Two technologies dominate the personal printer market: inkjet and laser printers. Of these two technologies, inkjet is the most popular and least expensive.

• How Inkjet Printers Work
• Parts of an Inkjet Printer
• Buying Guide
• Advantages & Disadvantages of Buying an Inkjet Printer
• Price Range
• Features to Look For

How Inkjet Printers Work
When a document is sent to the printer, the printer driver translates the text and images into the inkjet printer’s language. After the printer receives the information, the controller activates the printer.

The rollers feed the paper into the printer and are positioned at the start of the page. The print head will then begin to move across the page spraying droplets of ink onto the page. As the print head is printing, the motor stops for less than a second to spray multiple dots at a defined area to create all colors.

When the print head reaches the end of the page, the rollers move the paper forward until the full page is printed.

Parts of an Inkjet Printer & How they Work

• The Print Head Assembly
Print Head
The print head operates the printing action of the printer. The print head contains a series of nozzles that are used to spray droplets of ink. It may be included in the printer or part of the inkjet cartridge.
Inkjet Cartridge
Inkjet cartridges come in different combinations, depending on the manufacturer or model. Cartridges can have a separate tank for each color or one cartridge for each color. Most inkjet printers will use four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) to create almost any color combination. If the inkjet printer doubles as a photo printer, it will use six colors, by adding the light magenta and light cyan to extend the printer's color gamut.


• Stepper Motor
The stepper motor is what moves the print head and cartridge back and forth across a page. Some printers will have a second stepper motor to park the print head assembly when the printer is not in use.

• Belt
The belt is used to attach the print head assembly to the stepper motor.

• Stabilizer Bar
The print head assembly moves across a stabilizer bar to ensure that each row of dots are even and precise.

• Paper Feed Assembly
Paper Tray/Feeder
Inkjet printers will have either a paper tray that can be loaded with paper or a feeder that is located in the back of the printer. Both include a sensor that stops the printer when it is out of paper.
Rollers
A set of rollers pulls the paper from the paper tray/feeder and controls the rate at which the paper is moved past the print head assembly.


• Printer Driver
A printer driver is software that acts as a translator so that the printer can understand data and instructions from your computer. The driver describes the text, image, etc. to be printed and translates it into the printer language.

• Controller
The controller is essentially the "command station" of the printer. The control circuitry is responsible for decoding the information sent from the computer, via the printer driver, to the printer, as well as controlling the various motors of the printer.

Buying Guide
If you are looking for a printer that can print school reports and the occasional picture, you can find inexpensive inkjet printers that will meet all your printing needs. If your printing needs are a little more advanced, you can find inkjet printers with added features that will still be less expensive than purchasing a laser printer.

The more features you need and the type of quality you are looking for will add to the cost of the printer; however, you can find a printer with good print quality for under $100.

Advantages

• Inexpensive
• The ability to print in color

Disadvantages

• Slow
• High maintenance costs

Price Range

• $50-200

Features to Look For

• Print Quality
When deciding on what inkjet printer is best for your printing needs, don’t let price be the deciding factor. Higher prices don’t always indicate the best print quality or speed of an inkjet printer.

Before purchasing a printer, shop around and when you have a specific model in mind, if available, ask to print a test page to see for yourself the printer's print quality.


• Print Speed
Inkjet printer speed is measured by the number of pages the printer can print out in a minute. The cost of any inkjet printer will go up the faster the printer is. The print speed might not be important for many home users but if you are planning to be printing a great deal, a faster printer might be a better option for you.

When it comes to print speed, most manufacturers determine their print speeds using the simplest text in draft mode, so in most cases print speeds are almost twice the speed you will actually have. Print speed will ultimately be determined by the page complexity, the connection speed, and the printer’s memory.


• Connectivity
Before you buy a printer, check what kind of connections your computer supports. Most printers do not come with a printer cable that connects the printer to the computer so you will need to include this cost when budgeting for a new printer.


• Memory
Memory will play an important part in the print speed of your printer. The more memory you have the faster your printer will be.

Documents that are in queue (waiting to be printed) are sent to the printer's memory. If you are printing emails, word documents and the occasional picture, memory is not and important function. Everyday printing usually doesn't take as much memory. Look for a printer with more built in memory if you are planning to print large text documents and color graphics.

If your printing demands change, there are printers that you can upgrade with more memory.


• Print Resolution
Print resolution is the maximum number or dots per square inch that can be printed, measured horizontally and vertically. The more dots per inch will give you finer details such as sharper text and cleaner images. Look for an inkjet printer with a resolution of 1200 x1200 dots per inch or higher.


• Cartridges & Supplies
The real cost of an inkjet printer comes from the ongoing cost of buying replacement inkjet cartridges. If you know you will be using one color more than the others, consider an inkjet printer with individual ink cartridges. It will save you money in the long run because you will only need to replace the cartridges you need. With tri-color inkjet cartridges (three colors in one container), you will need to replace the whole cartridge when one color is empty.