Epson Inkjet Printer

An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that creates a digital image by propelling variable-sized droplets of ink on to paper. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer and range from small inexpensive consumer models to very large professional machines.

Difference Between Inkjet and Laser Printers

As companies who manufacture printers continue to find ways to lower the cost of ink, the debate over the difference between inkjet and laser printers has heated up. Read on to find out what the differences are, and whether they will affect your next printer purchase.
Printer Cost
Inkjet printers can be had for as little as $50, and they usually last at least a few years. While the price of laser printers is slowly coming down, a decent one will cost at least $150 to $200.
Cost Per Page
The cost per page will vary greatly depending on the printer model you choose, so you'll want to calculate that before you buy. Find out how much a replacement ink cartridge (for inkjets) or toner cartridge (for lasers) will cost and how many sheets each will print. For example, if an ink cartridge costs $30 and prints 800 pages, that's a cost per page of 30/800 = $.0375.
Resolution
Resolution is measured in dots per inch, or DPI, and more is better (although ink and paper quality have an effect, too). A cheaper inkjet printer will be 1200 by 1200 DPI, while a more expensive model might offer 4800 by 1200 DPI. In contrast, a less expensive laser printer will only offer 600 by 600 DPI. More expensive models will go up to 2400 by 2400 DPI.
Speed
Manufacturers will tell you the speed of a printer by telling you the PPM, or pages per minute, that it can print. When comparing the PPM, keep in mind that manufacturers usually list the speed while printing at the lowest quality, which is faster. In general, inkjets print faster than lasers, but the difference isn't much--it really varies by machine, so check the PPM listed.
Connectivity
There's little difference between inkjet and laser printers when it comes to connectivity. Even if the computer comes with a USB cable, you can usually get an older parallel port cable and vice versa. And both inkjets and lasers will offer similar options.
The Bottom Line
For the average consumer, an inkjet printer is usually a better choice. Its purchase and running costs are often lower. That's why stores offer more consumer-oriented inkjets than laser printers.
The concept of inkjet printing dates back to the 19th century, and the technology was first developed in the early 1950s. Starting in the late 1970s inkjet printers that could reproduce digital images generated by computers were developed, mainly by Epson, Hewlett-Packard (often simply called "HP") and Canon. In the worldwide consumer market, four manufacturers account for the majority of inkjet printer sales: Canon, HP, Epson, and Lexmark, a 1991 spin-off from IBM.

Why Choosing Epson Printer

The biggest diferrence is in cartridge.Epson inkjet cartridges are ink tanks that supply ink to the print head. Epson uses technology called the 'piezoelectric crystal' method or technique, rather than other inkjet manufacturers who use an entirely different technology from the (easier to pronounce) 'thermal' type of printer. The print head for these cartridges is built into the cartridge itself.

The essence of the difference, and indeed the similarities, of the piezoelectric and the thermal methods differ only in the technologies used for the same purpose, that is getting the ink onto the paper in the right quantities and right colours. To be able to do this effectively the ink has to be forced down onto the paper.

To force the ink correctly down the miniscule nozzles Epson and the other main manufacturers in the world went their different scientific ways. Canon, Hewlett-Packard and Lexmark opted for the 'steam type of method, whilst Epson developed new technology along the lines of electrifying crystals.

'Thermal' type of printer cartridges will contain the necessary heating elements inside each ink cartridge to vaporise the ink into a bubble. An electric current is used to fit in with the printer's circuitry which vaporise the ink, pushing it down the nozzle, whilst the remaining steam in the bubbles pushes the other unused inks back in place ready for the next signal. This is, of course, why it's called a 'bubble-jet' printer, the bubbles being located above the nozzles.

Epson printer cartridges, on the other hand are based on a very different technology, which is that of the 'piezoelectric' crystal. In this case the method of forcing the ink onto the paper also uses electric currents, the major and important difference being that the piezoelectric method uses crystals which move upon electronic impulses, the unused ink is returned to the reservoir by a sort of electronic magnetic effect ready for the next firing.

It has been found that this method does have distinct advantages over the other 'big 3' manufacturers in the variety of inks that can be used by this method, certainly this is used by commercial and professional printers as they tend to give more precise (or smaller) drops of ink than the 'thermal' printers.

Epson printer cartridges, as you can see from the above 'techno-babble', have to provide a full range of ink cartridges to suite all types of printing needs. The research undertaken to provide these different inks and cartridges to satisfy each individual's requirements and needs is vast, and so therefore a large number of different types of ink cartridges are available.

The eezytrade catalogue of Epson printer cartridges shows the range and it's applicability to each specific printer. Because the Epson printer's head is fixed in the printer and the cartridge is basically an ink tank, they are normally cheaper than cartridges with heads that are fixed on the cartridge itself, like HP and Lexmark ones.

Therefore, the only choice for sublimation industry is Epson printer,considering sublimation inks are easy to get degeneration in the hot environment.