Printer Dos and Don'ts
If you like photography like I do, that love probably started by looking at some great photographs either in a book or as prints that someone else took. My desire to take great photographs stems directly out of this. I really love having pictures that I've taken up on my wall or being passed around. I'm also always trying to tweak things to get a better print out of my equipment.
My equipment is not what anyone would consider to be expensive equipment, but I can still get some really good results out of them. The printer cost me a whole $79 about 2 years ago. I'm definitely ready to upgrade but I'm going to wait a bit for a bigger collection of good shots. I have however come up with a few things that you can do to get great output at home from your printer, no matter who the manufacturer is.
1 - Read the manual. I'm not one to read the manual when I first get a new toy, but when problems arise I immediately whip it out. After I get it out and read something for a reason I tend to snoop around and see what else I can find. You never know what you may find out from the manual regarding new papers and how to work with them or some other feature available on your printer that you can benefit from.
2 - Turn your printer off when not in use. I don't print things every time I use my computer so I only turn the printer on when I want to print. Keeping the printer on will clog the ink nozzels.
3 - Turn the printer off, don't turn it off using your power strip. Not letting the printer shut itself down and go through its own process can do some very bad things to your printer.
4 - Print frequently. It would normally be recommended to print every day, but that's a bit rediculous, particularly with the cost of printer supplies. Print something a few times a week to keep the nozzles open.
5 - Purchase assortment packs or small paper quantities (10 to 20 sheets) to see if you like a particular paper. Buying a 100 sheet box of some really big expensive paper that doesnt work well with your printer will lead to a big waste of money. Your photo or computer store will love you, but it's an expensive experiment.
6 - Use supplies from your printer manufacturer whenever possible. Printer manufacturers optimize the inks and paper finishes to work very efficiently with your printer and its software drivers. You will get some of your better results early on but not straying.
7 - Wait a while until you get a continuous ink system. First, they're not cheap so unless you print often, it's probably not worth it. Second, if you don't know what you're doing then it can get very very messy and you still may not be able to use it.
|
Search for your Digital Photography Supplies Below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
