Inkjet Printer

Affordable Quality -- The Inkjet Printer

The inkjet printer, unlike laser printers or dot matrix printers, offer great print quality at very affordable prices. Since their introduction in the mid 1980's, the inkjet printer has become one of the most popular and widely used printers ever.

Let's examine the technology the inkjet printer utilizes to achieve this balance of quality and affordability. Inkjet technology was first discovered by accident in a Canon laboratory when a researcher accidentally touched an ink filled syringe with a hot soldering iron. The heat caused a drop of ink to escape from the tip of the needle, thus coining the term "bubble" technology. Currently, heat, or "bubble" technology is one of two methods used to make inkjet printers. The other method, developed by Epson, uses piezo crystals to vibrate and release a drop of ink onto the paper. The components of an inkjet printer are simple: the printer head, the cartridge, the belt and stabilizer, and control circuitry.

During operation, the inkjet printer head moves back and forth across the page via the belt and stabilizer, spraying drops of ink where the control circuitry commands. The dots of ink released from the nozzle are so tiny that they are actually smaller than the width of a human hair. These droplets of ink are then combined to form text and graphics. Each inkjet printer differs in the resolution it is capable of printing. Some print at the minimum 300 dpi (dots per inch) while others can print at up to 5760 dpi horizontal resolution. The higher resolution makes for cleaner and sharper prints.

Although the prices of laser printers have been falling drastically in the past couple of years, the inkjet printer still remains as the top choice for affordable color printing.

And also be sure to check out our pages on Discount Inkjet Cartridges, Inkjet Refills, Inkjet Refill Kits, and Inkjet Paper elsewhere on this site.