Tag: printer

Design
With a price tag of £480, the new HP Colour LaserJet 3600n is small, weighs 27kg and has deep handholds, so one person can carry it easily. At 15.7 by 15.7 by 17.7 inches (HWD), this laser printer can easily fit into a busy home office or individual office in a large company, should you need this level of speed and paper capacity. Its simplistic design makes jam-clearing and maintenance uncomplicated. However, the wall and hinges don’t appear to be too sturdy. It can be setup in the standard manner applicable to its class of printers, and the network installation routine is fully automated.

Paper Handling

The HP Colour LaserJet 3600n offers high-speed performance, with an engine rated at 17 pages per minute (ppm) for both colour and monochrome, fairly good graphics quality, even better text, and photographs that are good enough for client newsletters and the like. HP has also included an Ethernet connection for easy sharing over a network.

However, the main paper tray feels a little unsteady and has nothing to stop it when pulled out, so users should be careful not to drop it. The paper-length and paper-width guides are easy to adjust. The printer has a 100-sheet auxiliary feed in addition to the enclosed 250-sheet tray. You can boost this number to 850 by adding a 500-sheet feeder for £280.

Features

A two-line backlit LCD screen on the 3600n’s top panel displays a complete set of menus, which is easy to navigate with buttons for going through menus, selecting items and going back.

This printer comes with 64MB of memory and unfortunately you cannot expand that, nor add a duplexer, which makes expansion options very limited. If you need the extra memory, then consider HP’s 3600dn, a £670 model with a duplexer and twice the memory.

Performance

The 3600n prints black text at a reasonable 13ppm and colour graphics a bit faster, at 13.5ppm. In contrast, the Lexmark C522n prints text at 14.2ppm and graphics at 12.3ppm. However, if saving money is your real priority, and you don’t print much colour, consider Ricoh Aficio G700, which prints fine text at 12.1ppm but misses the cut on graphics speed and quality.

The 3600n disappoints the user with its print quality. In a few tests carried out by popular technology magazines, the text looked greyish instead of black, showed some roughness in large point sizes, and lost fine strokes. This is also the case with some of the 4-point output, which looked slightly grey, rather than black. Colour graphics did not negotiate shading ramps smoothly and produced blockish transitions. However, the printer makes the cut with colour accuracy and detail. Additionally, it prints greyscale photos very well, with fine detail and smooth shading.

Graphics are easily good enough for internal business use, but not satisfactory for handing out to important clients or customers. The most important issue in a number of tests was misregistration, with the colours slightly out of alignment. It resulted in a noticeable white gap between some blocks of colours, around some lines, and around some colour text on a colour background. Thin lines also tended to disappear. Additionally, colours tend to shift toward darker shades, losing detail in dark areas and making some colours look muddy.

On the whole, the 3600n’s text output has high enough quality for most purposes. Unless you have an unusual need for small font sizes, it is unlikely that you will print any text that the 3600n can’t handle. Lexmark’s similar C522 sells for around £100 less and offers equal speed and better quality, though Lexmark’s cost per page is slightly higher than HP’s and the difference may add up over time.

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Mode Print Solutions offer leading print & digital technology services
First a little history lesson…..
There was a time, long ago that printers had ribbons and used dot matrix printing to create tiny dots that, when looked at, were readable. Sometimes they were BARELY readable, however. Changing ribbons and printing wheels to change type face was a chore.

Then, in 1984, the first laser printer that used toner cartridges came into being. Quickly, no one wanted a dot matrix printer anymore. The laser printer caused ink powder from the toner cartridge to fuse onto the paper where the program told the printer to leave ink. The output was much clearer and much more professional in appearance. Very soon, dot matrix printers became known as “door stops”.

By 1990, inkjet printers that used drop-in ink cartridges became readily available and very reasonable prices. These inkjet cartridges were very easy to change without any fuss. The cost to the user, compared to the laser toner cartridge, was significantly reduced.

So now it starts getting pretty cool….
Today, inkjet printers using ink cartridges are so affordable that every computer owner can afford to own their own printer that is capable of using photo quality inkjet cartridges or for less expensive printing, ink cartridges that are remanufactured or “generic” or non-original manufacture. These inkjet cartridges can even be refilled in many cases to save even more money.

