IT Technology

Difference Between Photo Printer and Inkjet Printer

Photo Printer vs Inkjet Printer

Summary: Difference Between Photo Printer and Inkjet Printer is that photo printer is a color printer that produces photo-lab-quality pictures. Some photo printers print just one or two sizes of photos, for example, 3 3 5 inches and 4 3 6 inches. While ink-jet printer is a type of non-impact printer that forms characters and graphics by spraying tiny drops of liquid ink onto a piece of paper.

Difference Between Photo Printer and Inkjet Printer

Photo Printer

A photo printer is a color printer that produces photo-lab-quality pictures. Some photo printers print just one or two sizes of photos, for example, 3 3 5 inches and 4 3 6 inches. Others print up to letter size, legal size, or even larger. Many photo printers use ink-jet technology. With models that can print lettersized documents, users connect the photo printer to their computer and use it for all their printing needs.

Most photo printers are PictBridge enabled, so that you can print photos without a computer. PictBridge is a standard technology that allows you to print photos directly from a digital camera by connecting a cable from the digital camera to a USB port on the printer. Photo printers also usually have a built-in card slot(s) so that the printer can print digital photos directly from a memory card. Some photo printers have built-in LCD color screens, allowing users to view and enhance the photos before printing them.

Inkjet Printer

An ink-jet printer is a type of non-impact printer that forms characters and graphics by spraying tiny drops of liquid ink onto a piece of paper. Ink-jet printers have become a popular type of color printer for use in the home. Ink-jet printers produce text and graphics in both black-and-white and color on a variety of paper types. A reasonable quality ink-jet printer costs less than $100.

As with many other input and output devices, one factor that determines the quality of an ink-jet printer is its resolution. Printer resolution is measured by the number of dots per inch (dpi) a printer can print. Most ink-jet printers can print from 1200 to 4800 dpi. The speed of an ink-jet printer is measured by the number of pages per minute (ppm) it can print. Most ink-jet printers print from 12 to 36 ppm. Graphics and colors print at a slower rate.

The print head mechanism in an ink-jet printer contains ink-filled cartridges. Each cartridge has fifty to several hundred small ink holes, or nozzles. The ink propels through any combination of the nozzles to form a character or image on the paper. When the ink cartridge runs out of ink, you simply replace the cartridge. Most ink-jet printers use two or more ink cartridges: one containing black ink and the other(s) containing colors. Consider the number of ink cartridges a printer requires, along with the cost of the cartridges, when purchasing a printer. To reduce the expense of purchasing cartridges, some users opt to purchase refilled cartridges or have empty cartridges refilled by a third party vendor.

Also Read:

Difference Between Inkjet Printer and Dot Matrix Printer

Difference Between Thermal Printer and Inkjet Printer

Difference Between Dot Matrix and Line Printer

Difference Between Thermal Printer and Dot Matrix Printer

Difference Between DSL and Cable

Leave a Comment