simply put, if a printer boasts 30 PPM B&W, realistically, it's probably going to be somewhere around 15 PPM. Same thing with color, although if you are doing photos with the printer, it will take quite a bit longer. The most important thing to consider with print speed is how important speed really is to you, because in most cases speed is not as important as some other features, and usually a faster printer will be better in other ways as well.

2. Printheads

Ok, one basic difference between Epson and all other inkjet printers is the printhead. In almost all Epson printers, the printhead is built into the machine, for a very specific reason. Epson printers use a printhead that uses a electric pulse that "squeezes" the ink out of the cartridge. Most other printers use a thermal printhead that heats up the ink to inject it on to the page. While this allows the ink to dry MUCH faster on an Epson printer, it does create a problem if the printhead goes bad.

It is very expensive to repair a bad printhead on an Epson printer, in many cases it is just easier to replace the printer all together. However, this does not occur frequently and usually requires about 5000 pages AT LEAST before the printhead wears out. A Brother printer will also have integrated printheads, although they are thermal, and are separated from the cartridge to make the cartridge a little cheaper. On the flipside, a Lexmark and HP cartridge has the printhead built into the cartridge, since a thermal printhead can be put on to a cartridge much easier than the electric printhead of an Epson. The one oddball is Canon, who uses a thermal printhead and doesn't put it on the cartridge (however, as of this update, HP has released a line of OfficeJets that also has this feature). Instead, on most Canon inkjets (and the aforementioned HP's), there is a separate piece that contains the printhead that can be replaced easily. This allows their cartridges to be much cheaper since you aren't paying for a new printhead with each one. However, when the printhead dies, it can be rather pricey (around $50 USD for the Canon, $60 USD for the HP), although again, pretty easy to swap out. So, to summarize:

Epson: electric printhead (shorter drying), permanently integrated into machine
Lexmark: thermal printhead (longer drying), integrated into cartridge
Canon: thermal printhead (longer drying), separate replaceable part
Brother: thermal printhead (longer drying), integrated into the machine
HP: thermal printhead (longer drying), separate replaceable part

3. Cartridges

One thing you MUST consider before buying ANY printer is the cost of the cartridges, and the estimated page yield. You can find a cheap printer almost anywhere, but the cost of the cartridges can be expensive. Most retailers will have some page yield estimates available, if not there are those numbers available on-line. This is important because if one printer has a $15 cartridge and another has a $20 cartridge if the $20 one has twice the page yield, you're going to save a lot more money with the more expensive cartridge. It is important to mention page yield number are based on a 5% coverage formula. While most printing covers more of the page than 5%, it is still a good formula to use for comparison.

Furthermore, HP cartridges usually have the amount of ink (in mL) on the outside of the package. Additionally, Lexmark has a moderate yield and high yield cartridge on their newer machines, no matter what the price of the printer. HP, Epson and Brother cartridges also have an expiration date on the package.

One other major distinction between printers is individual color and tri-color cartridges. While it is convenient to only have to remember one cartridge for the color when they are combined, it is usually more economical to have seperate colors. In a tri-color, when one color runs out, whatever is left is useless. However, with seperate cartridges one color runs out, one cartridge replaces it. Additionally, if you are comparing page yield numbers, you must add all three numbers together in order to compare them appropriately to eachother.

If you are using the printer for photos, there are some special circumstances that apply. HP and Lexmark usually offer special "photo" cartridges that add another two colors for use when printing photos. These cartridges should be used in only this circumstance, since they have black, light cyan and light magenta colors to complement the yellow, cyan and magenta colors of the tri-color cartridges. With the black combined with the other two colors, don't use it for text printing, since it unnessarily uses part of these cartridges.

Some manufacturers are beginning to offer better printing for B&W photos. For example, HP's optional cartridge for black and white photos for the 8050 and other printers using the 94/95/96/97 series. If you would like to print some black and white photos, they offer a 100 cartridge that contains black, medium gray and light gray. This cartridge produces awesome black and white photos, even on pictures that are a color file. Epson also does offer some printers that utilize gray cartriges, such as the R800. Furthermore, Epson and Canon printers have a set combination of cartridges, and if you would like to have six colors (or more on some high-end models, some with as many as 10) you must buy the appropriate printers from these manufacturers. Each slot in the printer takes only one cartridge which cannot be changed.

Manufacturer's Page Yield Websites:
HP's page yield site: www.hp.com/go/pageyield/
Lexmark's page yield site: http://www.lexmark.com/lexmark/seque...943_en,00.html (linked to ink, other categories listed at the top of the page)
(Others to come as I can find them)

4. Miscellaneous Features

Many printers and multi-function inkjets feature camera card readers, preview color screens and multiple other features. When considering these options, I find the most important thing to consider would be whether you edit photos on the computer, on the printer or if you just want to print the photos unedited. Furthermore, if you don't have a card reader, these built-in readers can be a handy way to transfer the photos on to the computer for editing, storage or archiving. Preview screens are very useful if you plan on using the printer for editing quite a bit, but if not, a luxury that is not really necessary.

Lastly, some printers are beginning to feature wired and wireless ethernet connections in addition to the standard USB (usually no parralel). This can be good to share between multiple computers, or if you'd rather purchase a print server and use an existing printer, those are available in wired and wireless options as well.

5. Vacations/Storage

This may seem like a strange topic in a printer guide, but it applies to leaving the ink cartridges in your printers while being on vacation. If you are going to be away for more than a week or two (or just not using the printer for awhile) remove the cartridges from the printer. Place them in a Ziploc bag with the printhead facing up. This prevents the ink from drying out, and keeps it inside the cartridge much easier. Similarly, when you have the cartridges installed make sure that you print a page every other week with black and color to keep the ink from clogging the printhead.

__________________
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FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358
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Cheers CF