3. Revised July 2015

4.  Because of the different makes & models available, we will need to talk in generalities in some respects  Our emphasis remains on Inkjet printers as these are of most interest to members.  Laser printers have improved in price in recent years so we shall take a closer look this time around

5.  Just as when buying a computer you should think about what you want to print  A good idea to write down your needs and, at least, refine your criteria  The following are things to think about

6.  INKJET: Deposits drops of ink from cartridges onto the printing material [put like this for a reason] in the required pattern  LASER: Creates the required pattern on the printing material in the form of an electrostatic charge. Powder [Toner] is picked up from a cartridge by the charge and is then heat fused onto the material

7.  IF all other things are equal: ▪ A Laser will produce sharper TEXT than an Inkjet ▪ An Inkjet will produce better PICTURES than a Laser  An Inkjet will – normally – have multiple print quality modes; typically Draft, Normal & Best  A Laser usually has a single mode. This may be the equivalent of Inkjet “Normal’ or Inkjet “Best”

8.  Just like your computer screen, Printers can have different resolution capabilities. This is usually expressed as Dots Per Inch [DPI] but sometimes as Pixels Per Inch [PPI].  Higher numbers are better – 1200 x 1200 is better than 600 x 600  May see different numbers for monochrome and colour; usually lower for colour - technology limits  Sometime just one number but stated as “Up To”. This normally means lower for colour.

9.  Print mode: By definition, different qualities result  Material [1]: Ink being applied “wet”, there is a degree of absorption in “paper” materials.; in some types more than others. This produces less “crisp” edges to text. Toner is applied “dry” – the reason that Lasers print text better.  Material [2]: Need Correct type. Some are Inkjet only, some Laser only, some “multi- purpose”  Brightness: A “bright” paper looks better; especially for colour photographs

10.  PHOTOGRAPHY:  Inkjets can use “Photo Paper” that has the traditional look and feel of a glossy photograph  There are both “glossy paper” and “photo paper” [Staples] available for Lasers. Question as to quality with “glossy paper”  For serious photographic printing, Inkjet appears to be the best way

11.  ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER [OEM] OR REFILLED/THIRD-PARTY  Most printer manufacturers sell their own paper[s] and all sell their own ink or toner cartridges  These are designed to give best results when used together  The eye CAN see a difference, especially with colour photographs on Photo Paper. This may be critical to the keen photographer  Personal choice between quality and cost

12.  When the printer is installed, a “colour profile” setting is also installed – sometimes more than one  This is designed – in theory – to make the printed colours the same as the screen colours  In practice, this depends on paper & ink quality  May need to try different profiles and/or adjust the picture – usually for brightness.  Using profiles can be very complex & needs expert knowledge

13.  WIRED: The printer is directly connected to the computer by a USB cable. It is basically dedicated to that computer. It would be unusual to find a printer without this connection.  WIRED [2]: The printer is connected to a ROUTER that has a USB connector – not all routers do! Sharing the printer with other computers is possible

14.  WIRELESS: The printer is connected wirelessly to a computer with wireless capability. Sharing the printer with other computers is possible  NETWORKED: Some Printers are advertised as NETWORK READY. They can be installed as above but are designed to connect through a WIRELESS ROUTER

15.  NETWORKED [Cont.]: Any computer that can access the Router can use the printer.  The advantage is that “sharing” need not be set up and the “main” computer need not be switched on – or even present!  It is unclear if a “network ready” printer needs to be installed on each computer. The Internet suggests yes, but the club’s printer installed itself on a second computer automatically. May be make/model dependent

16.  INSTALLING: Installing a printer is NOT one of the things where you can charge ahead and check the manual later if there are problems!  READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY – ESPECIALLY WHEN TO POWER ON AND CONNECT CABLES  May get an installation CD or may be on- line install – or your option as to which

17.  COLOUR: Unlikely to find a monochrome or basic colour Inkjet anymore. Monochrome Lasers are common.  NUMBER OF CARTRIDGES [INKJET]: All will have a Black cartridge. Colour may be a single tri-colour cartridge or individual colour cartridges. In the latter case, there will be a minimum of 3 and sometimes up to 10. The tri- colour cartridge can be wasteful as must be replaced when one colour runs out

18.  SPEED: Two aspects: Pages Per Minute [PPM] and time for first page. Both are usually different for Black and Colour. Numbers are relative; based on typical pages. Likely only important if larger volumes are wanted  DUPLEX [DOUBLE SIDED] PRINTING: This can save on paper costs. Most printers can do this manually but some can do it automatically; useful with higher volumes

19.  MULTI-FUNCTIONALITY: Usually described as 3 in 1 or 4 in 1:  Print, Copy & Scan [3 in 1]  Print, Copy, Scan & Fax [4 in 1]  Many people find a use for Copy and Scan is becoming more commonly used  Fax need a wired connection to a phone jack and is decreasing in usage generally

20.  MULTIPLE PAPER TRAYS: Allows automatic selection of different paper sizes  LARGE FORMAT: prints on larger paper sizes – up to 13” x 19” [varies by make]  NON-PAPER PRINTING: Most commonly for Transfers [uses paper feed] or CD/DVD’s [special feed]. Primarily Inkjet as Laser heat cycle would destroy material [and printer]. Some special transfers for Laser but $$$$$$. Laser can print transparencies [need heat]

21.  BASIC RULE:  Laser – “Higher” Purchase Cost, “Lower” Operating Cost  Inkjet – “Lower” Purchase Cost, “Higher” Operating Cost  The significance of Operating Cost [Ink/Toner - assuming paper costs are basically the same] depends on volume of use. How does this work?

