Along with computers, printers do appear to make our lives much easier and more convenient. Regardless of what type of printer you have, be it a laser or inkjet, from time to time some maintenance is in order, from wiping the device with a clean cloth and removing all the dust that settled on it in time, to doing a printer calibration to make sure it keeps in top shape. Why is color printer calibration important

Well, if you've ever printed an image that looked a certain way on your computer screen then came out of the printer with different colors or a different alignment, you'll understand how calibrating the printer ensures that what you see on your PC screen is what you get on paper as soon as you hit print.

Before we settle how you do color printer calibration let's establish why the differences between the image on the PC and the image that was printed occur. Sometimes the image printed on paper doesn't have exactly the same saturation or contrast as you can see on the PC screen

This results in colors that are less vivid. Ink layering and overlapping may also lead to differences in color and an image that isn't the exact replica of what you see on the computer screen. Fortunately calibrating a printer isn't very hard. Almost all printers from well-known brands come with software and drivers on a cd that you can find in the box. The printer driver generally offers simple or more complex settings that allow calibration and fine tuning the color of your printer. It's ideal to also calibrate the PC monitor before you start on the printer.

The first way to calibrate a printer is to print out images with a high number of various color bars and photographs. After looking at it and comparing it to the screen you can then tell what needs to be adjusted. Test images for calibration can easily be found on the Internet. The second and more complicated way, that also produces the best results is to use a Raster Image processor that allows the PC to send data in CMYK to the printer instead of RGB. You could also use ICC profiles.

ICC profiles consist of files that characterize the behavior of your printer in combination with a certain ink and paper type. Many profiles can be found on the internet and in combination with a well-calibrated display will ensure that the image on paper matches what you see on the screen. Using ICC profiles is pretty simple but not error-proof. So you might need to look into it a bit more before starting.

Finally, calibration tools can also be used for calibrating a wide series of devices including monitors, scanners, printers and digital cameras and at the same time ensure that they all communicate to each other in the same color 'language'. Those tools will also include profiles as well as allow customization for the user.

In order to keep devices portable and small, some compromise needs to be made. For printers that compromise is generally related to the maximum media size supported. Most of the compact photo printers out there limit you to 4 by 6 inches or even worse, 2 by 3 inch photographs (zink technology printers). The HP Photosmart A636 is an exception to that rule and offers a bit more versatility, allowing 4 by 6 inch, 5 by 7 inch, 4 by 12 panoramas and 4 by 8 inch. So why would you want a compact photo printer?

There are many reasons for buying one. It offers printing on the go when you're traveling and need it. A compact lightweight printer like the A636 with it's built in handle works great when taken alongside a digital camera. Even if you aren't traveling the A636 will take very little space on your desk and can be ported around from room to room with ease.

Using as well as installing the printer is exceptionally easy. As soon as you unbox the printer it will take only a couple of minutes to get it running. The animated instructions on the LCD screen will clear up the whole process. The navigation is also simple and the main menu was kept to the point.

On top of the printer you will notice a 4.8 inch touch screen that pops up the very second you open the front lid. Right under the front lid the user will find an USB port as well as the four memory card slots that support SD/MMC, Compact Flash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro and xD Picture cards. On top of printing from digital camera and memory stick, assuming you're willing to purchase the optional Bluetooth adapter, that sells for $40, you can also print through Bluetooth from a mobile camera phone, for example. The $150 HP Photosmart A636 doesn't shine when it comes to actual printing.

The speed is relatively low, as a 4 by 6 inch high resolution photo will take around a minute and a half to print. This is not going to count for most users because they might simply not be in a hurry or care that the printer takes so long for a single photo. But the area where the A636 might truly loose some potential customers is the actual quality of photographs. Most photos look over exposed ans some may feature a yellow tint.

On top of the actual printing the A636 also packs a wide variety of photo editing options and effects like cropping, adjusting brightness, saturation, adding frames, actually drawing on the photos or adding clip art. Most of this is done with the help of the LCD screen and the included stylus that proves to be easy to use. The A636 compact photo printers offer an affordable initial buying price (even though replacing consumables after buying may cost more), good photo quality and a ton of fun features.

The Samsung CLP-315W color laser printer offers wireless connectivity, a stylish design and small form factor. While it was mainly designed for a home office it will do quite well in a small working environment with a few employees. With measurements of 15.3 x 12.3 x 9.6 inches and weighing merely 24.3 pounds, it's probably the smallest compared to competition. In fact, most laser color printers on the market are nearly two times as big as the CLP-315W. The printer's design is pretty simple.

It comes with a black case with accents of glossy plastic here and there and features rounded corners. The control panel of the printer sitting near the top is also very simple. A big button serves for on/off and next to it a couple of LED lights announce when you're either of ink or a paper jam has occurred.

Oddly enough Samsung didn't add a cancel button. So if you're using this printer in a workgroup and you're PC is in the other room, off you go running to it to cancel the print job. This assuming it's more than 5-6 pages otherwise you'll have no chance to get there in time. For paper storage Samsung included a 150 sheet paper input tray. For easy use and even easier replacement of consumables, the cartridges are mounted on the front of the device (right under a drop-down panel).

There are three color and one single black cartridges that come in only one type of capacity, enough for 1000 pages. Another important details is that both black and color cartridges cost the same. Due to a monthly cycle that limits the printer to 20000 pages, the Samsung CLP-315 is as mentioned before best suited for home offices or businesses with lower volume printing needs. Ethernet or WiFi allows the use of this printer in a workgroup, and the alternative connection is the usual USB 2.0.

