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Photo printer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A photo printer is a printer (usually an inkjet printer) that is specifically designed to print high quality digital photos on photo paper. These printers usually have a very high number of nozzles and are capable of printing droplets as small as 1 picoliter.
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Photo printers have exploded in popularity in recent years thanks to a drop in prices and the increased use of digital cameras. Prior to the rise in do-it-yourself home printing, photo printers were typically priced much higher than standard inkjet printers and were mostly used by professionals. Epson then began to market photo printers to all consumers with their Stylus Photo line. Soon after that, Canon began offering inexpensive photo printers and eventually all other major printer manufacturers followed.
Recently, the major printer manufacturers began releasing compact photo printers. These models only print 4 x 6 photos and do not require a computer. They are meant to be used as mini photo studios where the user hooks up their digital camera or memory card and prints directly from there. There are also larger format photo printers that are used to print 8'x11', 10'x14' even larger size photo paper. Mainly these larger format printers are manufactured by Canon, Epson or HP.
What typically sets photo printers apart from standard inkjet printers is their use of additional cartridges, either speciality photo inks or just variations on the standard color cartridges. In order to produce more vivid and realistic pictures, photo printers use colors like photo cyan, light magenta, yellow, and light black. The increased range of colors produces better results, while the increased use of black or gray colors enhances black and white prints.
Photo printers may also have digital media readers (memory cards) to conveniently print pictures without a computer. Some can also print directly from a camera that supports the ability (PictBridge). Most standard inkjet printers lack these features.
Photo printers must be used in conjunction with photo paper in order to achieve the best results.
Many inkjet printers currently sold to home users are marketed as "photo printers". This is because there are no official specifications designating what is and isn't a photo printer, so almost every printer on the market makes the claim that it can be used to print photos. Technically, every inkjet printer is capable of printing photos, which is why they are marketed as such. But, not all models can effectively and economically print photos the way that dedicated photo printers can. Because the demand for consumables (printer ink, photo paper etc.) increases as more people print their own photos at home, printer manufacturers have decided to stretch the definition of what a photo printer really is.
While selecting a photo printer or a photo printer cartridge, one of the key elements you need to consider is the Photo ink Durability. Epson, Canon and HP printers all have different type of photo printer ink that has durability range from a couple years to over 100 years. Of course color, price and printing speed all change with the choice of photo printers.
Buying a photo printer can be tricky. Since most of them are very affordable, most people tend to buy them without thinking too much. However, once you purchase a photo printer and start printing photos, it can be very costly to maintain the printer. That is why it is recommended that besides the purchase price and technical features, one should also look at the "true cost of photo printer ownership'. The math to calculate that is not that hard: “number of prints per month” times “cost of the printer cartridge” divided by “the yield of the printer cartridge”. Yield is the number of pages that can be printed with one particular printer cartridge.