22.  Cartridges supplied with the Printer are “Starter” – very reduced quantities so not relevant  OEM cartridges are not filled to capacity  Refills will give higher numbers  “Out of Ink” warnings are usually premature – and may not happen with refilled cartridges anyway  LARGE CAPACITY CARTRIDGES: Some printers offer larger capacity cartridges. These are more cost effective. Check – especially if using refilling!

23.  The following are OEM List Prices and Yields are estimations. Prices [in order] $17, $23, $32, $34

24.  LASER  Black – 1200 pages per cartridge - $60  Colour – 1000 pages per cartridge - $60 x 3  Set of Toner cartridges = 4200 pages - $240  INKJET WITH XL CARTRIDGES to print the same 4200 pages needs 3 x Black + 10 x Tri-Colour - $440  It is important to understand that these are comparisons – actual usage will depend on content printed  Different makes/cartridges will have different results; the above are Hewlett Packard

25.  There are nearly always deals on Printers  Deals are often on models due to be replaced BUT they may well have all the features you want  Prices vary wildly!!!!!  The following are examples; they do not represent all possibilities and are not necessarily “apples to apples”

26.  Mono Laser: $60  Mono Laser 4 in 1: $200  Colour Laser: $200  Colour Laser 4 in 1: $320  Colour Inkjet 3 in 1: $50  Colour Inkjet 4 in 1: $80  SHOP AROUND. On-Line research lets you see full specifications. In-store staff often lack knowledge of aspects like resolution

27.  There are many “packaged” materials available – plain & coloured paper, matt & glossy card, photo paper, pre-folded card, labels, DVD labels, transfers etc.  Different quantities of packaging often available  Correct type: Some are Inkjet only, some Laser only, some “multi-purpose”  Brightness: A “bright” paper looks better; especially for colour photographs

28.  Some materials can be used on both sides – most papers, card stock etc.  Other materials – photo paper, labels, transfers – can not & care is needed to feed correctly

29.  The limiting factor is the maximum width that the printer can accept – mostly 8 ½”  Can, of course, be longer in the other dimension  Some programs [e.g. Word] can change the orientation – others [e.g. PowerPoint] can not

30.  In most programs, size can be changed at printing time BUT better to do it within the work as may change appearance  Size is selected in different places in different programs – this is Word  In some cases size must be selected at print time

31. MATERIALS: Size  Some built in print functions like envelopes and labels also guide as to how and where the item is to be fed plus orientation and “which side up”  The “options” button will give a list of standard sizes and also permits a custom size

32. MATERIALS: Size  Label printing does NOT permit orientation change; always “portrait”.  Hence maximum width of printer applies  The “options” button will give a list of standard sizes and also permits a custom size

33.  DEFAULT PRINTER: Windows always sets a default printer. This is usually the last physical printer installed. See the Meeting Notes on our web site re Control Panel on how to change Defaults & understand Virtual Printers  DEFAULT SETTINGS: All printers have a number of options [e.g. print quality] as default values  All default values are used automatically UNLESS you specify otherwise at print time

34.  When using some programs – especially Office – default settings are, to an extent, duplicated. That is, they can be set up in two places

35.  Make sure the printer is switched on  Make sure you have enough “paper”  When using materials that do not occupy the full width of the printer: double check that the material is correctly positioned.  Failure to do this may spread ink/toner on the working parts of the printer. This can damage the printer and will certainly spoil printing for some number of copies!

36.  Click FILE>PRINT and you see something like this:  You see the default printer, the default settings & the places to change defaults  Wording may differ between makes and programs – e.g. Printer Properties or Preferences

37.  Note the drop down arrow  If the printer you want to use is not shown as the default, select [click] from the drop down list

40.  Lasers normally only offer one print quality setting  Inkjets normally offer 3 print quality settings. Ink usage varies by as much as 60% across these settings - “draft” quality is enough in many cases - $$$$$$$

41.  Correct material type selection [glossy or plain paper, card etc.] is critical to feeding properly. The feed mechanisms adjust according to the setting  Lasers are more sensitive to paper weight due to the heat process; especially in duplex printing. Paper weights are usually found on the packaging.

42.  Duplex – two sided printing – is both a presentation option and a money saver  Some printers can handle this automatically.  Those that do not can usually be set for manual duplexing - print one side then manual re-feeding. Care as to paper orientation  Care re “flip side”. How do you want to turn the pages? Match with Portrait/Landscape

43.  The “Quick Print” icon will always use the default settings and will always print one copy only

44.  Print only what you need  Choose from:  Specific page or pages  Highlighted selection  Options will vary depending on which program you are using

45.  This is not essential. If the new one is set as the default then the old one is ignored  May want to just to keep things tidy  May have an uninstall built in – check the All Programs Menu - or may need to download from manufacturer  Often will not work properly from Control Panel>Programs & Features.

46.  There may be a time when you have to re- install your printer  It is essential to uninstall first. It must be done as described in the previous slide.  An improper uninstall will usually prevent the re-install  MUST follow the proper install procedure again – so keep the instructions!