1. The inkjet printers discussed by manufacturers here mainly refer to A3 format and below, also known as desktop inkjet printers, and some people (such as states) call them "small inkjet printers". There are four major printer manufacturers' products in the market [Epson, Canon, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Lexmark]. Among the four major manufacturers, Epson and Canon are Japan; Hewlett-Packard (HP) and LEXMARK (Lexmark) are both countries M, but almost all the machines used by everyone are made in Chinese mainland, and all the technologies are not mastered by China enterprises. Not only in China, but also in the world, there are only four well-known gunning manufacturers.
2. Main products of inkjet printers.
(1) from print format. The four major manufacturers have many A4 and A3 format inkjet printers, among which Lexmark is the only one that doesn't have A3 format printers at present. Formats above A3 and below A4 are rarely used in real life, so we won't discuss them much.
(2) According to different users, manufacturers generally divide printers into commercial (also called office) and home inkjet printers. The main differences are as follows: different prices, different mechanical properties, different printing speeds, different functions and different overall properties. Of course, there is no strict boundary between career and family. Home inkjet printers are still used in offices, and business machines have entered many families. Also, it is a bit difficult to distinguish which type some models belong to. So now it is more "more suitable for home use" and "more suitable for business". Another feature of business printers is that the product update is slow and the price fluctuation is small. For example, Epson's 1520 machine was released about six or seven years ago. At that time, the price was more than 6,000 yuan, and now it is still more than 5,000 yuan.
(3) The printer products are constantly updated and upgraded, and the speed and functions have been improved, but the overall feeling is that it is still a change of medicine. The ink cartridges of the four major manufacturers are not universal, nor are the drivers and software, nor are the accessories. Even the products of the same manufacturer are constantly changing. Anyway, the ink cartridge is written with a square ring, and the accessories are written with a square ring.
Second, printer classification.
1, which is easy to use. There are many models of 4-color and 6-color printers (including more than 6 colors), but there are not many main models, and some of the discovered models are outdated and discontinued. Ink-jet printers are generally 4 colors (1 black 3 colors), and some are monochrome or 3 colors. Lemon, Hewlett-Packard and Canon all have machines that can print with a single ink cartridge, but there are not many such models. Photo-level printers are generally more than 6 colors. Photo-level printers are generally expensive, mainly for printing images and photos, so they have different uses, so you should consider them when buying them. Of course, at present, the photo quality of some 4-color printers is still good. If the quality is not particularly required, you can consider 4-color printers. Many people are asking: which model has the best cost performance? In fact, as long as this printer meets your printing needs and meets some special requirements, this is the key factor.
2. From the print format, it can be divided into A4, A3, A3+, A2, etc. There are also machines with a width less than A4, such as HP 130.
It should be noted that the width of the actual printing area and the width that can be fed are two different concepts, but the manufacturer is suspected of intentionally confusing them. For example, EPSON 1520 machine, the actual printing width is only 34.5 cm, and the paper feed width can reach 42 cm, but the manufacturer did not say the actual printing width, only said that A2 paper can be printed.
3. Another classification is single function and multi-function. Nowadays, printers can integrate multiple functions, such as fax, scanning, inserting various digital memory cards and so on. However, the refill kit is still used for continuous ink supply, and it is best to use a single machine to facilitate modification and maintenance. Understand the classification, or it is mainly convenient to choose models.
Third, some characteristics of printers from various manufacturers.
Since you are buying a printer, you should know some features in advance, so that you can be targeted when you buy it.
1, printer nozzle.
The first thing is to know the nozzle. Ink-jet ink-jet, first of all, spray, this spray word illustrates two points: first, printing is actually spray, spray-that is, not directly touching the paper; Second, the display is ejected from the nozzle of the spray head (also called the print head). Nozzle is the key to printer printing and printing quality. Of course, ink is also important, but only if the nozzle is good. From this point of view, the nozzle is the CPU of the printer.
2、
When the nozzle should spray, when to stop spraying, and when to spray what color are all driven by the circuit, so there is a circuit on the nozzle, which is connected to the printer's motherboard. In order to facilitate the connection, there is a circuit board on the nozzle. If the nozzle is fixed in the printer, the nozzle and the circuit board of the printer are "wired", that is, the printer motherboard circuit is inserted into the slot of the nozzle circuit board through the wired; If the nozzle can be directly removed, the nozzle and the circuit board of the printer are in "spring contact", that is, the circuit board of the printer motherboard is the spring contact at the front end of the nozzle position, and the circuit board of the nozzle can be aligned and contacted.
