Photo Printer Information
Photo Printers
What Makes A Photo Printer Different
The Best Inkjet Printer For Photo Quality Printing
By John Pickering
The quality of pictures you can produce with desktop printers today is nearly unbelievable. Just 25 years ago the perceived wisdom was that no low-cost, easy-to-use "home printer" would ever be able to match traditional, lab-produced photo prints. Today, some $75 photo printers can make you think you are looking at 5-by-7's coming straight from the lab.
More importantly, than the specific printer makes and models, is the number of ink colors in the photo printer. Standard inkjets have four, the basic cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) that yield what is called "process color." Most of the color spectrum can be replicated, except for a decided weakness in metallic hues and bright colors. This is why the photo printers will have 6-ink or even 8-ink color, adding light cyan, light magenta and/orange. Generally speaking, the more colors, the better.
Media really matters when it comes to the quality of the printed output. Before looking at specific printer makes or models, there are some things you should consider. You need to decide what level (casual user, dedicated hobbyist or professional) and the level of quality of the prints you want from your printer, and then you will need to factor in the cost of ink cartridges, special papers and any other consumables (cleaners, etc.). You don't necessarily have to print from a computer, as there are some good PC-free, stand-alone inkjets on the market. Having said that, why not have a printer that can do stand-alone printing as well as your day to day printing. The cost of ink cartridges is the biggest contributor to the expense of inkjet printing, be it photo or standard.
After ink, paper major factor in the printing quality photos. Plain copy-machine paper produces the worst results due to the high rag content of the paper. The fiber soaks up the ink and presents a somewhat blurry image. The high-gloss photo papers can yield stunningly realistic prints. Of course, the more photographically oriented the paper is, the higher the cost is going to be. In addition, ink cartridges have a wide range of prices, and some printers will not function well unless you use the recommended brand (the printer manufacturer's, usually). Be aware of these prices, and these possible limitations, when shopping for a photo printer.
Be careful about terminology, too. Although a printer may be called a "photo printer" while another is not, all inkjets use the same basic technology. The special features are in the print heads and the drop (or "droplet") size. The better the print heads, and the smaller the droplets, the better the image, assuming of course good paper and a good image to print.
Specialized photo printers are very good at printing photos but may not be as good for basic word processing or text-and-graphics layouts. Conversely, makers of "all-in-one" printers, with scanning and faxing and even copying functions, could not keep the prices in line if they made the device with photo-level print heads and droplet size.
PC-free printers are exactly what their name says, namely, printers that operate without a computer connected and only print photos. There are various models available at different price points that will print images directly from a flash-memory card or the digital camera itself. For the serious photo buff, however, this leaves Photoshop and Corel and other software out of the loop.
Many good models Like most of high-tech, printer prices are constantly changing, and usually in the right way. That is, the devices keep getting better, smarter, faster - and cheaper. Now, "cheap" is not the word you want to keep in mind when shopping for something to which you will entrust you dearest memories. However, prudent shopping can deliver a printer of the same make and model at a much lower price.
On the other hand, you don't have to pay $1000 (or five times that) to get a pro-level inkjet, because $300-500 can get you a "prosumer" model that many people will swear produces photo-lab quality prints. Major manufacturers that have consistently produced a range of quality photo printers include Canon, Epson and Hewlett-Packard. Specifically, look at the Canon Pixma line, the Epson Stylus series and the H-P Photosmart models.