The price of the machines themselves has dropped by buckets and what they can do is way cooler than ever before. Not only can you print but also scan, fax (many do PC-Fax which I’ll get to later), copy, make your morning coffee, take out the garbage (ok not those last 2). Combining this many tasks obviously reduces the number of different machines in your home/office but in addition there’s only one manual you have to completely ignore instead of many (for the guys reading this). The PC-Fax thingy I mentioned Id actually like to discuss a little more about because I personally find this a fantastic feature. Basically it means that your printer/fax/everything else talks directly to your computer allowing you to send and receive faxes without any visible signs of paper involved. For example if anyone was crazy enough to want a copy of this article faxed to them I could do it directly from my computer without having to actually print anything out.

When using inkjet cartridges that are photo quality, it is sensible to use photo quality paper for your printing. This ensures the best quality print out resulting from your inkjet photo quality cartridge. While these inkjet cartridges will print on regular paper, it is a waste to place the more expensive ink cartridge into your printer and then print on plain non-glossy paper.

For every day printing in black and white or even in color, remanufactured or non-original inkjet cartridges work great and save money for you in the long run. As a general rule of thumb, you need to purchase twice as many black inkjet cartridges because there is, on average, more black printing needs for the average person.

Nowadays manufacturers are including more and more technology into their cartridges and trying to convince you that their ink has that extra special something. Epson uses DURABrite ink, HP uses Vivera ink and the list goes on. If you ever get bored and feel the need to work yourself into a frenzy just try surfing some of the major sites to compare exactly what one manufacturers ink does compared to the next. If you come away from this sane you’ll definitely know a lot more techie sounds words than you need to know now or in your next lifetime.

Many of the latest ink cartridges have cool gizmos in them like small chips designed to monitor the ink levels and tell you when its time to reorder and even little LEDs for those of you who want their printer to light up like a disco. The idea of the chip sounds great but there are cases where the chip is telling the printer to stop working too soon or even to not work at all if the cartridges inside are not original (there’s been at least one of the major players recently sued over exactly this). To try and counter this a ‘chip resetter’ can be purchased which basically tells the chip to do as its told and keep on printing regardless of how much ink it thought was left in the tank. As far as the issue with these chips and non original cartridges is concerned its actually illegal for a chip to stop your machine working on this basis but apparently this hasn’t deterred a few of the big boys. Whether a chip resetter will fix this problem is uncertain.

No one knows what will come next in the world of printing. Just as the dot matrix printer long ago became a door stop (mostly that is), it is possible that within the next decade a new, less expensive, more user-friendly printing method that is even more cost effective than inkjet printers using drop-in ink cartridges will become archaic. For today, inkjet cartridges in low-priced printer provide the average household with all the affordable printing from their inkjet printer they need.

Whether you want to print graphics, brochures, or just letters, there is a printer that uses inkjet cartridges for you. Choose inkjet cartridges that meet your printing needs at affordable prices.

Bottom line is yep your ink cartridges are getting more high tech and cooler (heck in the old days theres no way your cartridge would actually light up with pretty colours for you and tell you when its about to run dry). The future is certainly going to be interesting seeing what comes next…..

To get highly compatible printer ink cartridges for all major printer brands, visit: ink toner cartridges. Our ink toner cartridges is dedicated to bringing you the highest quality brand name; toner cartridges, laser toner cartridges, inkjet printer cartridges, laser toner, and other inkjet printer supplies at huge discounts. Go to our ink toner cartridges store now!

Dedicated photo printers differ from all-purpose printers as they are designed to print photos only, as opposed to text or graphics documents in addition to photos. They are generally compact in size and lightweight, and some models even feature batteries that allow you to print without the need for an outlet. Most photo printers, including dye-sublimation (or dye-sub) printers, are built around a thermal dye engine, though there are a few that feature inkjet technology.

For many years, dye-sublimation printers were specialist devices used in demanding graphic arts and photographic applications. The advent of digital photography led to the entry of this technology into the mainstream, forming the basis of many of the standalone, portable photo printers that surfaced in the second half of the 1990s.

