6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Inkjet Printer | Drawbacks & Benefits of Inkjet Printer

What is Inkjet Printer ?

Nowadays Printers have become an important part of business. There are numerous online documents that you may need to print. An Inkjet printer as the name suggests is a type of printer that works by expelling numerous amounts of ink droplets onto a paper. Depending on the capabilities, there are different sets of inkjet printers.

 

What is the use of Inkjet Printer ?

Today inkjet printers work as a multi-functional device by scanning, printing and copying. For the process of printing, they use cartridges which contains ink. Over the past few years, improvements have been made to inkjet printers in terms of speed and quality.

 
Even though laser printers are preferred most in workplaces, there are still some businesses which uses inkjet printers. Similar to other products, an inkjet printer too posses advantages as well as disadvantages. It is better to have a brief knowledge on these before making the final purchase.
 
 
In this article, I will be listing out the 6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Inkjet Printer | Drawbacks & Benefits of Inkjet Printer. Through this post, you will know the pros and cons of using inkjet printers.
 
Let's get started,

 
 

Advantages of Inkjet Printer

 
1. Initial Cost
 
The initial cost of an inkjet printer is really cheap. Surprisingly the least expensive inkjet printers are able to produce images with great quality. 

 

Even a multi-functional inkjet printer costs less than laser printers of the same capacity. If price is the concern for users, then inkjet printers will be the perfect option. 

 

For office related works, companies can purchase several inkjet printers for a cheaper price. Thus by saving time, the employees can overall increase their productivity.
 
 
2. Quality
 
Ink cartridges are known to be highly pigmented. Since ink technology is used behind an inkjet printer, they are able to provide high quality output for images as well as texts. Due to their finer and smoother detailing, inkjet printers are recommended for high resolution photo printing.
 
 
3. Startup Time
 
Unlike laser printers, an inkjet printer does not need wake up time.  Meaning, they do not require heating the printer before start printing. As soon as the printer is turned on, it can start printing.
 
 
4. Physical Size
 
Unlike laser printers where it takes considerably larger amount of space, an inkjet printer is much compact in size. Even the advanced versions of inkjet printers seems to require small portions of space. If workplaces runs out of space, then inkjet printers will be the ideal option to be used.
 
 
5. Portability
 
All the inkjet printers are light weighted and plug-and-play kind of device. This makes them extremely portable for home and office work environment. They can be easily moved around to the places the user wants.
 
 
6. Quietness
 
Inkjet printers doe not cause any distractions to the work environment by producing loud noises. They are extremely quiet while in operations. Even quieter than dot matrix printers. Therefore, there is no effects to the business productivity.

 
 

Disadvantages of Inkjet Printer

 
1. Speed
 
Since inkjet printers are designed for low volume printing, they suffer from slow speed. When printing large documents, you have to wait considerably longer. This is even worse when you are printing colored documents.
 
 
2. Durability
 
As we all know inkjet printers are not designed for high volume printing. Besides that they are less durable as well. The print head present on an inkjet printer is prone to damages. If an individual part of the printer fails, it is cheaper to purchase a new printer instead of repairing the damaged part.
 
 
3. Maintenance
 
A common issue that most inkjet printers face is the ink clogging. Even though inkjet printers are equipped with automatic maintenance cycles, the cartridges must be replaced frequently. 

 

There are some companies that does the cartridge refilling process without replacing them. But still this can take reasonable amount of time.
 
 
4. Cartridge Expense
 
Al though the initial investment involved in an inkjet printer is quite low, overtime the expenses can increase. This is especially true in the case of ink cartridges. Since it needs frequent replacement, the overall cost can increase significantly. Even more exceeding the printer cost.
 
 
5. Smudges
 
A type of ink called Aqueous ink is used behind an inkjet printer. This ink is known to be highly water sensitive meaning they need some time to dry out. If any water comes into contact with the ink before drying, it will cause smudges.
 
 
6. Bleeding Effect
 
An inkjet printer can cause bleeding effect on papers, if the ink is carried sideways. From the capillary action, the ink will be diverted from the location it should be printed. 

 

And also you should keep in mind that it is not possible to use a highlighter marker on this type of documents.