Photo Printers – What To Look For
If you are considering a photo printer to print pictures to frame, scrapbook, or place in a family album, you want a printer that offers lab quality prints.
You can place photo printers into two categories: inkjet and dedicated photo printers.
How Inkjet Photo Printers Work
When a picture is sent to be printed, the paper is fed through the printer. When the paper is positioned, the print head begins to move across the page spraying drops of printer ink onto the paper, to create the image. After each section is completed, the paper is moved forward to continue until the picture is printed.
What is a Dedicated Photo Printer
Dedicated photo printers are just for that–printing photographs. Many of these printers are dye sublimation printers which use thermal dye technology. Thermal dye technology works differently than inkjet technology, melting the dye from a ribbon rather than laying down the colors as individual dots. Since the dye is melted into the paper, your pictures are given a more natural appearance.
How Dye Sublimation Printers Work
Dye sublimation printers use a cellophane roll with a section for cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and a clear overcoat. When a picture is sent to be printed, the paper and film pass through heated print heads. The dye vaporizes and saturates the paper’s surface. Once it hits the paper, it returns to its solid form. The print head heats at different temperatures because the temperature affects how much ink is released. This allows for many shades of a color to be placed on each other.
Buying Guide
Advantages
- Immediate Pictures
– Vibrant colors (high quality color)
– Ability to print directly from camera or memory card
Disadvantages
- Some printers are designed for just printing pictures. You’ll need a separate printer for text.
– More Expensive (higher end models)
– Slow
Price Range
- $80-500
Features
Speed
Most photo printers are made for printing photos so the manufacturers don’t put much emphasis on speed. These printers focus on the color quality of each print.
Paper Size
Most photo printers have a maximum printing size of 4×6. Very few can print 5×7 or panoramas (4×12)
Most photo printers you will find are inkjet printers with six color cartridges (as opposed to the normal four colors). The more colors the printer uses the better quality photos it produces. When purchasing a photo inkjet printer, keep in mind that four color inks can print excellent photos.
For printing black and white photos, look for a printer with various options for black ink or offers grey inks. The black and grey ink produce better shading, making the output quality of black and white photos better.
Connection Ability
Most printers connect to your computer by a USB cable. But photo printers can use PictBridge technology, which allows you to connect your digital camera directly to the printer. Other printers have memory card slots built on the printer but make sure the printer can support the memory card you use.
Added Features
LCD and a front panel menus give you the capability to view, edit, and print photos without having to use your computer. Some photo printers might include image editing software.
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