Articles Index

How to Calibrate Printers and Scanners

What are the appropriate settings to use when you want photo prints to look their best? ICC (International Color Consortium) profiles provide devices such as printers, scanners, and monitors with a consistent color profile. You can download them from various manufacturers if you're serious about making prints look their best. If you're not sure whether you need to use color profiles, then that's a good bet that you don't really need to use them at all, which you should appreciate, since they can be very complex to understand.

Print Speed

Print speed depends on what kind of document you're printing and how your printer's preferences are set.

What You Can Print Now; and What the Future Holds for 3-D Printing

Today, you can print a wide range of consumer goodies, from jewelry to iPad stands, using services such as Shapeways. At the higher end, 3-D printers can churn out everything from scans of your teeth to aircraft parts. In a few years, experts forecast that this technology will become a part of our daily lives and lead to huge shifts in the way we do business.

Is an Extended Warranty Worth the Money?

When you buy a new printer or scanner, the salesperson will try to convince you to buy an extended warranty. It's not worth the money. Here's why extended warranties aren't worth what they cost.

Additive Manufacturing, Or, What's In a Name?

Printing in 3-D, also known as additive manufacturing, is becoming commonplace and ever less expensive--even home users and hobbyists are using it. But the technology used to print an object in three dimensions is very complex. Here's a look at how it works.

Comparing Pricing Among Online Photo Scanners

If you've got a huge amount of photos you'd like to scan, it's often faster and easier to trust someone else to do it--otherwise, scanning photos one at a time can be a very time-consuming process. But it's not easy to compare these services, since they all have lots of different deals and requirements. This comparison chart of online photo-scanning services should help you compare pricing between some of the biggest players.

How 3-D Printing in Silver Works

Shapeways, a company that lets consumers create and print their own 3-D creations, can print using a variety of substance, from plastic to glass. But when they offered pure silver, it was time to learn more about how that could possibly work.

Using PictBridge to Print Photos

PictBridge allows you to connect your digital camera directly to your printer.

The Basics of Wireless Networking

Wireless networking your printer or scanner may sound difficult, but newer machines are making it easier to do. Here's some advice from networking experts on how to set up your wireless printer.

How Printers and Computers Connect Across a Network

Networking a printer allows multiple computers to access a single printer, a great convenience for home or small offices.

Shopping for a Great Deal on a Printer or Scanner

You can find great deals on printers and scanners online and in brick-and-mortar shops. I'll help you find the best deals on the printers and scanners that I've tested and reviewed--just follow the "Compare Prices" icon on each review to see a comparison of prices at all major retailers.

Tips on How to Get Organized with the Help of a Scanner

Turning paper documents into digital files is a great first step in organizing your home office, or your home life. But it's not a silver bullet. Getting organized requires good planning in addition to good equipment.

Printer ink is expensive; but will you save money with refills?

Printer ink isn't cheap, and if you compare prices by volume, you may find it's more expensive than almost any other liquid (including human blood). But that comparison may be misleading, since printer ink has to be almost magical in its ability to be a stable liquid for a long time, then be raised to 300 degrees Celsius and shot out of a microscopically small nozzle at 30 miles an hour and still hit the page as a perfect round dot. So you may want to spend extra to buy new inkjet cartridges.

Using USB Connectors for Your Printer

Printers and scanners usually connect to computers with a USB connector.

Guide to Green Printing

Green printing is a great way to help recycle and save resources; it's also a good way to keep some extra money in your pocket.

Recycle Used Inkjet Cartridges

When your inkjet cartridges run out, don't throw them away. The US Post Office offers free mailers to send them to a recycler.

A Guide to Laser and LED Printers

Laser and LED printers are great for printing high-quality documents in black-and-white or in color. They create sharp-looking text and excellent color graphics. They're more expensive to buy than inkjet printers (although prices continue to drop) but are cheaper to own in the long run, as toner cartridges last a long time. LED printers simply use an array of LEDs rather than a single laser as a light source; output is almost indistinguishable from a laser printer.

A Guide to Multifunction Printers

All-in-one printers, also known as multifunction printers (MFPs), are handy if you have a small office or frequently need to fax, copy, and scan. All in one printers are almost the same price as single-function printers.

What Are the Differences Between Scanners?

There are a few different kinds of scanners and, as with printers, the one that’s right for you depends on how you intend to use it. The most common types are flatbed scanners, sheetfed scanners, photo scanners, and portable scanners.

Apple vs Kodak Photo Books

One way to get your photos organized is to take the best ones and make a book. That's easy now, since companies like Apple and Kodak offer cheap and easy-to-use services. These photo books are easy to customize and make great gifts as well. I thought that Apple's books were a bit nicer looking but they require you to have a Mac; Kodak offers more choices on size and prices are reasonable. Here's how some of the big players stack up.

Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers are the most common type of printer available today. They’re very affordable and are excellent printers for almost any task, from printing shopping lists to making copies of photographs.

Scanner Resolution and Color Depth

Resolution refers to the amount of information, calculated in dots per inch, that the scanner can read.

Understanding Printer Resolution

Inkjets have nozzles that spray tiny drops of ink, while laser printers melt dots of toner against the paper. The more dots you can squeeze into a square inch, the sharper the resulting image will be. Printer resolution refers to how many dots per inch a printer can put onto a piece of paper.