The low price is a clear indicator for the quality and speed of prints as no one ever expects manufacturers to cut down cost while offering the exact same quality of their top of the line devices. In this case, the CLP-315W will print out about around 14 pages per minute for regular text and under 3 pages per minute for color imagery. The printer seems extremely easy to set up on any operating system (that includes Windows, Max OSX and 'Various Linux OS'). The manufacturer's claim that you'll get started in no time at all really is accurate and installing the printer won't seem difficult.

The conclusion is simple. This printer is lightweight and has a small footprint so it will easily fit on your desk, but once it's gotten there it might simply not be worth of the space it takes because of relatively poor printing quality (compared to similar lasers), slow printing speeds and consumables that make owning the Samsung CLP-315W color laser printer a bit more expensive than similar printers. It's not a horrible device and will most likely do its job, but there's a wide variety of entry-level lasers that can perform better.

The printer market consists of a few famous company names and there are several reliable brands that you can consider, but currently HP seems to be the market leader. The company's Officejet line makes perfect use of the inkjet technology and includes printers that can suit the needs of home offices or small businesses.

So you're looking for an office printer, wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on a color laser, yet still want some good quality and a reliable device? Look no further than HP's Officejet line. While you can easily find a standalone printer for under $100 among Officejet devices, this time we're going to focus on a fast printing, high quality all-in-one printer that can be bought directly for HP for roughly $150.

While Canon printers have proven to be a bit more popular for offices nowadays, HP office printers are putting up some serious competition. The Officejet 6500 wireless inkjet multifunction printer scores very high on printing speeds. Simple text in draft mode will net you up to 32 pages per minute. In normal quality about 13 pages per minute are easily achievable as well. Color printing will result in about 2 pages per minute less than the values HP claims for mono. Printing was the first thing mentioned most likely because it's the main advantage of these HP office printers. The all-in-one features you'll be getting are printing, copying, scanning and fax.

The first time you set your eyes on it the HP Officejet 6500 appears massive. It features a split black and white exterior and holds an automatic document feeder with a capacity of 30 sheets right on top. The control panel sits comfortably in front, as usual, and includes a high number of buttons as well as a two-line backlit monochrome LCD. The LCD in combination with the control buttons provides enough navigation for an office who doesn't much care for photographs. Lower, right below the control panel you'll find the input tray with a capacity of 250 sheets. On the lower left there are two memory card slots that support MMC, SD and xD Picture cards.

As usual, the USB and Ethernet can be found on the back of the printer. There is no PictBridge port, however. Extra features include photo editing and organizing tools through the Photosmart Essentials software, while HP Solutions Center provides help and troubleshooting. What turns the HP Officejet 6500 into a truly competitive office printer is the duplexing capability and wireless.

On the inside of this printer you will find four ink cartridges. When you'll finally have to replace them you'll be able to choose between standard and high-yield cartridges. The latter offer about 700 pages worth of printing for color and 1200 pages for black. Overall, the maintenance cost for this printer is comparable to that of an entry-level color laser. For good quality printing it's quite affordable. With low running costs, fast printing speeds and satisfying quality of the prints, the HP Officejet 6500 is a viable choice for a small office.

While many users have bought and are now using a printer, most people might have asked themselves 'how does a computer printer work?' The answer to this question has a lot to do with what technology the printer is using. Most home printers are inkjets so for the most part of this article we're going to focus on how inkjets work.

Other printers that can be found on the market use either laser technology or dye-sublimation (this refers mostly to photo printers). Impact (dot matrix printers) were used for a long series of years but are now slowly starting to disappear. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used and were introduced to the market in the 1980s. Throughout time, the technology was perfected and also made cheaper. Right now an inkjet printer, be it standalone or all-in-one usually can be found for a relatively small sum of money.

But how does a computer printer work that makes use of the inkjet technology? Well, the inkjet is equipped with ink cartridges and a print head. The print head contains a few nozzles that the printer uses to spray tiny drops of ink onto the paper. As soon as you install the printer drivers on your PC, the software sends the data to the print driver. The driver further translates the data in information that the printer itself can understand

As soon as the printer is turned on and ready to print, the driver sends the 'translated' info to the printer through either USB or parallel. Due to the fact that the printer has buffer memory, it partially stores the data onto it. It then proceeds to printing. The page is slowly pulled in and the motor inside the printer helps move the print head across the page. Every now and again the motor stops for a fraction of a second while the print head sprays little dots of ink on paper.

When the print head has made a complete pass, the paper is pushed out a bit more and the printer goes on to the next 'row' of ink droplets to be sprayed. This goes on until the printer finishes the page. Depending on the printer model, it can print out 1 page per minute or 15 pages per minute. When the printer is done with the sheet of paper the page is pushed out.

The 'random' movement of the print head before the printer starts the job happens after the certain printer has been idle for a while. It goes through a clean cycle to ensure that the print heads are clean and ready to print. There's also a reason why inkjet printers are so affordable. The real money is produced by the manufacturer through consumables (generally ink). Since cartridges run empty after a while, the consumer will have to replace them with ink that they've purchased from the same manufacturer.

So as long as you stick to the same printer, you become a permanent customer to the said company. Inkjet printers are preferred to other printers because they have a cheap initial buying price and can do just about anything from printing text, images to printing high quality photographs on glossy paper.