2. Piezoelectric nozzle.
Epson uses micro piezoelectric print head technology to make the crystal vibrate through the change of voltage to eject ink. By placing many tiny piezoelectric ceramics near the nozzle of the print head, the piezoelectric ceramics expand or contract under the action of voltage changes at both ends. When the image information voltage is applied to the piezoelectric ceramics, the expansion and contraction vibration of the piezoelectric ceramics will change with the change of the image information voltage, so that the ink can be ejected uniformly and accurately under the stable state of normal temperature and pressure, and the size of ink droplets can be effectively controlled, and high-precision and high-resolution color printout can be obtained. Timely and moderate shrinkage deformation of piezoelectric ceramics is the core of accurate printing. Before the ink-jet operation of micro-piezoelectric technology, the piezoelectric element first shrinks slightly under the control of the signal; Then the element generates a greater extension to push the ink droplet out of the nozzle; When the ink drops are about to fly away from the nozzle, the element will shrink again and the ink level will be cleanly retracted from the nozzle opening. In this way, the liquid level of ink drops is accurately controlled, and the ejected ink drops have perfect shape and correct direction.
Of course, these are all theoretical and can't be seen in the whole spraying process, but through the above principles, it is mainly explained that the use of micro-piezoelectric print head technology without heating to spray ink has little corrosion to nozzle elements, slow aging and better color reproduction without heating ink. Piezoelectric inkjet technology also has the advantages of regular ink dot shape, no sputtering, easy control of ink dot size and ejection speed, accurate positioning, and prolonged nozzle life. Generally speaking, the quality of printed images is high. Another point is that you can choose to use more inks with different chemical compositions. However, the cost of piezoelectric inkjet print head is high, so the print head and ink cartridge are separated, and the ink cartridge itself has no nozzle, so the price of ink cartridge is relatively low.
The inherent shortcomings of micro-piezoelectric printing technology are also the biggest. For example, a slender nozzle is easy to cause blockage, and even if air enters, it will "catch a cold". Therefore, printers using this technology need to clean the nozzles frequently, which is more expensive. Many people don't understand this situation, and there is really no need to find a way to stop the printer from cleaning the nozzle automatically. Secondly, this kind of print head is exquisite, consumes a lot of electricity, vibrates, makes a lot of noise and has a high failure rate. Therefore, the manufacturer uses the nozzle for one year, provided that the ink cartridge designated by the manufacturer is used.
Although, on the whole, the life of piezoelectric nozzle is incomparable to that of other technology nozzles. But from the practical point of view, many friends can't use it completely until the nozzle dies. If they are not careful, the nozzle will be reimbursed. There are many reasons. On the one hand, the limitations of nozzle technology determine its "femininity", so it must not be sloppy in use. It is definitely not possible to fill it with any ink, nor can it be used for a long time. If you bring the ink into the bubble and print it, it will break. If the ink delivery is not smooth, the work you are printing will be scrapped. Even if you take out the ink cartridge and put it in the printer, the nozzle will not agree with you, either white paper or white line. On the other hand, because the nozzle of the ink cartridge is separated, the refill kit of the ink cartridge is convenient, which makes many people feel very simple, and they don't pay attention to the methods in operation, nor do they pay attention to and prevent the faults that the nozzle is prone to. After the problem occurs, the treatment method is too simple and rash, and it is eager for success, which eventually leads to the damage of the nozzle.
3. Canon, Hewlett-Packard, and Limon all use hot bubble inkjet technology, and ink is ejected by changing the volume by heating. Because thermal expansion and contraction will definitely accelerate the aging of the nozzle, the service life of the nozzle cannot be compared with that of the piezoelectric nozzle. Therefore, in the early days, the nozzle and the ink cartridge were all made together, which is the so-called integration of nozzle and ink cartridge, so the price of this ink cartridge is naturally higher. After all, it includes the price of a nozzle, but this nozzle manufacturer can't do it very delicately. If the quality is good, the price of the nozzle cartridge will be more expensive. The manufacturer's strategy is to replace the ink cartridge with a new nozzle. Of course, the quality of this nozzle is not the best. But after the ink is printed, the residual value of the nozzle is still greatly available, so it is necessary to fill the ink in advance. Many people think it's better to fill the ink box after the ink is used up, and it's profitable to fill it once. At present, HP and Limon basically integrate nozzles and ink cartridges, while HP uses split ink cartridge nozzles on commercial and large inkjet printers. The service life of this kind of nozzle has increased a lot, and of course the price has definitely increased.