AptPracitces.com Reading Specs Explained

Understanding Printer Specs

Printers

All-In-One or Multifunction Printer		A printer that also works as a scanner, copier and sometimes a fax. Also called 3-in-1 machines or, with faxes, 4-in-1 machines. All-In-One machines are becoming more mainstream. High-efficiency models are now available.
Cartridges Included		The options are "Yes", "No", "Full" and "Starter". • No means you'll have to buy new cartridges when you buy the printer - expensive for color printers. • Full means that the printer comes with full cartridges. • Starter means less less than full - usually 30 - 60% of a standard cartridge.
Connectivity		Method for connecting printer to a single computer or network. Modern printers connect to computers via USB cables or wirelessly via bluetooth. Network connections are made via ethernet cable or wireless B/G/N. See also EIO Slots.
DPI (Dots Per Inch)		Sometimes called printer resolution. A measurement of printout density. More DPI means better quality printouts. It also means more ink or toner. • Lasers typically run 600x600 or 1200x1200 DPI. It's hard to tell the difference for plain text. • Inkjets vary dramatically. 1200x1200 DPI black and 2400x1200 color are the norm, but we're seeing high-end inkjets featuring B&W and color as high as 4800x2400 and 5760x1440 DPI.
Drum Unit	Laser Only	A consumable internal part required by the printer. Some laser toner cartridges have built in drum units. Others don't. You pay either way, but when an independent drum unit runs out, think $90-$250. Separate drum units generally last much longer than toner cartridges.
EIO Slots (Enhanced Input Output)	HP Laser Only	Slots that accept advanced high speed connections, hard drives, and other printer enhancements specially built for high-end, high volume machines. See wiki answers.
FPO (First Page Out)	Laser Only	Laser printers take time to get going. We're seeing numbers of 6-10 seconds ... up from 20+ seconds 5 years ago.
HY (High Yield)		Refers to ink and toner cartridges that give more pages than a "standard" cartridge for the same printer. For example, if a standard cartridges yields 1000 pages, a high yield might give 2500. Some B&W laser HYs give up to 20,000 pages each. HY cartridges are usually cheaper per page and are replaced less often - a nice feature in color printers. Many printers won't take high yield cartridges. Check your printer to make sure.
Ink	Inkjet Only	Self explanatory. Generally available in OEM cartridges, generic / remanufactured cartridges and bulk refills. Generic ink is typically purchased on line. Using generic & re-mfg ink reduces printing costs by 45-70%. PC-Workshops.com has switched to generic & re-mfg'd products. We see no difference in quality or yield on products purchased from reputable outlets. We now recommend generics most customers. See our Cost Summary to learn more. Do-it-yourself ink refills are cheaper by an order of magnitude, but very messy. Drug stores and superstores now refill ink cartridges for $11-$16 each - generally more than the cost of generic cartridges.
Input Capacity		Total number of sheets that fit into combined paper trays
Max Paper Size		The largest size paper a printer handles. 8.5x14" is standard. 11x17" and 13x19" are considered specialty sizes.
Memory		Usually refers to a printer's memory that helps the printer render images. It doesn't traditionally refer to the number of pages a printer can hold in memory (called the "print buffer"), but that could be changing. More memory means that complex images print faster. Inexpensive printers usually come with 16-64MB of fixed memory. More expensive printers start at 96-128MB and may accept upgrades to @ 512MB. Follow this link for a better description.
Monthly Duty Cycle or Max Pages Per Month		Refers to a printers Maximum Pages/Month as recommended by the manufacturer. MDCs for small printers run as low as 2000 pages/month. Mid-priced printers built for higher volume ($600-$900) can handle 100K+ pages/month. High volume printers ( $1,500-$5,000) go as high as 300K pages/month. The numbers are a bit absurd for offices with fewer than 50 people. See why.
Network Ready		A printer that's easier to share because it plugs directly into a network via an RJ45 ethernet cable. Some network ready printers also have wireless capability. If so, it will be specified.
PPM (Pages Per Minute)		• High-End B&W Lasers reach speeds of 45 - 50 pages/min. • Color lasers tend to run 30-40 ppm B&W and up to 36 ppm color. • Business rated inkjets will print as fast as 35 ppm B&W, 30 ppm color.
Paper Handling		A list paper sizes a printer handles automatically: legal, letter, etc.
Pictbridge		Newer built-in capability that allows you to connect and print directly from a camera, flash memory cards or other memory regardless of brand. See this link for details.
Print head	Inkjet Only	Mechanism that holds print nozzles. Replaceable on a few newer models. Otherwise, discard your printer when they break.
Print Media		Paper and other materials a printer can print on. Inkjets can handle CDs and DVS, T-shirt transfers, transparencies and other items. Lasers generally handle paper and labels: fuser heat prevents greater media flexibility.
Processor		Generally found in high-end, high volume lasers. Allows printers to handle complex jobs, multiple connections and big print queues at very high speeds.
System Requirements		Compatible computer operating system for your printer. Versions matter: e.g., Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista, Linux or Mac OSX or higher.
Toner	Laser Only	Plastic powder that's applied to paper to make text and pictures: analogous to ink. Generics save a lot of money (see ink).

