This printer resolution determines how legible text is or, conversely, how much someone’s head might hurt while trying to read it.

How is printer resolution measured? Resolution is usually the measure of pixels in a display, but for printing the key concept is whatever goes into an inch.

Namely, we look at dots per inch, the density of dots in a printed inch.

Dots per Inch

Knowing the nitty-gritties of dots per inch in an image and how they translate to pixels per inch can help you understand how to explain your needs to a printer, the needs of your clientele, or simply what a task demands of you.

A higher number of dots per inch (DPI) naturally means a clearer image.

However, on its own, this information might be useless. Pixels per inch (the pixel density, as opposed to “dots”) and DPI put together can give you a better idea of what’s needed; the intended print size, coupled with the DPI capability of your printer.

In fact, people now largely look only at the PPI, with the DPI being a leftover relic of dot matrix printers, as opposed to modern laser and inkjet printers that are commonly used just about everywhere.

Because of this, the terms DPI and PPI might even be used interchangeably these days.

High-Resolution Images vs. High-Resolution Printers

Even the best photo printers can be rendered unhelpful if what you’re giving them is low-quality pixels.

How do you define low-quality pixels?

While it can be observed simply by seeing (zooming in and observing no visual loss of quality), some factors to help you determine it can be the file format the image is stored in. Something beginners might not be aware of is the ‘lossy’ characteristic of common formats such as JPEG, which throw out the finer details of a digital picture to make file sizes smaller.

Once images with low-quality pixels are printed, the result is something that looks ‘blown up’. Individual pixels might even be visible as blocks of color.

As a rule of thumb, think of 300 PPI as the minimum pixels per inch a print-ready image should have.

How is Printer Resolution Measured?

Laser printers and inkjets use very different techniques in producing images.

Tiny droplets of ink populate the page, sprayed by nozzles in an inkjet, whereas laser printers use a drum to keep the paper running while dots are melted and heated against the paper.

As you can guess, the “dots” that are being packed into a single inch (to use as a simple unit of measurement) are what determine how deep the colors are, how much the details and edges are refined, and how differently different objects (or even black-and-white text) ‘strike’ and pop against each other.

Simply put, crisper images come as a result of higher printer resolution; 1200 DPI printers will fill up every single inch with 1200 DPI both horizontally and vertically.

As such, while there are ways to make ink cartridges last longer, higher resolution printers will use up your ink and toner more liberally.

How Many Dots Should I Get?

The important and natural follow-up question can be answered by certain rules of thumb(s?).

A minimum standard you should hold your printers to is 600 DPI. This can work for text documents with the occasional graphic.

For actual photos and pictures, however, 1200 DPI is recommended. Of course, professionals might want 2880 by 1440 – yes, many inkjets have variable DPIs on different axes, as well as optimized DPI options.

Conclusion

Printers can only reap what you sow. As such, it helps to make sure our graphics are good enough to survive the transition from screen to print, as well as making sure you have the right kind of paper. Thus, as a final note, remember to invest in the right kind of paper: inkjets are water-based (nozzles and sprays and dots of inks), meaning printing a photo on plain paper will give you a flat image that will make for much squinting and unappealing viewing, thanks to the paper fibers absorbing much of the ink. Specific papers are made for inkjets – for laser printers, however, plain copy paper can work just fine.

Here are the most commonly available scanners out there right now, as well as their characteristics, so you can see what suits you before you decide to go out and buy one.

Different Types of Scanners

Flatbed Scanners

Flatbed scanners are the most mainstream ones, and you’ve probably seen one of these in an office or a bookshop. This type of scanner sits on a desk and has a sort of lid that flips open to reveal the scanning glass. Flatbed scanners do take up a lot of space, but they can scan a wide range of document sizes.

You can use a flatbed scanner for legal and standard sized paper, and even bigger sheets like newspaper pages. This, of course, depends on the size of your scanner.

Sheet-fed Scanners

Sheet-fed scanners are exactly what they sound like; instead of placing your documents on the glass one at a time, you simply ‘feed’ them into the scanner’s ADF (automatic document feeder), which makes scanning large volumes of documents much easier.

