5. Ink-Jet Printer

Ink-jet printers have been popular for a long time because they are relatively cheap to buy and most of them can combine both black and white and colour printing at the same time.

These printers use cartridges that contain the ink.

They operate by heating the ink as it flows through a set of tiny nozzles.

The heating process causes a small droplet of ink to form. This is then released as a single dot which forms part of a letter or image. This is why the printouts often come out of an ink-jet printer still slightly wet.

Colour ink-jet printers are ideal for use at home where only a few documents need to be printed and the quality of the printout doesn't need to be perfect.

They can produce superb photographic prints if suitable high quality photo paper and inks are used.

Advantages

• Cheap to buy - cheaper than a laser printer
• More compact than a laser printer
• Cartridges cost less to replace than toners
• Produce good quality printouts better than a dot-matrix but not as good as a laser
• Speed - faster than a dot-matrix but not as fast as a laser

Disadvantages

• Noisier than a laser printer (but not as noisy as a dot-matrix)
• Colour printing can be extremely slow
• Cost of printouts per page are more expensive than a laser printer
• Cartridges need to be replaced more often than a laser printer
• Ink will smudge while it is still wet
• Colours can become saturated and often don't look the same as on the screen
• If not used for a while, the cartridges can dry out