Archive for December, 2009
Brother Printers 101
Posted by admin in Inkjet Printer, Printer on December 29th, 2009
e=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";”>There are many companies that now manufacture and distribute different printers depending on your needs. One of the lesser known printer brands is Brother. This article would provide you all the information that you will need before considering to buy a Brother inkjet or laser printer.
Kinds of Brother Printers Available
Brother offers a number of different printers to meet the needs of any customer.
Inkjet printers. Brother Inkjet printers are able to print out high quality text documents and images. These printers use liquid ink for the printing process.
Laser printers. This is one of the most sold products of Brother. The company offers both colored and monochromatic laser printer that use toners for high quality printing of text documents and images.
Multi-function printers. Brother also offers multi-function printers that are ideal for home businesses. These multi-function printers include:
Workgroup printers. Workgroup printers offer the same features as that of a multi-function printer. The difference between the two is that it can be used by multiple computers through a network.
Features of Multi-Function and Work Group Printers
The features of Brother’s multi-function and work group printers include:
Inkjet/laser printer
Scanner
Fax machine
Copier
Network capability
USB ports
Advantages of Brother Multi-function and Workgroup Printers
Multi-function and workgroup printers are beneficial for business owners for a number of reasons. The first is that because these printers already have the basic office equipment needed for any business, you do not have to buy a fax machine and scanner separately.
Another benefit is that the work process can be done at a much faster rate, especially if you would need to send information to a client. Usually, if a document would need to be faxed over to a client, you would first need to print out a high quality copy of this material before having this faxed over to the client.
Lastly, workgroup printers minimize the cost of having to purchase multiple printers to handle the printing needs if your business has a lot of computers. Because this is connected to all of the computers used, a user can just simply select the printer in the list of printer selection and go to the workgroup printer to claim the printed out work.
Disadvantages of Multi-Function and Workgroup Printers
The main disadvantage of using multi-function printers and workgroup printers is that because it can handle a number of tasks, it tends to be more susceptible to breaking down, especially if it is overloaded with tasks. When one part of the printer breaks down and needs to be serviced, it would also mean that users would not have any access to the other functions.
All In One Printers Are Affordable
Posted by admin in Inkjet Printer, Photo Printer, Printer, Printer Cartridge, Printer Software on December 29th, 2009
Most of the all in one printers are of now of high quality, and the prices have come down considerably. So buying a printer can be a complicated business but you can make it easy and ask for recommendations and just pick one. Although there are more shapes, sizes and types of printers available to the home and small business user than ever before, the competition has made us many excellent printers to choose from. OK, there are many different types of printers on the market today, but still the inkjet printer is the dominant force.
You can now find a number of inkjet printers on the market that are capable of deploying dye-sublimation techniques. Although there are a number of affordable models available, some of the best CD label printers can cost more than a thousand dollars. Therefor the ink jet printers, though the slowest type of printer, are also the most affordable.
There are various type of CD printers available in the market today, the manual, automated and integrated printers. As those are a bit more costly you still have several great alternatives with ink jet printers, monochrome laser printers and color laser printers.
The bar code label printers are the most common dot matrix, laser, ink jet and thermal printers. The advantage with direct thermal printers compared to thermal transfer printers is that they do not require the mechanisms and electronics that are necessary to control and run an ink ribbon. On the other hand, direct thermal and thermal transfer printers require print software and an optional bar code label design.
Inkjet printers are a good choice for many as they have a lower initial purchase cost. They will cost more to run though as the ink is more expensive when measured on a per page basis. Another alternative is the toner cartridges for laser printers. They have a higher unit price than inkjet cartridges, on the other hand they have a higher capacity so that the cost per page is lower for lasers.
Nowadays we can purchase an inkjet printer at a much lower price than all the other up-to-date printers. But, as said before they have higher maintenance cost than laser printers. With all the fantastic technology offered in laser, color and photo quality printers you can also get the all-in-one printers. All in one printers offer scanning, printing, copy and fax to amazingly low prices. Around $100 is really a good bargain for the functionality you get.
There is still some way to go until the modern technology has taken over completely. In many offices we still have to use an older technology, critical to running many of the day to day business operations. Traditionally, the laser printers have been the best printing solution for office users as they produce a very high quality black text finish and to relatively low running costs. For now the monochrome laser printers offer the best balance between print quality, price and speed.
The prices of all in one printers and others are so low now that the manufacturers do not make any profit on them or very little profit. Selling the ink and toner cartridges over and over is where the manufacturers make the money.
Printer Maintenance – How to Make Your Printer Last a Very Long Time
Posted by admin in Inkjet Printer, Printer, Printer Cartridge on December 25th, 2009
How to maximize the life of your printer
With financial reports, project submissions, school assignments and lecture notes hanging precariously over our heads, the last thing we need during these busy times is a printer failure. Most of the work today is done or transported through electronic media, only to be printed before their actual utilization. Hence, whenever the printer starts its work, you can safely say that it’s doing something important. While getting a good printer always has its dividends, printer maintenance is just as important. Proper printer maintenance can make your printer last for years, providing valuable service and not breaking down when you need it the most.
Printer maintenance is an often overlooked area. People tend to believe that printers will suffer from wear and tear and components will need replacement eventually. While this is true, it must also be noted that proper printer maintenance can substantially improve the life of most printer components, significantly reducing the cost of ownership.
Printers come in various forms and sizes. Naturally, printer maintenance varies according to the type of printer that you may have. While some, like the hardy dot matrix printers, require less printer maintenance, other types of printers are preferably handled with a bit of care to ensure a long operating life.
Printer maintenance for the hardy dot matrix printers is pretty simple. The guide plates which guide the printing pins in these printers can wear out due to the accumulation of ink and grit within the plate. Timely replacement of cartridges allows less dirt and grit to form on the ribbon and permeate into the guide plate, thus increasing its life. In case of inkjet printers, printer maintenance mainly involves the printing heads. The heads contain numerous miniscule pores through which the ink is sprayed on to the paper. With time, dry ink may accumulate on top of these pores and close them. Inkjet printer maintenance should be performed by taking out the cartridges and wiping the print head with a moist cloth. Once the head is dry, the cartridges can be placed back. Inferior quality ink resulting from cartridge refills may cause hazards like leakage into the various components of the printer. Hence proper printer maintenance also involves the timely replacement of cartridges and avoidance of faulty refills.
Laser printers are very common today and have quite a few components that need care. Printer maintenance firstly involves cleaning the rollers periodically. They have a soft rubber coating on them which can be cleaned by using a damp cotton cloth. Vacuuming the insides may also be necessary to remove resident toner particles within the printer. Special HEPA filter based vacuum cleaners may be required for proper laser printer maintenance. Furthermore, after about 100000 prints, the fuser which melts the toner on to the paper may need replacement. Timely replacement and printer maintenance keeps it running and your prints clean and smooth.
In order to avoid the consequences of an unforeseen breakdown of your printer, a printer maintenance kit might be kept handy. Available from manufacturers like HP and Canon, these kits contain parts that have the tendency to wear out over time, especially in case of laser printer maintenance. Collectively, they also cost less and save you the headache of waiting for the technician if your printer suddenly decides to die on you.
Proper printer maintenance, coupled to a handy maintenance kit when you need it ensures less stress when you have important work to do. Not only is a well maintained printer very reliable but also produces high quality prints for a long, long time.