The term “dye” in the name refers to the solid dyes that were used in the process instead of inks or toner. “Sublimation” is the scientific term for a process where solids (in this case, dyes) are converted into their gaseous form without going through an intervening liquid phase.

The printing process employed by true dye-sublimation printers differs from that of inkjets. Instead of spraying tiny jets of ink onto a page as inkjet printers do, dye-sublimation printers apply a dye from a plastic film.
A three-pass system (featuring solid dyes in tape form on either a ribbon or a roll) layers cyan, magenta, yellow, and black dyes on top of one another. The print head on a dye-sub printer uses tiny heaters to vapourise the dye, which permeates the glossy surface of the paper. A clear coat is added to protect the print against ultraviolet light. Although this method is capable of producing excellent results, it is far from economical. Even if a particular image does not need any one of the pigments, that ribbon segment is still consumed. This is the reason it is common for dye-sub printer compatible paper packs to contain a transfer film capable of producing the same number of prints. In addition, dye sublimation inks need a paper that allows the ink to remain on the surface of the paper.

Nowadays, a number of inkjet printers on the market are capable of deploying dye-sublimation techniques. The cartridges in such printers spray the ink, covering the page one strip at a time. The print head heats the inks to form a gas, controlled by a heating element that reaches temperatures of up to 500° C (higher than the average dye sublimation printer). A big difference in the results with dye-sublimation technique is that because the dyes are applied to the paper in gas form, they do not form distinct dots with a hard edge like inkjet printers. Instead, the edges are softer and blend into each other easily. Additionally, the infusion of the gaseous dye into the paper yields a more colour-fast picture.

Comparing Dye-Sublimation Printers and Inkjet Printers
Although it is difficult to point out every possible advantage and disadvantage when comparing inkjet and dye-sub printers, the following list mentions the major points that apply to most people printing photos at home.

Advantages of Inkjet Printers over Dye-Sub Printers:
· Prints are very precise with sharp edges
· Latest models offer incredible detail that exceeds most dye-sub printers
· Variety of papers/surfaces available—including matte, luster, glossy.
· Not locked in to one manufacturer’s paper
· Some archival inkjets can produce prints that long-lasting
· Most inkjets can print on many different surfaces that are designed to accept ink, including CDs, CD inserts, envelopes, etc.
· Inkjets have a considerably larger colour gamut and usually produce more vivid photos than dye-subs
· Easier to obtain large format inkjets that can print 11×14, 13×20 sizes, or larger
· Inkjet printing is often cheaper than dye-sub printing

Inkjet Printer Disadvantages:
· Often much slower than dye-sub printers
· Most non-archival inkjets produce prints that fade a little (sometimes a lot) faster than dye-sub prints
· Print heads sometimes clog and require cleaning, or even replacement

Advantages of Dye-Sub Printers over Inkjet Printers:
· Very fast
· Relatively maintenance-free
· Smooth with no dot patterns visible, even under magnification
· Produce excellent shadow detail in dark areas where some inkjets may be “blotchy”
· Prints are usually more durable and more waterproof than inkjet prints
· For many viewers, dye-sub printers produce photos that look and feel more like real photographs due to the smoothness of the prints and the absence of visible dot patterns
Dye-Sub Printer Disadvantages:
· Consumer level models often smear high contrast edges (like a black square on a white background) to some degree, making charts, graphs, and line art look a little less “precise”
· Dye-sub prints typically only last as long or slightly longer than a good non-archival inkjet printer and are generally not considered “archival”
· Paper type selection is very limited and while dye-sub printers produce excellent glossy photos, most fall behind or do not even offer the option of matte prints
· Dye-sub printers use an entire page and an entire page worth of ribbon even to print one small wallet size photo
· Pages cannot be normally fed through the printer twice to fill more of the page as they can in inkjets
· Dust can sometimes get inside and cause vertical scratches on prints
· Dye sub printing and the cost of paper and toner (ribbon) is often higher than inkjet printing

