Black And White Printers: What Are They? Review Of Monochrome Printers For Home, Choosing Printers For Home Use

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-15 04:10

Peripheral devices, along with laptops or all-in-ones, are essential attributes of modern life. They are used not only by employees of office organizations, but also by home users, especially those who work remotely. With the help of such office equipment, you can easily print any information - a text document, financial statements, tables, formulas, etc.

What it is?

Monochrome black and white printers are most often used at home. Rarely do modern users purchase colored peripherals for specific tasks . Such office equipment is expensive and does not justify the investment, because most of the information that remote employees work with at home does not require printing color images. By the way, in many offices, mostly black and white printers are also installed.

Most office workers, as well as users working remotely, have probably heard of the concept of monochrome printing.

This is not just black-and-white printing, when by means of office equipment and in the presence of a cartridge filled with polymer, it is possible to obtain the required number of copies of documents. It is done in grayscale using peripheral devices, and black and white printing is supported by matrix models.

The black powder used in laser printer cartridges is composed of microscopic granules that include:

• iron dioxide;
• pigments;
• modifiers;
• charge regulating additives;
• polymer shell.

By the way, monochrome printing is used not only in inkjet or laser printers, but also in other multifunctional devices, such as copiers.

The most common monochrome printing devices in modern reality are laser printers . The content on paper is produced by the functions of a laser, with the help of which the contents of a text file are transferred to the imaging drum. Then it is electrified and sprayed with toner.

When the paper is fed mechanically, such a drum rolls over the sheet, transferring powder particles to the plane.

Then the paper carrier undergoes heat treatment, where the polymer is finally baked to the surface.

Advantages and disadvantages

In the operation of modern laser printers with monochrome printing, like any other device, there are positive and negative dynamics.

Advantages

• Connecting to the Internet and local network in different ways - through a special cable or wireless connection.
• Extreme print speed and quality versus inkjet copies.
• Low cost. This important parameter is calculated based on the consumption of electricity, polymer for printing a text or picture.
• Long term use of the cartridge. One refueling is enough to print 1800-2000 sheets.
• Toner instead of ink. It is possible to return the laser office equipment to work without replacing the cartridge after a long downtime within a few minutes. In inkjet printers, you will have to change the ink container.

Now it makes sense to mention the disadvantages of printers

• Pricing and service are key metrics that drive consumer demand. Laser printers are much more expensive than their inkjet counterparts, and repairing laser office equipment will cost a pretty penny.
• Color rendition, brightness, contrast. In inkjet models, the listed parameters are much better.
• The high price of the cartridge and consumables. The cost of the container and polymer is an order of magnitude higher than for inkjet printers.
• Refueling. Inexperienced users are recommended to entrust this work to the specialists of the service center. Containers in inkjet printers can be easily refilled by yourself.
• High power consumption. In laser office equipment, there is an oven that heats up to 200 ° C.

Despite the many obvious drawbacks, such devices are gradually and confidently ousting inkjet printers from the market.

Species overview

Despite the huge number of office equipment models produced by foreign companies, in the world there are only three types of modern printers - matrix, inkjet and laser.

In matrix devices the principle of mechanical impact of small pins (tungsten needles) on the ink ribbon is implemented. Thanks to this technological solution, a drawing, drawing or letter symbols remains on paper.

In inkjet modifications the conditions for the fulfillment of a sequence of characters of black or colored dots are laid, when fast-drying ink is sprayed onto the paper carrier from small nozzles of the print head.

In laser printers the page image is generated in the computer memory and transmitted to the printing device module. Next, the laser beam, with the participation of toner, a drum unit and a fuser, forms a picture or text on the paper.

Each printing apparatus is appropriate to use for the implementation of certain tasks.

Ink-jet devices are more suitable for copying images, for example, photographs, because the color reproduction in this case is much better. To print a large number of sheets, it is advisable to use laser office equipment. Dot matrix printers were gradually ousted from the printing market by the above models, but they still continue to be used in the modern world .- primarily in the banking sector, retail outlets, financial departments, computer centers, ticket offices, that is, where streaming printing is needed.

Laser

Despite the high cost of devices and consumables used in them , such office equipment is ideal for many users to carry out everyday tasks at home - copying of coursework, control, reports, graphs, reports on paper. With the help of laser printers, you can print a large number of sheets in a short period of time, which is incredibly comfortable in terms of maintaining the structure of the daily routine.

Laser printers have long and confidently replaced inkjet office equipment in various organizations . Office workers appreciate the unpretentious method of operation and high efficiency in modern devices. In fact, in the process of working with laser printers, there are no problems with the exception of timely paper supply and periodic replacement of the cartridge.

In rare cases, after prolonged use, the drum unit will need to be replaced.

Most laser printer models support the most popular A4 sheet size . Added to the above are several of the benefits listed above, plus a slight drop in the cost of the devices. As a result, it turns out that the cost of printing pages by using a laser printer is quite low, which is extremely important in terms of saving money and especially working time.

Inkjet

In modern inkjet printers, the ability to print monochrome in black and white or color ink is also implemented. but this office equipment is best used for copying multiple copies of pages . Such devices are inferior to laser machines in many criteria, and first of all, in terms of printing speed. The edges of characters are often blurry.

The main advantage of inkjet printers is high quality color printing . Office equipment can be used to produce multi-colored stickers, postcards, labels, envelopes. Also in such models, the function of continuous ink supply is implemented, which is not available in laser printers. A useful option compensates for the very limited resource of the cartridge and several times reduces the cost of printing one sheet.

In modern inkjet printers, all the necessary settings are implemented, including ink savings, which allow you to print documents, images, diagrams. It is possible to connect the device to a computer via a special cable or via a wireless connection . The newest models are equipped with additional functions that increase the comfort when using complex devices.

Top Models

It is difficult to name the top 10 printers that would satisfy all the requirements of users. This rating can be called conditional, because each person chooses office equipment according to personal preferences . Some people like a simple printer without additional and complex functionality, others prefer models with a lot of options.

For home use, a budget laser printer, for example, OKI B431 DN, is quite suitable . This model has a large supply of consumables, high print speed - 38 pages per minute, the ability to set up automatic two-sided printing and other advantages.

Cheap inkjet printer - EPSON M105 . The advantages of this peripheral include easy operation, Wi-Fi setup, print speeds of up to 34 sheets per minute, and ultra-economical black and white ink consumption. There is an interface panel on the front side.

How to choose?

Office equipment for home use is bought depending on the tasks to be solved. If the user is forced to print a large number of pages every day, then it is advisable to focus on the model of laser devices. When you need to print 2-3 sheets per week, it makes sense to buy an inexpensive inkjet printer.

Another criterion is the quality of the image, letters. If you need to print text rather than color schemes, you should choose a black and white laser printer.

When you need bright, juicy illustrations, photographs, a slender apparatus is more suitable here. An important role is played by the resource stock of consumables and the availability of additional options, for example, the ability to configure printing over a wireless connection.

In order not to be mistaken with the choice of a B&W printer for home, it is advisable to carefully read the instructions before buying, and only then, having compared all the advantages and disadvantages, purchase the product.