Printing - Publish.com
Publish.com Ziff-Davis Enterprise  
SEARCH · ONLINE MEDIA · MOBILE · WEB DESIGN · GRAPHICS TOOLS · PRINTING · PHOTO · TIPS · OPINIONS
Home arrow Printing arrow Vendor Games Make Picking Printers Perilous
Vendor Games Make Picking Printers Perilous
By M. David Stone

Rate This Article:
Add This Article To:
Some printer specs don't mean what they seem to; others aren't available at all.

Choosing the right printer is hard enough when you have all the information you need. It gets harder when manufacturers tout printer specifications that don't tell you what you need to know. Here are some specs to be wary of and others you should ask about, even though manufacturers tend to skip them.

Laser Speeds

PPM (pages per minute) speed claims for lasers are close to the actual speed for printing simple text files at reasonably high quality. But for more complex images, such as intricate graphics, a slow printer engine with a fast processor can beat a fast printer engine with a slow processor.

Ink Jet Speeds

If you take the claimed speeds for ink jets seriously, you'd have to conclude that most ink jets are as fast as or faster than most desktop lasers. They aren't. Claimed speeds for ink jets are based on draft modes you wouldn't want to use very often, and even for those draft modes, the claimed speeds are faster than you'll see in real-world use.

Duplexing Speed: A Missing Spec

To read the full article, please click on Playing Fast and Loose With Printer Specs.



Discuss Vendor Games Make Picking Printers Perilous
 
>>> Be the FIRST to comment on this article!
 

 
 
>>> More Printing Articles          >>> More By M. David Stone
 


Buyer's Guide
Explore hundreds of products in our Publish.com Buyer's Guide.
Web design
Content management
Graphics Software
Streaming Media
Video
Digital photography
Stock photography
Web development
View all >

ADVERTISEMENT


FREE ZIFF DAVIS ENTERPRISE ESEMINARS AT ESEMINARSLIVE.COM
  • Dec 10, 4 p.m. ET
    Eliminate the Drawbacks of Traditional Backup/Replication for Linux
    with Michael Krieger. Sponsored by InMage
  • Dec 11, 1 p.m. ET
    Data Modeling and Metadata Management with PowerDesigner
    with Joel Shore. Sponsored by Sybase
  • Dec 12, 12 p.m. ET
    Closing the IT Business Gap: Monitoring the End-User Experience
    with Michael Krieger. Sponsored by Compuware
  • Dec 12, 2 p.m. ET
    Enabling IT Consolidation
    with Michael Krieger. Sponsored by Riverbed & VMWare
  • VTS
    Join us on Dec. 19 for Discovering Value in Stored Data & Reducing Business Risk. Join this interactive day-long event to learn how your enterprise can cost-effectively manage stored data while keeping it secure, compliant and accessible. Disorganized storage can prevent your enterprise from extracting the maximum value from information assets. Learn how to organize enterprise data so vital information assets can help your business thrive. Explore policies, strategies and tactics from creation through deletion. Attend live or on-demand with complimentary registration!
    FEATURED CONTENT
    IT LINK DISCUSSION - MIGRATION
    A Windows Vista® migration introduces new and unique challenges to any IT organization. It's important to understand early on whether your systems, hardware, applications and end users are ready for the transition.
    Join the discussion today!



    .NAME Charging For Whois
    Whois has always been a free service, but the .NAME registry is trying to change that.
    Read More >>

    Sponsored by Ziff Davis Enterprise Group

    NEW FROM ZIFF DAVIS ENTERPRISE


    Delivering the latest technology news & reviews straight to your handheld device

    Now you can get the latest technology news & reviews from the trusted editors of eWEEK.com on your handheld device
    mobile.eWEEK.com

     


    RSS 2.0 Feed


    internet
    rss graphic Publish.com
    rss graphic Google Watch

    Video Interviews


    streaming video
    Designing Apps for Usability
    DevSource interviews usability pundit Dr. Jakob Nielsen on everything from the proper attitude for programmers to the importance of prototyping in design to the reasons why PDF, Flash and local search engines can hurt more than they help.
    ADVERTISEMENT