6. Ink-Jet Printer
Ink-jet printers have been popular for a long time because they are relatively cheap to buy and most of them can combine both black and white and colour printing at the same time.
These printers use cartridges that contain the ink.
They operate by heating the ink as it flows through a set of tiny nozzles.
The heating process causes a small droplet of ink to form. This is then released as a single dot which forms part of a letter or image. This is why the printouts often come out of an ink-jet printer still slightly wet.
Colour ink-jet printers are ideal for use at home where only a few documents need to be printed and the quality of the printout doesn't need to be perfect.
They can produce superb photographic prints if suitable high quality photo paper and inks are used.
| Advantages of ink-jet printers | Disadvantages of ink-jet printers |
|---|---|
| Cheap to buy - cheaper than a laser printer | Noisier than a laser printer (but not as noisy as a dot-matrix) |
| More compact than a laser printer | Colour printing can be extremely slow |
| Cartridges cost less to replace than toners | Cost of printouts per page are more expensive than a laser printer |
| Produce good quality printouts better than a dot-matrix but not as good as a laser | Cartridges need to be replaced more often than a laser printer |
| Speed - faster than a dot-matrix but not as fast as a laser | Ink will smudge while it is still wet |
| Colours can become saturated and often don't look the same as on the screen | |
| If not used for a while, the cartridges can dry out |
Challenge see if you can find out one extra fact on this topic that we haven't already told you
Click on this link: Ink-Jet Printer