In order for you to make an informed choice, below we have compiled some of the terms that are used when advertising printers along with an explanation:
DPI - Dots Per Inch (Resolution)
This is a measurement commonly used to describe the quality of printers and it refers to how many pixels per square inch that it is able to print - the higher the DPI - the smoother the quality of the image. In the early days of the personal inkjet this used to be very important, but nowadays even the cheapest machines can work at very high DPI. In fact, the highest resolutions are only used for producing photographs - and you will find settings in most printer software that enable you to lower the quality of the print, for say, producing a letter or homework report. Everyday tasks like these do not require the highest resolution settings of the modern printer to look good. REMEMBER - the higher the DPI setting, the more ink you are using!
PPM - Pages Per Minute
This describes how many pages the printer is capable of producing in one minute, this is normally quoted with separate figures for monochrome and colour pages.
USB - Universal Serial Bus
This refers to the interface (connection type) the printer uses to transfer data between it and the PC. USB is now the universal type of wired connection for personal printers, with the installation usually being a matter of simply plugging it in, inserting the manufacturer's disk and off you go.
Media Slots and TFT Screens
Many printers now offer built in media slots in which your camera data card can be inserted. The images can be viewed on a small integrated TFT screen which allows the facility to rotate and crop the image. Make your adjustments and press the print button - all without turning on your PC! Make sure the printer you choose has the correct slot for the media card your camera uses.
PictBridge Port
This port will allow a direct wired connection from a PictBridge compatible digital camera, and enable you to print directly from the image chosen on the camera's screen. Again your PC does not have to be turned on.
Ethernet port and wireless adapters
Many households now have more than one computer. These types of interfaces allow the sharing of one printer between two or more PC's - in the case of the Ethernet port by a wired connection to a home network 'hub' - or even better by a wireless adaptor which works in the same way as a wireless connection to the internet. Ethernet ports are usually built into the printer. Wireless adapters are usually an extra available at additional cost - if required, look for these on the specification when buying the printer.
Bluetooth & IrDA (Infra-red)
Look for these interfaces if you want to print photographs direct from your mobile phone embedded camera. The interface may be via an adapter available at extra cost.
Multiple (paper/media) input trays
These will allow the user to keep the printer loaded with the most commonly used paper types, for example - 6x4 inch glossy media for photographs and A4 plain paper for letters and reports. The input trays can be selected manually or be automatically engaged when the print settings are chosen by the user.
CD/DVD printing
Very useful if you like to produce CD's or DVD's, maybe containing photo's or movie footage for friends and family. The facility allows a CD/DVD to follow a straight path through the print platen of the computer and an image of your design can be applied to printable discs.