Few Popular Models of Dye-Sublimation Printers

Canon Selphy CP710
Dye-sub printer for 150x100mm photographs

Samsung SPP-2040 photo printer
Dye-sub printer with 300x300dpi resolution

Samsung SPP-2020
Digital photo printer that produces 100x150mm snapshots

HiTi Photo Printer 641PS
Dye-sub printer for 152x102mm photographs

Sony PictureStation DPP-FP30
A user-friendly dye-sub photo printer

Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock 6000
A dye-sublimation printer for compatible Kodak cameras

Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock 6000
A dye-sublimation printer for compatible Kodak cameras

Olympus P-10 Digital Photo Printer
A dye-sublimation printer that prints straight from your Olympus digital camera

Polaroid PP46d photo printer
A dye-sub photo printer

Olympus P-440
Dye-sub printer capable of printing A4 photographs

Sony DPP-EX50
Dye-sublimation photo printer

To get highly compatible printer ink cartridges for all major printer brands, visit: ink toner cartridges. Our ink toner cartridges is dedicated to bringing you the highest quality brand name; toner cartridges, laser toner cartridges, inkjet printer cartridges, laser toner, and other inkjet printer supplies at huge discounts. Go to our ink toner cartridges store now!

Printing has become an absolute necessity for people all over the nation and world these days. Whether a person needs to print an essay for a school project or a business plan to present to their peers, having a reliable method of translating work done on a computer to a sheet of paper is a must. One important part of a printer that often gets overlooked in the process, however, is the printer cartridge. Containing the ink necessary to write lines and create diagrams on a blank sheet of paper, printer cartridges are something that no printer can be without. It is important, therefore, that anyone who plans on using his or her printer on a continuous basis have a reliable method to replace their printer cartridges when they inevitably dry out of ink.

One of the most common mistakes that is made is to buy a printer cartridge only after the previous one has become useless. The simple truth is that these cartridges are often very expensive and are not always easily acquirable. Because of these attributes, there are several strategies to employ when purchasing printer cartridges for the future.

The first thing to remember is that printer cartridges come in a great variety and that a person can’t just plug the first one they see at the store into their printer and expect results. You have to buy a printer cartridge that is compatible with your printer, or you will have wasted your time and money. For example, if you own a Canon printer, it would be foolish to buy a Lexmark printer cartridge. If you are not sure about which cartridges fit your printer, jot down the printer brand and model and ask a sales representative to help you out.

Also remember that while printer cartridges are quite expensive, it is best to get backups when they go on sale. If for example, you own a HP printer and see a sale on all HP and Epson printer cartridges during Thanksgiving, you should head down to the store and pick some up. There is no point in waiting until you really need the printer cartridge to buy them and paying double or triple the price. On a similar note, if the sale were for Xerox and Pitney Bowes printer cartridges, don’t buy them just because they are discounted. If the printer cartridges are not compatible with your printer, they are basically worthless. But overall, being a smart consumer and thinking ahead will do nothing but benefit you in terms of saving time and money.

Overall there are many different printer cartridges, from Xerox to Pitney Bowes, and many different printers, from Canon brands to Lexmark, which they can be used with. Knowing which printer cartridge to buy and taking advantage of sales can go a long way in ensuring that your printer will be working with high quality whenever it is needed!

To get highly compatible printer ink cartridges for all major printer brands, visit: ink toner cartridges. Our ink toner cartridges is dedicated to bringing you the highest quality brand name; toner cartridges, laser toner cartridges, inkjet printer cartridges, laser toner, and other inkjet printer supplies at huge discounts. Go to our ink toner cartridges store now!

As many photo-printer owners would know, paper and ink costs can quickly exceed the cost of the printer. These six tips will help you get the most out of your photo-printer without leaving a hole in your pocket.

Raise the Resolution: Any digital camera that is less than three years old can capture at least 1 megapixel of data with each shot. This is sufficient to print a good-quality 4 X 6-inch photo; a 2-megapixel image holds enough information to output a higher-quality print of the same dimensions. To generate an 8 X 10-inch print worth framing, you’ll need a resolution of at least 3 megapixels. You’re in a good position if you have a new camera as most new models offer from 4 to 8.1 megapixels.

Adjust your camera to its highest resolution when taking shots that you might want to print. Some newer cameras, depending on the manufacturer’s menu setup, make it very simple to change resolution.
Save your Originals: Don not save the images you plan to print as JPEGs or in any other compressed file format. Each time you compress an image, you lose some data. Before working with an image, make sure it is unaltered and in the TIFF format.

