Ink Jet Printers Tips

What kind of paper should I use with my color ink jet?

How does Epson ink jet cartridges rate against third party Epson compatible ink jet cartridges?

How do Ink Jet Printers Work?

What supplies do I need for my ink jet printer?

Who won the 2006 PC Magazine Readers Choice Awards for Ink Jet Printers?

What is wide format, large format and grand format printing?

How does Epson ink jet cartridges rate against third-party Epson compatible ink jet cartridges?



What kind of paper should I use with my color ink jet?

Most people who choose color ink jet printers do so because they want to print digital photos. But often people make the mistake of choosing the wrong paper. Standard copy paper is okay, but the image will not be crisp and bright. There are two factors to consider when choosing paper to print photos: brightness and absorption.

Brightness is determined by how rough the surface of the paper is. Rough paper scatters light (think newspaper), and smooth paper reflects light back in the same direction (think glossy magazine page). For photos, you want to choose paper that is listed as “bright” because it will be smoother than copy paper, thus providing glossier image.


Absorption is important because if the paper absorbs too much ink, the ink will “feather” and the edges of images will appear fuzzy. High quality ink jet paper is coated with a waxy film that keeps the ink on the surface of the paper.


Choose paper specially made for your color ink jet for a sharp, vivid print quality. You will find it to be an easy and affordable way to express your creativity.
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How does Epson ink jet cartridges rate against third party Epson compatible ink jet cartridges?

According to the Torrey Pines Research Report, Epson Inkjet ink cartridges offer an incredible value over other brands of cartridges marketed as “compatible” for Epson ink jet printers. The Epson ink jet cartridge had fewer print quality problems and required 25 times fewer user-initiated cleaning cycles (to clear printhead clogs). The Epson cartridge also printed 30% more pages than non-Epson cartridges. Epson also scores high on permanence of image. Henry Wilhelm conducted a study that indicated Epson ink lasted up to 92 years, while third party inks lasted no more than one year. Epson’s value proves to be unbeatable against the third party brands for the Epson Ink jet printer.
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How do Ink Jet Printers Work?

Ink jet printers are non-impact, meaning the ink is sprayed on the paper to make the image. It all begins when you select the “print” button on your pc. Your pc’s software fires the data to be printed to the printer driver. The driver then translates that information into something the printer understands, and checks to see if the printer is turned on and ready to print. The printer receives the translated information from the driver via the connection interface and stores the information in a buffer. The control circuitry launches a message to the paper feed motor to move the rollers. The rollers pull a sheet of paper from the paper tray into the printer. The ink jet cartridge is heated to push the ink out through the print head. Then the print head utilizes a belt to move the print head assembly across the paper horizontally and the print head sprays tiny droplets of ink onto the paper. At the end of each complete pass, the paper feed stepper motor moves the paper up just a fraction of an inch until the entire page is printed. It takes longer for an ink jet printer to print images than it does to print black text. Most inks are so quick drying that you can handle the paper as soon as it has finished printing!
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What supplies do I need for my ink jet printer?

You’ve done your research and have finally settled on the perfect inkjet printer for your home! Now it’s time to decide what types of supplies (or consumables) you want to keep at your desk to use with your new printer.

Paper

The type of paper you need depends upon what kind of printing you intend to do. Aside from a ream or two of ink jet paper, you may want to stock up on: glossy or matte photo paper, envelopes, postcards, business cards, address labels and file labels. Other fun paper novelties include: gift calendars, stickers, t-shirt transfers and greeting cards.


Replacement Ink



It’s a good idea to keep an extra ink jet cartridge in your home office so you don’t run out of ink in the middle of a project. This is especially important if you plan to print digital color photos because photos use lots of ink. To keep your printed pages looking clean and fresh, you may also want to buy a print cleaning kit to use when you change cartridges. A typical cleaning kit includes cleaner sheets, lint-free swabs and cleaner solution and can be found at any office supply store.


Surge Protector



One of the USA's largest casualty loss insurers reported over 63% of all loss-pay-outs on electronic equipment are due to power problems. Invest in a good surge protector to protect your computer, printer and hardware accessories. A surge protector will cost between $20.00 and $100.00 and be “UL” listed. TIP: Look at the “connected equipment” warranty and buy the one that insures connected equipment for up to $15,000 or more.


Having the right inkjet supplies on hand will save time and money over the long run!
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Who won the 2006 PC Magazine Readers Choice Awards for Ink Jet Printers?

Canon, HP, Dell, Epson, Brother or Lexmark. Which ink jet printer should you choose? According to PC Magazine’s 2006 Reader’s Survey, Canon wins hands down. Canon ink jet printers won PC Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Award for 2006 (for the third year in a row). Canon’s ink jets, ink jet all-in-ones, and photo printers all scored higher than average.

According to the Reader’s Survey, only 3% needed repair, and Canon tech support rated “significantly” above average. HP printers followed just slightly behind Canon in scoring (with HP’s tech support score dropping lower than average). Dell did not fare as well. Readers were unhappy with Dell’s reliability and web based support. PC Magazine Readers also scored Dell low on the possibility of recommending Dell ink jet printers to others. However, readers said they would recommend Epson. Epson also got high marks for first-year printers. Brother received worse than average scores on ink jets, beating only Lexmark who scored lower than average in all printer categories except its repair rate of 6%. See PC Magazine: http://www.pcmagazine.com for a full report on the 2006 Reader’s survey.
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What is wide format, large format and grand format printing?

Wide format . . . large format . . . grand format . . . what kind of inkjet printer is this?
Well, a large format printer is not the same little ink jet printer you can fit on the edge of your desk. These terms refer to printer’s wide carriage. These printers are very pricey and are purchased for business use. A large format printer like the HP DesignJet 5500 will cost $8,000 and more, but the return on investment can make up the cost very quickly. Wide, large and grand format printing offer the most profitable printing services. Wide and grand format printers are often used in industrial settings. Grand format media is best known for the outdoor advertising market. You can find more information about Wide and Grand printing at WideFormatImaging.com (http://www.wide-formatimaging.com/). Large format printing may be used for the indoor market segment like a business that creates posters and banners. Products created by large format printing can be found at SignWeb.com (http://www.signweb.com).
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How does Epson ink jet cartridges rate against third-party Epson compatible ink jet cartridges?
Why would you pay up to four times the price for Epson inkjet ink cartridges when compatible ink cartridges are so much cheaper? If you want to keep your printed pages for a long time, or clearing many printhead clogs on your printer, it may be worth investigating. According to the Torrey Pines Research Report, Epson Inkjet ink cartridges had fewer print quality problems and required 25 times fewer user-initiated cleaning cycles. The Epson cartridge also printed 30 percent more pages than non-Epson cartridges. Another study indicated Epson ink lasted up to 92 years, while third party inks lasted no more than one year. The choice is yours -- low cost now may be the best thing for your situation.
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