1. Resolution
Resolution is an important technical indicator to measure the quality of a printer. Printer resolution generally refers to the maximum resolution, the larger the resolution, the better the print quality. Because resolution has an important impact on output quality, printers usually measure their grade by resolution. The unit of calculation is DPI (Dot Per lnch), which means the number of dots printed per inch. For example, a printer's resolution is 600 DPI, which means that its output is 600 dots per inch. The higher the DPI value, the finer and more realistic the printout, of course, the longer the output time and the more expensive the price.
The resolution of general dot matrix printers is 180DPI, and the high is up to 360DPI; The inkjet printer is 720DPI, the slightly higher is 1440DPI, and the recently launched inkjet printer has a high resolution of 2880DPI; Laser printers are 300DPI, 600DPI, high 1200DPI, and even 2400DPI. Dye-sublimation thermal transfer printers with resolutions up to 1800DPI. It stands to reason that the resolution (Resolusion) should be the number of distinguishable points (lines) that can be achieved per unit length (width). Only in this way can you indicate how fine the printed graphics are. If a printer can print 10 distinguishable lines within the width of lmm, instead of pitch black, the resolution of the printer can be said to be 10 lines/mm, which is equivalent to 254DPI, but the current concept of resolution is "the number of points (lines) that can be printed in unit length (width)". It does not emphasize whether the visual can be clearly distinguished, that is, there is no "discrimination" to speak of. This is just a mathematical "decomposition", regardless of the size of the physical point. Such a "resolution" is actually a point density. Another one-inch horizontal line, a printer is printed horizontally with 360 consecutive dots, that is, the printer's lateral resolution is 360DPI. Even a diameter of 0.2 mm per dot (the diameter of a 24-pin printer) can be so commensurate. If you use an inkjet printer with a dot diameter of only 50μm and print with the same DPI, the effect is very different compared with the two.
In view of this situation, it is especially important to remind users that even under the same resolution index, printers of different products, even if the function is the same, the printing effect will be very different. Because as mentioned above, print quality is related to single point size. Furthermore, print quality is also related to the color saturation of a single point, the accuracy of dots and positioning, and the shape from base to point.
2. Print format
Print format is a measure of the size of the page of the printer's output text.
Line widths are generally given in dot matrix printers, expressed in terms of how many characters (characters/lines or columns/lines) can be printed in a line. There are two commonly used printers: 80 columns and 132/136 columns.
Laser printers commonly used single-sheet paper specifications indicate, it printing format can be divided into A3, A4, A5 and other format printers. The larger the print format of the printer, the larger the print range.
Inkjet printers also commonly use the specification of a single sheet of paper. Usually inkjet printers have a print format of A3 or A4 size. Some inkjet printers also use line widths to indicate the print area.
3. Home page output time
This is a term unique to laser printers, that is, after executing the print command, how long can you output the first page of printed content, the general laser printer can complete the output of the first page within 15 seconds, the benchmark of the test is 300dpi printing resolution, A4 printing format, 5% print coverage, black and white printing.
4. Media type
The type of media that the printer can print.
The media that laser printers can handle are: ordinary printing paper, envelopes, transparencies, postcards, etc.
The media that inkjet printers can handle are: plain paper, inkjet paper, glossy photo paper, professional photo paper, high-light photo film, glossy card stock, T-shirt transfer media, envelopes, transparencies, banner paper, etc
The media that dot matrix printers can handle are: ordinary printer paper, envelopes, wax paper, etc.
5. Paper thickness
It gives the maximum thickness of the paper that can be printed. Unit: g/m2.
6. Paper loading capacity
Paper load capacity refers to the number of single sheets that can be loaded at one time. Capacity here refers to the standard paper input capacity that the printer can provide, including the total capacity of the multipurpose and standard input trays.
7. Types of characters
The character type refers to which kinds of characters (including Chinese characters) can be output and printed by the printer, and the types of fonts in which these characters can be printed.
8. Input data buffer
To increase the speed of the printer, the input data buffer should be required to be large enough. The buffer of 24-pin printers is generally about (2~40) KB, and there are also as large as 128KB; Inkjet printers between (10~64)KB; Laser printers are between (1~8)MB, and some can be expanded to 66MB.
9. Return time
Refers to the time it takes for the serial printer to return from the right-end position to the left-end initial position (Home) after the serial printer has typed a full line of characters (Chinese characters). The longer the line width, the longer the carriage return time. The shorter the carriage return time, the faster the print.