Sheet-fed scanners are smaller than flatbed ones, which makes them a good option if you’re working in limited space, but they also tend to have lower image resolutions. Again, this may not matter to you if you just need to scan a lot of text documents.

Most sheet-fed scanners have multiple features, all designed to make the scanning process faster and more efficient. This also makes these more expensive than flatbed scanners.

Photo Scanners

If you need to scan mostly images, then skip the previous two options and go for a photo scanner. While other high-quality scanners can still scan photos in high resolution and with good color depth, photo scanners are designed specifically for digitizing negatives or simply a large number of photographs.

Most photo scanners come with additional features as well, such as their own photo editing software and adapters. These are pricier than the average scanner, but they also guarantee exceptionally high resolution and even allow you to ‘clean up’ old photos.

Portable Scanners

As the name suggests, portable scanners are smaller than the other types of scanners and are used as handheld devices that can be taken anywhere. Some of these are so small that you can even put them in your pocket! That’s right, portable scanners are available in the size of a pen, and can either scan a document line by line or can roll down a page while scanning it.

When scanning with handheld devices, you need to have a steady hand and there is certainly a learning curve involved. Portable scanners don’t offer high enough resolution for photos, and are about the same price as flatbed scanners, but are good enough for most documents.

Portable scanners are a pretty good option for students or researchers that are on the move a lot. They’re useful for gathering large amounts of information in digital form (like from a library, so you don’t have to carry a lot of books) for studying later.

Slide Scanners

Slide scanners are also called film scanners because they are primarily used for photo and film negatives and slides. You may think of a slide scanner as a high-end photo scanner. Best suited for 35 mm film and the equivalent, slide scanners come in smaller sizes and at lower prices as well. These might not have the same quality but are still good for scanning film in bulk.

Multifunctional and Specialty Scanners

Many offices now opt for a multifunctional scanner/printer hybrid, which has a scanner, printer, and copier all in one. The scanners used in these are usually flatbed ones. Some of these units also include a fax machine.

You won’t get the high resolution needed for photos and films with a multifunctional scanner/printer hybrid, but you’ll save space and maybe some time. Many of these units are wireless and can be hooked up to multiple computers.

Specialty scanners are a more niche category, but worth looking into if none of the other types of scanners fit your needs completely. For instance, some specialty scanners are designed for tasks that could technically be achieved with other types of scanners (such as scanning receipts or business cards) but are made more efficient with the specialized software present in specialty scanners.

Specialty scanners also include scanners designed for certain functionality, like optical scanners, which are used to capture images for another device. Optical scanners are found in ATMs and biometric devices. They are also used to scan documents for keywords.

Conclusion

So now that you know about the different types of scanners, you just need to decide what kind is best for you. Certain scanners (like flatbed scanners) can still be multifunctional in the sense that they do well enough with both documents and photos. But your needs could be more specific, so always consider what you’ll be using your scanner for before you buy one.

To make it simpler, here are a couple of basic factors that ought to help you decide:

• The size of documents that you usually scan; legal and letter-sized documents will require a larger scanner but smaller ones might be able to make do with a portable scanner.
• The kind of resolution you require; 200 PPI is usually okay for documents, but images may require upwards of 600 PPI.
• Any specific software requirements that you might have; not every scanner will work with every software, so remember to get one that integrates the software you’ll be using.

Prices, sizes, and availability of most kinds of printers have become easily attainable. It saves both time and money to have a printer at your own disposal.

Home printers also give you greater control over your output – especially in cases when you need to print a lot of revisions or different formats of the same thing.

However, unless you already know you want something like a photo printer for your design or photography-based needs, purchasing a home printer invokes something akin to a full-on debate: laser printer vs. inkjet.

Laser vs. Inkjet: A Primer on The Technology Involved

While it may seem like apples and oranges to some, ultimately, the inkjet vs. laser printer question is all about specific needs.

This article has been written to help you determine where those needs may fall and which way you should swing. We’ll determine the criteria for your new printer purchase based on a categorical listing of the pros and cons of both types, allowing you to decide which one is the printer for you.

Inkjets have been traditionally considered ‘household’ models, owing to the low costs associated with getting one up and running as well as their being easier to acquire than more professional models.

