Printers have become essential tools in homes, schools, and businesses, making it easy to produce documents, photos, and marketing materials. Among the many types of printers, inkjet models are exceptionally popular for their versatility and high-quality results. This article explores everything you need to know about inkjet printers, along with their advantages and disadvantages.
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Definition: Inkjet printer
An inkjet printer is a type of printer that creates vivid images and sharp text by spraying tiny droplets of liquid printing ink directly onto inkjet paper. Although the concept of inkjet printing emerged in the early 1950s, companies like Epson, HP, and Canon developed key technologies throughout the 1970s.
The first consumer inkjet printers were launched in the late 1980s. Some inkjet printers, known as photo inkjet printers, are specially designed for high-resolution photo printing and often use additional color cartridges. Furthermore, if you don’t have a sublimation printer for printing on fabrics, you can use inkjet transfer paper, sublimation ink, an inkjet printer, and a heat press or iron.
Continuous inkjet printer
A continuous inkjet (CIJ) printer is an industrial printer that, as the name entails, sprays a continuous stream of ink droplets toward the surface to be printed on, without physically touching it. It’s typically used for:
- Date codes on food packaging
- Lot numbers on pharmaceuticals
- Barcodes on bottles, cans, and cables
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Benefits & disadvantages
Below, we have listed benefits and disadvantages of inkjet printers.
Pros
- Printer is lightweight
- Great for photo printing
- Affordable upfront price
- Compatible with many printer paper types
Cons
- Ink drying time
- High maintenance
- Prints papers slowly
- Printing ink cost adds up
If you’d like to see a comparison between inkjet and laser printers, click on the button below.
FAQs
An inkjet printer is a type of printer that sprays tiny droplets of ink directly onto paper or other materials. It’s commonly used for home, office, and photo printing due to its ability to produce high-quality color prints.
That depends on your needs. If you want to print vivid photos and images occasionally, buy an inkjet printer. If you need to quickly print large volumes of text documents, buy a laser printer.
Yes, inkjet printers that don’t use thermal inkjet technology can be used for sublimation. You simply need inkjet-compatible transfer paper to print on and a heat press or iron to transfer the image onto the t-shirt.
Some common disadvantages are:
- Slower than laser printers
- Ink can smudge or dry slowly
- Ink is expensive and runs out quickly
- Nozzles can clog if not used regularly