Enhance the Image: Experiment with your image-editing program’s functions such as cropping, contrast, brightness, and other controls until you’re entirely satisfied with the image’s composition. Remember to always save the altered file with a new name.

Plan Your Print Drafts: If you plan to make test prints that you will discard later, reduce the image size and load the printer with plain inexpensive paper. Your printer software may allow you to print multiple images on one sheet.

Use matte-finish photo cards instead of glossy photo paper when printing 4 X 6-inch images. These cards have a nice look and feel, and they cost almost half as much as full-size photo paper. Place the images that you print on 8 X 10-inch glossy photo paper behind glass for added protection from ultraviolet light, and hang them away from direct sunlight.

Save on your ink: Special photo inks can provide your printer with a more refined colour palette. Unfortunately, these come with specific models, and if such ink didn’t come with your model, you may have to buy it separately and install it in place of the standard ink cartridges.

In some cases, photos printed using general-purpose cartridges look almost as good as ones printed using photo ink. Another effective trick is to print your black-and-white photos in colour mode (with standard colour cartridges). This makes the printer use all of its inks to create the tones in your picture, and the resultant prints can be as subtle and precise as pictures printed with photo inks.

Get your Cartridges in Line: Use your printer’s controls to realign your cartridges–especially if you see vertical or horizontal bands, unwanted lines, gaps, or bleeding colours in your prints. Right-click the printer’s entry in Control Panel’s “Printers and Faxes” or “Printers” applet, click Properties, and search for a cartridge maintenance option. If aligning your cartridges does not solve the problem, clean the cartridges with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Use water merely as a solvent, and clean just the cartridge itself, never the print head or the nozzle plate. Always align new cartridges.
Practice Good Housekeeping: By keeping your printer’s mechanisms clean, you will ensure that the device runs at its best. An occasional blast from a can of compressed air (easily available at electronics stores) will keep dust and bits of paper from clogging the paper path and other moving parts.
Make sure that the small ink nozzles on your print heads are clear of dried ink. Leaving any inkjet idle for even a week or two leads the ink in the tiny tubes that feed the nozzles to dry. Many inkjet printers have a cleaning program in their settings that can handle partially clogged nozzles.

Unfortunately these programs use a lot of ink, so use them judiciously. If the tubes are badly blocked, then you will need the services of a professional or an inkjet cleaning kit.

To get highly compatible printer ink cartridges for all major printer brands, visit: ink toner cartridges. Our ink toner cartridges is dedicated to bringing you the highest quality brand name; toner cartridges, laser toner cartridges, inkjet printer cartridges, laser toner, and other inkjet printer supplies at huge discounts. Go to our ink toner cartridges store now!

Do you own an inkjet printer? Has the printhead ever clogged up on you, creating streaks or missing colors from your printing?

Clogs can be incredibly frustrating. Normally when you find out you have a clogged printhead, it’s because you’re right in the middle of printing something important. It’s one of those problems that you never ask for. It just seems to throw itself in your lap without warning, and then taunts you in your efforts to fix it.

The printhead is the mechanism of your printer (or inkjet cartridge), where the ink actually comes out.

For the most part, printhead clogs can be normally be flushed out with a couple of “head cleaning” cycles. A head cleaning cycle is a built-in function of your printer. It’s a specialized routine meant to address this type of problem.

This “cleaning cycle” works by sending a strong ‘print signal’ to your printer, while at the same time drawing a small vacuum from underneath. The combination of these two steps works in an attempt to suck out clogged ink from the printhead. From my experience, you’ll probably need to run between 3 and 5 cycles to fully clear a clog.

The location of the head cleaning cycle proceedure varies for each printer brand, so refer to your printer owner’s manual for specific instructions to find yours. Check the index first.

If you don’t have your owner’s manual anymore, you can check our your printer manufacturers website. Most likely, they will have your printer manual online.

There are times however, when a few standard head cleaning routines don’t seem to solve the problem. A stubborn printhead clog like this can be persistant enough to make you want to rip out your hair.

For times like these, you’ll need to pull out the big guns!

