Inkjet Printers

The inkjet printer, which is also known as the bubble jet, was first introduced in 1976, but it took until the late 1980s before it became popular with home users, largely because of its printing problems and its cost. Inkjet printers create a printed image by spraying small droplets of very quick drying ink through tiny nozzles (jets) onto the paper. As I will explain later, the print quality of the inkjet, like that of the dot matrix and in a similar way the image quality on a monitor, is measured in dots per inch (dpi). The greater the number of dots of ink used in a square inch of paper, the higher the print quality will be.

For the most part, inkjet printers produce a better quality print than a dot matrix printer at roughly the same cost. Inkjets are also less expensive and usually physically smaller than most laser printers, which appeals to most home and small office users. Unfortunately, inkjets are somewhat slower than laser printers and have the reputation for occasionally smearing, bleeding, or running the ink on the printed page, as well as frequent page feed problems. In spite of its problems, the inkjet printer offers good quality printing at a reasonable price and is very popular today with home users.