Best Photo Printers for Home Use
As a digital photo came into being, the approach to the process of photographing and printing underwent great changes. Nowadays there is no need to go to the nearest photo lab, to add a new photo in your photo album. You can do everything at home; sometimes this process does not even presuppose the use of a computer. The main thing is to choose the most appropriate photo printer for home use.
It is considered that an ink-jet photo printer is a good solution for home use. In this regard the ink-jet photo printers have inevitable advantages such as
· smaller size by greater functionality;
· they are cheaper than laser printers;
· better quality of printing;
· the ability to choose a model with the appropriate design.
These advantages incline home users to choose namely ink-jet printers. As regards consumable materials prices, this issue is not very fundamental as the volumes of home printing do not exceed 10-20 pictures per month. Before buying a photo printer for home use it is very important to pay attention to the main technical characteristics that include number of colors, printing resolution, speed parameters, cartridge resources and cost of services, price, supported types of photo paper, etc.
· Number of colors
Modern photo printers support both the monochrome and color printing. In the first case one needs a cartridge with the black ink and in the second case the colored one. Depending on the manufacturers and their adherence to technologies, a printer may contain 3 (Canon entry-level models), 4 (Canon, Epson and Hewlett-Packard entry level models), 5 (Canon), 6 (Epson, Hewlett-Packard), and 8 (Epson and Hewlett-Packard). The more colors a photo printer has, the more naturalness a picture acquires. However, this rule does not mean that 5 color Canon printers print worse than 6 color Epson printers. The thing is that different printers use different technologies that favor the improvement of the picture quality. It is also worth mentioning that the more cartridges a printer includes, the more cost and size it will have.
· Resolution of Printing
As regards the resolution of printing, one must know only one rule: the higher resolution is, the better quality of a photo is.
· Speed of printing
The speed of printing becomes of great importance for home users only in the case, if s/he plans to print a great number of photos and documents every day. By ink-jet printers the printing speed of monochrome documents is higher than that of colored files.
· Cartridge resources and cost of services
Before choosing a photo printer it is very important to clarify volumes of monthly printing. If these volumes are not so high, you should choose a printer model with smaller volume of cartridges and correspondingly with smaller cost of consumables. However if you plan to use a photo printer to the maximum degree it is not recommended to economize on it.
· Supported formats of photo paper
Many people choose A4 photo printers for home use. When choosing a photo printer you should pay attention to the printer paper tray. It is better if a printer has two paper trays: one for photo printing and the other one for documents. The capacity of the main tray in modern models of printers is usually the same and it is meant as a rule for about 100 sheets.
· Additional Parameters
Integrated Display: a built-in display in a photo printer is a handy device control. It is used to view photos, to edit photos, etc.
Support of wireless interfaces: the wireless communication has a great advantage as you can set your printer in any room of your house.
Card reader: people who value mobility can pay attention to the printing directly of card readers, USB Flash or telephones (PictBridge).
Here is the selection of the most asked-for photo printers for home use
Canon IP6700d
The device comes with the practically maximum number of cartridges (6 pieces), extra-large 3.5-inch color LCD. It is distinguished by the superb resolution of printing (9600 х 2400 dpi). The printer also has a card reader (7 in 1) and the ability to print on CD/DVDs. The user can connect Canon IP6700d not only with the help of the standard USB-cable but by the means of the wireless connection as well (Bluetooth and IrDA). Canon IP6700d costs about 200$.
The printer model uses FINE technology and ChromaLife100 system for vivid and wonderful photo printing. To print out a 4 x 6 inch borderless photo you will need 47 seconds.
Epson Stylus R390
The printing abilities of this printer impress by the availability of six cartridges and speed of printing. The speed of printing by this model is practically twice is high than by the previous model. Epson Stylus R390 comes with 3, 5 inch display and it supports printing directly of USB carriers and 6 types of memory cards. The user can make a connection to a computer with the help of Bluetooth. The main disadvantage of this printer is its high cost that is 40$ more expansive than Canon IP6700d. However the cost of a full-format colored picture makes up approximately 18, 3 cents.
Hewlett-Packard Photosmart D7463
This photo printer has 6 colors available. It is distinguished by 3, 5 inch touch-sensitive display and built-in Ethernet-adapter. According to the user’s choice you can turn Hewlett-Packard Photosmart D7463 to a network printer. The other technical parameters include PictBridge support, 5-in-1 card reader, and appropriate speed characteristics.
Tags: best photo printer, best printers for home use, Canon IP6700d, Epson Stylus R390, Hewlett-Packard Photosmart D7463, inkjet photo printer, printers for home use