In the past few years, however, laser prints have risen greatly in affordability and reduced in sizes, meaning it’s a valid question to compare inkjet vs. laser for home use (potential health hazards notwithstanding, for which we’d recommend a dedicated printer room instead of keeping it in the bedroom).

Knowing how these printers work should give you an idea of what you’re getting into.

Laser printers

These use something known as a solid ‘toner’.

It’s a relatively futuristic-seeming and electronic process wherein the toner, a substance akin to a fine powder but with an electric charge, is shot via a laser onto a photosensitive drum that the paper rolls over. The toner particles fuse to the paper via static electricity, first being exposed, then attracted, then superimposed to the paper.

This is the reason that documents printed from a laser printer are hot to the touch – the final step is the toner particles being heated to fuse them into place. And, to put it simply, the drum unit in a laser prints uses heat to fuse the toner powder onto the paper, producing prints.

Inkjet printers, on the other hand, have a relatively simple process that’s easier to demonstrate and understand.

Inkjet

Many people will already be familiar with printer cartridges.

In inkjet printers, the cartridge supplies the printer with liquid ink required to ‘print’ the image (even if the ‘image’ is just simple text) via a print-head that utilizes microscopic nozzles to shoot the ink onto the page as it moves vertically, while the cartridge and head run across the paper horizontally.

Laser vs. Inkjet: An Easy Way to Determine the Difference

If your needs are straightforward, choosing between these two isn’t an arduous task.

We would recommend inkjet printers if your use is regular but low in volume. It’s the cheaper option and won’t give you any bulk in terms of features, as well as keeping you safe from the drawbacks traditionally associated with one.

Inkjet printers are also richer in color and quality if that’s your intended use. Gallery-ready photos can be produced with a photo inkjet printer, for example.

However, inkjets are more prone to smudging from touch, moisture, or liquids (including sweat or saliva).

For all else, laser printers have become impressively affordable and work out for longer periods than inkjets traditionally do, unless you’re purchasing enterprise models. The toners are also more cost-effective, giving you more prints per each ‘refill’ as such, and the toner won’t dry up like ink cartridges are notorious for doing.

However, there’s no debate on inkjet vs. laser for photo printing.

If you’re routinely printing pictures and images in high numbers, inkjets would be a worthy investment just to not have to compromise on quality – and they are still cheaper than going to the print shop.

Laser vs. Inkjet: Costs

While inkjets have lower upfront initial costs, their cost of running is almost definitely always higher.

Subscribing to cartridges to remedy their drying out can be a hassle and a money-intensive endeavor, whereas toner cartridges come with a recommended maximum amount that is literally a thousand documents.

To put it simply, inkjets might be cheaper but come at a cost in terms of routine future purchases.

Laser printers, however, are much cheaper per unit, require less frequent cash outflows from your pocket, and work more quickly and reliably.

Hence the laser printer vs. inkjet cost per page comparison comes out much favorably on the side of laser printers.

Conclusion

Laser printers give excellent and sharp prints for text documents and documents with diagrams or photos for personal, non-commercial use. If it’s simple non-color text or documents, consider a simple monochrome laser printer for your black-and-white prints.

Inkjet printers, on the other hand, are capable of printing photos with great tonal depth, a wide range of colors and overall high quality with little to none noticeable pixelation.

And, if print speed and volume are to be discussed, laser printers are much faster and ‘productive’ than inkjets.

The limit of an inkjet (per minute) is from where a laser printer starts. This number can be averaged at around 15 or 16, which means an inkjet can give 16 prints per minute whereas laser printers can crank out anywhere from 15 to 100 prints in a single minute.

This translates to volume as well. Inkjets have paper trays that can barely hold 100 sheets at a time. And, as previously mentioned, laser toners have better ‘lives’ than print cartridges (and their expensiveness can be undercut by purchasing toner alternatives such as compatible but unofficial toners without big brand names attached).

Pound for pound, go for a laser printer, unless you’re specifically looking to print high-quality images, rich in details, so much that you’d be willing to show patience, spend more money, and keep maintaining your rig and its associated components.