Resolution of Laser and Inkjet Printers
You've decided to buy a
laser or inkjet printer but do not know how much resolution typical laser or
inkjet printers have and how much is really necessary for you. Here's some
information that will help you find out before buying your inkjet or laser
printer.
Resolution is the maximum number of dots that the laser or inkjet printer
can print in a square inch. In theory higher resolution will give better
results. It will print more details which is important especially for
printing graphics. But as a marketing trick, manufacturers inflate the
resolution numbers and these numbers are not the only factors in print
quality. The ink cartridges or toner cartridges, the number of colors, the
paper and the method of printing are also great factors in print quality.
Resolution is measured by the dpi (dots per inch) which indicates the
maximum number of dots that the laser or inkjet printer can print in a
square inch. And each of these dots in a digital photograph is called
pixels. A digital photograph is made up of thousands of pixels.
The resolution of an inexpensive inkjet printer will be between 1200 by 1200
dots per inch (dpi) to 2400 by 1200 dpi. And a higher-end inkjet printer
will have a resolution between 2400 by 1200 dpi to 4800 by 1200 dpi.
The resolution of a Personal Monochrome laser printer will be between 600 by
600 dpi to 1200 by 1200 dpi. And a workgroup laser printer will typically be
1200 by 1200 dpi.
The resolution of an inexpensive color laser printer will be between 1200 by
600 dpi to 2400 by 1200 dpi. And a higher-end color laser will have a
resolution between 2400 by 1200 dpi to 2400 by 2400 dpi. Although laser
printers have lower resolutions, they are quite sufficient in printing text
and simple graphics.
In any case, it is best to print out a sample to test the real print quality
of the inkjet or laser printer rather than just looking at its resolution.
Printer Buying Guide -
download the full version of Printer Buying Guide in pdf format.
You will need to have Acrobat
Reader Software to view the "Printer Buying Guide".
Please click here for a FREE version of the Adobe Acrobat
Reader
|
|