For stubborn inkjet printhead clogs, there are various cleaners out there specifically for this purpose. These cleaners are formulated to disolve dried or “gummy” ink which may have accumulated from infrequent printer use, or even just a general build-up over time.

I personally brought an old printer “back from the dead” using a product called ‘Clog Buster’. It was a printer I had purchased off of eBay which apparently hadn’t been used in awhile. I spent a few hours trying to revive the printer, and ‘Clog Buster’ was the only thing that worked when nothing else did.

The only downside with using a cleaning product like this however, is that you usually don’t have it in your immediate possession when the clog hits. Unless you have some already on hand, you’ll have to wait for it to be shipped to you. In the meantime, your printing project will have to remain on pause until it arrives.

(But maybe I can help…)

The good news is that you MAY be able to solve the problem using some basic household products. In fact, Windex glass cleaner can actually work well for dissolving dried ink. What’s the secret ingredient?

Ammonia.

Tough printhead clogs can usually be brought into submission by soaking the printhead in a solution of 50/50% ammonia and distilled water.

A important word of warning… Ammonia is potent and powerful stuff. When working with ammonia, always make sure you’ve got adequate ventilation, and avoid mixing it with other chemicals. Very important.

So, if your printhead is located on the inkjet cartridge itself, you’ll want to soak the printhead in the 50/50 solution for an hour or two.

If the printhead unit is located inside your inkjet printer itself, then you’ll first need to remove the inkjet cartridges. After those are removed, put some of the solution into the top of the printhead (directly into the nozzle holes) and let it sit a few hours. Go ahead and put a little more into the printhead resting seat. (This is the rubber rectangle part that seals off the printhead unit while the carriage is in it’s resting position.)

If this initial soaking doesn’t work, then repeat another time using 100% ammonia for up to one hour. Afterward, make sure to rinse completely with distilled water.

If the clog doesn’t immediately clear, go ahead and let the printer sit overnight and try it again the next day. Sometimes the clog will breakdown slowly and release later as the ammonia takes it’s toll.

Finally, for those of you wondering about the effectiveness of using alcohol to unclog cartridges and printhead — here’s a quick note…

Alcohol won’t work as well as ammonia, but may work better than a few cleaning cycles. The downside is that alcohol may actually dry out the plastics and metals in the printhead. This could actually increase the chances of clogging later on down the road. So try to avoid alcohol if possible.

To get highly compatible printer ink cartridges for all major printer brands, visit: ink toner cartridges. Our ink toner cartridges is dedicated to bringing you the highest quality brand name; toner cartridges, laser toner cartridges, inkjet printer cartridges, laser toner, and other inkjet printer supplies at huge discounts. Go to our ink toner cartridges store now!

Everybody wants to know about the correct inkjet cartridge for his or her printer, but what about printer paper? Inkjet and laser printers can print on a variety of surfaces, including photo paper, labels, business cards, stickers, and t-shirt transfers. One of the biggest advantages of laser printers is their ability to churn out quality prints on almost any paper. However, the same does not apply to inkjet printers. Although most of your inkjet printing probably involves standard white papers, when it comes to this medium, you may have more options than you realise.

Inkjet Printer Paper
Although standard printer paper can do the job as well, your printouts will probably be better if you use paper specifically made for inkjet printers. The quality of your printouts is affected by two major factors: brightness and absorption.

1. Brightness
When a type of paper is advertised as being brighter than average, it indicates that the surface of the paper is smoother than average. The smoothness of the page determines the amount of light reflected from its surface. This factor also determines how bright your images appear on the page. The brighter or smoother the printer paper is, the better your printout will appear.

2. Absorption
In this case, if the printer paper absorbs less ink, your document will definitely look better. As the paper absorbs ink, tiny dots on the page may spread outside their borders. This may cause the edges of text and images on the page to look fuzzy and soggy. To counteract this problem, quality printer papers are coated with a waxy substance that prevents the absorption of ink by the paper. A well-coated paper allows for more precise and smoother printing. In general, most of the printers on the market print at a higher resolution on coated paper than on standard paper.