All-in-Ones: Print, Scan, Copy & Fax

Document Feeder Type	Usually flatbed (above the glass top copy/scan surface) or sheet fed. Allows you to load a bunch of sheets for continuous copying, scanning or faxing.
Document Feeder Capacity	Maximum number of sheets that fit into a document feeder.
Fax Memory (Pages)	When your fax runs out of paper, it holds faxed pages in memory until you refill the paper tray. This is the maximum number of pages the fax will hold.
Fax Speed (Kbps)	Measured in Kbps (kilobytes per seconds). Fast = 33.6 kbps, or about 3 pages per second. Older machines fax at 9.6, 14.4, 19.8, etc. Unless you do a ton of faxing, don't be to concerned about this number. The ability to switch down to slower speeds can be more important: some telephone lines won't handle 33.6, and your fax can bomb. Also remember that your fax speed is constrained by the receiving machine's speed and vice-versa.
Reduce & Enlarge	Refers to the copy function: maximum per centage that the printer can reduce or enlarge documents. We commonly see specs like 50-200%. Some HP units report 25-400%.
Scan Resolution (PPI)	Measured in pixels per inch (ppi). More pixels mean sharper more detailed images. 1200 x 1200 is a common low-end scan resolution today. Some machines will scan color as high 9600x9600 ppi. Being able to downswitch becomes important for high resolutions scans, where every wrinkle and stain gets scanned into your documents. Also, higher resolution scans, like pictures, take up much more hard drive space on your computer.
Scanning Speed	Not generally reported at for these products. Be Careful Here. If you have a lot of paper and your goal is a paperless office, these machines are too slow and not robust enough. Head for high-speed optical scanners: they'll process as much as 100 pages per minute and their document feeders hold hundreds of pages. . Follow this link to see examples.

Color vs. Black and White

You'll find this warning plastered all over our web site. Color printing is several times more expensive than black and white. Using brand name ink or toner, you can easily top $1500.00 per person/year printing exclusively in color. Use B&W when possible. Use generic ink if you can. Throw out old, inefficient printers and replace them with new models. Printers are cheap. Supplies are expensive. For more information, see the Printer Cost Summary.

Print Speed

Most lasers above the very low end will print 30 ppm or more. High efficiency inkjets like the HP Officejet Pro K5400 or L7590 print 35ppm. You've to to spend a lot of money - typically $1,500-$6,000 - to get 50 pages/minute. Is it worth it? You've got to get into some pretty high volumes to make the extra speed pay off. Here are some examples.

Document Print Time at Different Printer Speeds

Job Size	at 20 ppm	at 35 ppm	at 50 ppm
Time to Print a 20 Page Document (in Minutes)	1.00	0.57	0.40
Time to Print a 50 Page Document (in Minutes)	2.50	1.43	1.00
Time to Print a 500 Invoices (in Minutes)	25.00	14.29	10.00
Time to Print 25 50-page Manuals (in Minutes)	62.5	35.71	25.00

How Many People Can One (1) Printer Serve?
Average daily printer output per person in the US workplace is about 44 pages. This number includes documents that an individual prints or has printed for her. How fast does your printer really need to be? At 50 pages/minute, a printer can produce the average output of 5.7 people in just five minutes. This is just food for thought: some people print all day and need greater speed. Others never do. Your requirements will vary by department or role.

Job Size	at 20 ppm	at 35 ppm	at 50 ppm
Pages in 5 Minutes	100 pages / 2.3 people	175 pages / 4.0 people	250 pages / 5.7 people
Pages in 1 Hour	1,200 pages / 27.3 people	2,100 pages / 47.3 people	3,000 pages / 68.2 people
Pages in 4 Hours	4,800 pages / 109.1 people	8,400 pages / 190.2 people	12,000 pages /272.3 people
Pages in 8 Hours	9,600 pages / 218.2 people	16,800 pages / 381.8 people	24,000 pages / 545.5 people

Printer Volume & Monthly Duty Cycles

How important are monthly duty cycles? Like always, it depends on your company's volume. Again, average annual output per person is just a guide.