How to Choose a Printer
How to Choose a Printer
you have Lots of inkjet options, from all-in-ones that also scan and fax, to wide-format, pro-level printers such as the Epson Stylus Pro 4900 reviewed , before you buy ((any printer )) , ask yourself…
HOW FAST SHOULD IT BE?
When choosing any inkjet, you face a trade-off between image quality and speed. Claims of 10 pages per minute may be true for business documents, but what matters most is the level of quality you want for your photos, and how long it takes for those prints to come out. Find out how fast a given model will print at the size you want at 1440 dpi or more-most inkjets can now produce excellent 8x10s in a few minutes.
HOW BIG, AND ON WHAT MEDIA, WILL YOU PRINT?
Each model has a maximum printing width. Some, such as Epson’s portable PictureMate Charm, top out at just 4 inches (ideal for 4×6 prints). Others,such as the HP DesignJet Z3200, can take sheets or rolls up to 44 inches wide. Printers commonly come in 8.5-, 13-, 17-, 24- and 44-inch sizes—those that print wider are mostly for commercial use. A big size may be tempting, but if you’ll print large only occasionally, it makes more sense to send those few to a lab.
The way a printer feeds paper also matters. Some allow rolls-useful for long panoramas and very big prints. Many smaller ones have cassettes that feed paper better than traditional stacking top-feed trays, and they’re useful with medium-weight paper (250 to 280 gsm). Heavier sheets generally go through the top or specialty feed tray, so if you want to use canvas or heavy watercolor paper, check the maximum paper thickness the printer can handle.
If you want to print directly onto CDs and DVDs, consider a printer with a dedicated tray for that purpose, such as the Epson Artisan 720 or Artisan 835.
HOW MUCH WILL THE PRINTER AND INK COST?
Determining the cost is not as straightforward as it might seem. Besides the printer, consider the total cost per page for printing photos, which includes paper, ink, electricity, and other consumables. Some higher-end printers have user-replaceable print heads and/or ink maintenance tanks that collect ink during cleaning cycles. (the latter can be found on all Epson Stylus Pro and Canon imagePROGRAF models.)
In some cases, when switching to photo-black from matte-black ink to optimize print quality on different papers, the pnnter wastes some ink (about l-4ml), costing 20 cents to $2 per switch. This occurs chiefly with pigment-based models from Epson, though the process has improved considerably even on 24- and 44-inch-ers, including the Stylus Fro 7500 and 9900. Neither Canon’s 13-inch Pixma Pro9500 Mark [1 nor HP’s Z3200 series need to swap inks.
HOW LONG DO YOU WANT YOUR PRINTS TO LAST?
Do some research based on the printer, ink set, and papers you want to use. Look at the data published by testing firms such as Aardenburg Imaging & Archives and Wilhelm Imaging Research. If your printer and paper aren’t listed, look for a similar model that uses the same ink.
Some printers use dye-based inks, some pigment-based, and some a mix of the two. In general, dye is less archival—prints tend to fade faster (especially on matte papers), smudge, and run a chance of color shift on some papers after a few hours or days.
Still, some dye-based inks have been vastly improved in longevity and resistance to moisture. One standout: Epson’s Claria inks, used in the 13-inch Stylus Photo
1400 and the PictureMate and Artisan printer lines. Wilhelm Research expects some Claria ink and paper combinations (when framed behind glass) to last about 100 years before noticeable fading or color shift.