Branded Paper – To Buy or Not to Buy
It’s no secret that the big names in printers, such as HP, Canon, and Epson, offer a complete line of inks and papers. Each company claims that you will get the best results when you use its products with its printers, and warns you to steer clear of products sold by other companies.
Generally speaking, they’re right. In the case of inkjet printers, especially, companies design printers, inks, and papers to work together to yield the best results. If you use third-party paper with your inkjet printer from a big-name manufacturer, the ink may spread too far into the paper before drying, causing inaccurate colours, lower print resolution, and a dull finish. Plus, it is likely that the prints will fade faster.

The choice, after all, lies with you. Printing great photos from an inkjet printer is a tall order, requiring a perfect match between the ink, paper, and printer to work together; and the companies don’t make it easy on the consumer’s pocket. You can reach the most economical solution through a little experimentation.

Alternatively, laser printers can print plain text documents or draft-quality graphics with equal ease, and you can stock up on your local office supply store’s bright white copy or laser paper to your heart’s content.

Getting Past the Jargon
To find out if the paper package on the shelf is right for your printer, simply read the fine print that usually lists out the compatible companies and models. Moreover, if you are interested in high-quality photo printing, you can generally see if a particular paper makes the grade.

For example, some papers may have unusual descriptions such as “swellable” or “cotton rag.” Swellable paper is designed for high-quality photo printing—the coated surface actually swells as it absorbs ink. Cotton rag is ideal for inkjets that use pigment-based inks; most low-cost inkjet printers, on the other hand, use dye-based ink, so you should steer clear of cotton rag in this instance.

High-quality paper also has a polymer coating—for both dye-based and pigment-based inks—that keeps the ink from spreading, and it protects the ink from fading over time. However, coated paper can take a number of hours to completely dry your prints. Better quality paper may also be advertised as acid-free and lignin-free; these indicate that your paper is more likely to give you the best image quality and the best overall life span.

Checklist
It is important to remember that most branded photo printer paper from corporate names, including well-known ones, is only suitable for printing at 1440 and 2880 DPI. Here is a simple checklist to help you when deciding the inkjet photo paper best suited to your needs.

1. Always check the DPI (Dots Per Inch) of the photo printer paper.

DPI is an indicator of how much ink the photo paper can absorb per inch on the page. Using low DPI photo paper for high-resolution printing will result in poor quality prints. Usually, if the seller does not advertise the DPI of its inkjet photo paper and card, then it is likely that it is very low and therefore a lower grade paper.

2. Check that the photo paper is instant dry.

Cheaper photo paper may not be designed to dry instantaneously and can result in colour running or smudging while the ink is soaking into the paper. Once again, if the seller does not advertise this feature, then it is likely that it is absent.

3. Decide the weight of inkjet photo paper you need.

Although the weight of photo paper and card vary, the most common weights are between 120gsm to 280gsm.

If you are printing in bulk, then 120gsm is usually sufficient and cost effective. If you are printing photographs at home, then 160gsm to 200gsm should suffice. Buy glossy printer paper if you want shiny pictures, and matt paper if shine is not an issue for you.

As a general rule, bigger the weight is, thicker the photo paper or card will be.

To get highly compatible printer ink cartridges for all major printer brands, visit: ink toner cartridges. Our ink toner cartridges is dedicated to bringing you the highest quality brand name; toner cartridges, laser toner cartridges, inkjet printer cartridges, laser toner, and other inkjet printer supplies at huge discounts. Go to our ink toner cartridges store now!

If you have recently bought yourself a new printer, follow the directions in the manual for setting up cables. Put the installation CD into the CD drive and follow the set up instructions.

If you are using Windows 95/98, select Start Menu, then select Printers. Now select Add Printer, select Local Printer. Choose your printer (If your printer is not listed, choose the one closest to yours and select OK).

For the Mac, select go to server, (or chooser) and then select printer. Then choose your printer. (If your printer is not listed, then select the closest one.) Then select install.
If you are using Windows XP, then the PC will prompt you for the drivers and install the relevant one from the CD itself (if the appropriate driver is not in the database already).

If you have any problems printing, first check your cable connections. If you get repeated error messages, then reboot your computer and redo the steps above.
If you would like to upgrade the driver of your currently installed printed, then follow the steps given in the next sub-topic.

