On The Net - Computing News

with Chris Goh

Printers part 2

...following on from Printers Part 1

The HP 980cxi can detect what sort of paper you put in and adjust the quality of the printing to suit the paper.

Canon's i865 - great low cost printer, especially good for printing CD labels.

The trouble when reviewing consumables is that everyone has an opinion about what is the best buy. However like beauty, perceptions of 'the best' vary. This review concentrates on inkjets, and hopefully some of the information can help you sort out the hype from the real stuff.

The thing most often left out from the specifications of inkjets is the print head system of the printer. There are two distinct types. Those inkjets that have the printer heads that come with the cartridge and those that the printer heads are part of the printer. Generally speaking HP and Lexmark printers don't have printer heads, they come with each new ink cartridge that you buy. That is why their inks are more expensive than those of Epson and Canon, which have their printer heads mounted on the printer. Out of these two the majority of Canon printers allow you to fit a replacement print head yourself, whilst with Epson you need to return it to the manufacturer for them to be replaced. This means generally in all reviews, the cost of running a Canon inkjet (or Bubble Jet) is significantly cheaper than its counter parts, for those who are going to buy refillable ink, this fundamental difference between printers is also very important, but more on that later.

Quality wise, the new Canon i range of printers are my favourite for low cost, borderless printing and excellent quality. My favourite is the i865, which has a special tray that you can put a blank CD in and print a label. Very nice. HP's new photo smart printers also have excellent printout results, however, some say that this is because HP drivers increase the contrast of your images before printing and so in many cases increases the depth of images though not producing a true representative of the initial picture. However, again, the i series of Canons reproduce accurately, and if you do need an increase in contrast go to a good paint program like PaintShop Pro or Photoshop. The other thing that you should know is that the print quality is not often only dependant on the drivers of your printer, but often the quality of your program. Different programs send different print instructions when interpreting the image. This is why printing out a picture in Word and in Photoshop can give you stark contrasts in image output. If you're after an initially cheap but effective printer, Lexmark offer low capital costs, but be aware that ink for these printers are the most expensive in their range. What I like in some of the new HP printers like the 980cxi, is that it can detect what sort of paper you put in and adjust the quality of the printing to suit the paper. This is a really handy function for novices. Epson printers are continuously fast and most of the reviews I have seen for Epson has shown they spit out pages in B&W and colour faster than the rest of the pack. However if you're after a good base model, the Canon S500/530 and S600 offer long-term value for money. They are speedy, have excellent driver configuration and offer all round good quality.

Now for those of you who will use refillable cartridges, be warned that particularly in HP and Lexmark printers where the heads are on the cartridge, regardless of the ink quality, with time, the quality of your printouts won't be as good, as the heads were designed for one use in mind. In relation to refillable inks, there are myths and advocates. Know that refillable inks range in quality and from my experience the quality can even be inconsistent with the same brand. Most have a tendency to be wetter on printout and dry very harshly, especially in warmer weather. If you are going to be an infrequent user of your printer, try not to use refillables because they tend to dry around the heads and can cause grainy printing to thorough blockage of your printer head. The most tolerable that I have seen are Canons for refilables. If your inkjet is constantly on the run and is in a cool place, refillables can offer you an economy of scale. However, look closely in your manual, and there will be a combination of buttons on your printer that will make your printer go through a self-cleaning process. It is a good idea to run this after (if your not planning to use it for awhile) and before use. Note also that Canon and Epson are the major brands that offer you separate colour cartridges, so that you don't have to replace all the colours when the ink runs out, saving you significant dosh.

Due to space, we'll cover news and hotsites next edition and we'll also finish this series with laser printers.