Just How Does an Inkjet Printer Work?
By Tomas Walker

Inkjet printers are a main staple in any home office. You've seen them everywhere. Just about everyone with a home computer has one. Recent advances in technology has made inkjet printers affordable to almost everyone. They are easy to use and most even come bundled with amazing image editing software. There is an inkjet printer for just about every budget and every project type. But, do you know how they work?

Bubblejet Printers

The bubblejet printer is the most common type of inkjet printer on the market. Bubblejet printers work on the basis of ink spraying from nozzles in the ink cartridge onto paper as the cartridge passes over the paper. This is acheived using a thermal resistor which creates heat that causes a bubble to form in the ink. The bubble pushes the ink down and out of the nozzle and onto the paper. The bubble bursts, creating a vacuum, which causes more ink to be drawn into the cartridge and pushed out onto the paper.

Piezoelectric Printers

Piezoelectric printers, patented by Epson, uses piezo crystals in the ink cartridge. The crystals vibrate when an electric current is passed through it causing the ink in the cartridge to be sprayed onto the paper through the nozzle. As the crystal vibrates it causes more ink to be pulled into the cartridge as the ink is being put on the paper.

All Inkjet Printers

Both types of printers, bubblejet and piezoelectric, print dots horizontally, in rows, across the page. The print head drops the correct colour ink onto the page as it rolls across it from left to right and back again. Most injet printers today print a minimum of 300 dots per inch of ink. Some more advanced models, such as photo quality printers, print 1200 (or more) dots per inch of ink on the paper. The higher the number of dots per inch, the more clear and crisp your image will be printed.

Inkjet Printer Cartridges

There are several different types of inkjet printers on the market today. These printers can use single or multiple ink cartridges to print your documents. A single ink cartridge will contain both black and coloured ink in the cartridge. A printer that uses two ink cartridges will have a single black cartridge and a single colour cartridge. Some printers even come with cartridges for each colour that it prints (up to six different cartridges!)

Now, when you print a document from your home office or print a picture of your loved ones, you can visualise how the printer is printing the image onto the paper. When you hear the whir and buzz of the printers print head sliding across the paper or hear the paper being pulled through the paper tray, you have an idea of what goes on behind your printers closed lid.

More often that not, Tom Walker can be found at his computer reading up on the latest gadgets to add to his already extensive collection. He is a technology writer for CartridgeSAVE.co.uk, a UK-based stockist of cheap inkjet cartridges, laser toner and other printing accessories.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tomas_Walker
http://EzineArticles.com/?Just-How-Does-an-Inkjet-Printer-Work?&id=1862571