Installing Printer Drivers
A printer driver is a piece of software that allows the computer to communicate with the printer. Without this software, the printer would be hopelessly lost since it does not speak the same language! Printer manufacturers often update the drivers and these they can be easily downloaded form the company’s website for free. It is a good idea to keep a check on your printer driver version and upgrade if it is too far out of date.
Here is how you can check your print driver version number:
Windows XP

1. Click the Windows Start button, choose Control Panel, and then choose ‘Printers and Faxes.’
2. Right-click your default printer and choose Properties. (Your default printer will have a checkmark within a black circle above the printer icon.)
3. Click the General tab, click the ‘Print Test Page’ button, and then click OK to print the test page.
Windows 95/98

1. Click the Windows Start button, choose Settings, and then Printers.
2. Right-click your default printer and choose Properties. (Your default printer will have a checkmark within a black circle above the printer icon.)
3. Click the General tab, click the ‘Print Test Page’ button, and then click OK to print the test page.

Look on the test page for Driver Version.
All major printer manufactures have web sites that allow you to freely download their printer drivers. To do so, you will need your printer’s manufacturer and model number. When you go to the web site, look for words such as ‘Downloads’, ‘Drivers’, ‘Software’, or ‘Support’ and shortlist your model.
Given below are the website URLs for the popular brands:
Hewlett Packard — http://welcome.hp.com/country/uk/en/support.html?pageDisplay=drivers
Canon — http://software.canon-europe.com/
Epson — http://emeasupport.epson-europe.com/downloads.aspx?LNG=en-EU
Lexmark — http://support.lexmark.com/cgi-perl/selections.cgi?ccs=227:5:0:0:0:0&target=http://downloads.lexmark.com/cgi-perl/downloads.cgi&&req=:::::
Xerox — http://www.support.xerox.com/go/prodselect.asp?Xlang=en_GB&metrics=HDR
Brother — http://www.brother.com/E-ftp/info/index_eu.html
Troubleshooting Printer Problems
In this section, you’ll find some of the more common problems that cause 45 percent of the help centre phone calls.
If nothing has occurred since the last time you used your printer, chances are the problem is quite straightforward. As obvious as it sounds, check to ensure that the printer is turned on. It is quite possible that somebody might have turned it off while you were away from your desk or computer. Make sure the printed is connected properly and there is power to the printer. All printers have some kind of LED that lets you know if it is powered up.

If the printer is turned on but has some flashing lights, then check with your owner’s manual to see what the lights mean. Most of these indicators will be related either to paper, ink, or toner.

Make sure there is enough paper in the printer. Refill the paper tray if it’s empty. Make sure you ‘fan’ the paper stack before putting it in the printer. When the paper stack is cut and packed at the factory, it sometimes causes the pages to stick together. Fanning the paper simply involves flipping through the paper stack with your thumb. This ruffling separates the paper, thereby reducing paper jams.

If the paper is stacked well, then check for a mis-feed or paper jam. Remove the paper stack and check the feed area for jammed paper. You may have to open several panels to make a thorough examination. Even a small piece of paper stuck inside the printer can cause problems. You might have to use tweezers to remove small pieces. Be careful of any contact of the tweezers with printer parts to avoid any damage.

If everything listed above is in place, then check the wire that connects the printer to the computer. You may be using a parallel or a USB connection. Make sure the cable is connected properly. Turn the equipment off and remove and re-insert the connection on both the printer and the computer to ensure a solid connection. If you are at work and your printer is connected to what appears to be a telephone wire, then you should call your resident network expert.

If the printer is functioning but only seems to print illegible garbage, then that is a good indication of a printer driver problem. Try re-booting the computer and turning the printer off and on before making any changes to the driver. If after re-booting you still have the problem, it’s probably time to replace the printer driver. You can download the driver from the website URLs listed earlier in this articles. Follow the instructions given by the manufacturer to install your driver.
Scanner can also sometimes interfere with printers. Try re-installing the software for both but install the printer driver first, and the scanner driver afterwards.

If nothing listed above results in a solution, then perhaps it might be time to call the printer manufacturer. Make sure that you are near the printer when you call and have all your warranty information available at hand.

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