Liquid Inkjet Printers

Liquid inkjet printers very small, precise amounts (generally a few picolitres) of ink onto the media. These droplets of ink will carry a small electrical charge. The placement of the ink on the page is then determined by the accuse of a cathode and electrode between which the ink moves towards the paper. Inkjet printing (and the related bubble-jet technology) are the most general -quality inkjet printers are inexpensive to produce.

Virtually all recent inkjet printers are color devices; some, known as photo printers, include extra pigments to better reproduce the color gamut needed for high-quality photographic prints (and are additionally capable of printing on photographic card stock, as opposed to plain office paper).

Inkjet printers consist of nozzles that create very small ink bubbles that turn into tiny droplets of ink. The dots shaped are the size of tiny pixels. Ink-jet printers can be able to print high excellence text and graphics. They are also more or less silent in operation. Inkjet printers have a much lesser initial cost than do laser printers, but have a much higher cost-per-copy, as the ink needs to be frequently replaced.

In addition, consumer printer manufacturers have modified a business model similar to that employed by manufacturers of razors; the printers themselves are frequently sold below cost, and the ink is then sold at a high markup.

Various legal and scientific means are employed to try and force users to only purchase ink from the manufacturer (thus leading to vendor lock-in); however there is a thriving aftermarket for such things as third-party ink cartridges (new or refurbished) and refill kits.

Inkjet printers also have the disadvantage that pages must be permitted to dry before being aggressively handled; premature handling can cause the inks (which are adhered to the page in liquid form) to run.