Comparison Epson L121 vs Canon PIXMA iP8740

The largest paper size that the printer can handle. Most often, the formats are marked from A0 to A10; it is from here that the famous “A4” is taken, denoting a standard landscape sheet. Modern printers can use the following formats:

A2 — 420x594, the size of a newspaper spread. The largest format used in today's consumer-grade printers. In fact, this size is rarely required, and the printers themselves are expensive; therefore models under A2 are usually high-end professional devices.

A3 — 297x420 mm (2 times larger than the landscape sheet, magazine spread). It is mainly used in the business area for printing large letterheads, brochures, announcements, posters, etc.

A4 — 210x297 mm, standard landscape sheet. The most common paper size for home and office use — usually this size is sufficient for non-specialized printing.

A6 — 105x148 mm (a quarter of the landscape sheet). Printers of this format are usually designed primarily for printing photographs — the sheet size is approximately equal to the size of a standard print of 10x15 cm.

A8 — 52x74 mm, an extremely miniature format, which is 1/16 of the popular A4 (comparable to the size of a standard business card — only a little shorter). It is found mainly among portable printers (see "Type"), including models with specific p...rinting technologies (on special paper without the use of dyes).

Note that the media format specified in the specifications is rather conditional: many printer models do not have length restrictions — the main thing is that the media fit into the width, and in some devices the actual maximum size is somewhat different from the standard sizes of a certain format.

The color palette that the printer can print. A large number of colors is required for high-quality photo printing and obtaining color prints with many shades. The standard is 4 colors.

The maximum resolution of the image to be printed. It is usually indicated by two numbers denoting the number of dpi (DPI) horizontally and vertical: 600x600, 1200x600, 1200x1200, 2400x600, 2400x1200, 4800x600, 4800x1200, 4800x2400, 5760x1440, 9600x600, 9600x2400. The detail of the image depends on this parameter - the higher the resolution, the more fine details the printer is able to convey and the better their image will be. High print resolution is important, first of all, when working with graphic material; low resolution is sufficient for high-quality text display. So

The black and white print speed provided by the printer. It should be noted that this parameter is often indicated for low quality when the device is running at maximum performance; at a higher quality (even at standard), the actual speed can be noticeably lower, so you should choose with a certain margin. Also note that high speed significantly affects the price, power consumption and noise level. Therefore, it does not always make sense to chase maximum performance — for simple applications (for example, at home or in a small office), a relatively slow and inexpensive device may be the best choice.

As for specific values, speeds up to 20 ppm are considered relatively low, 20 – 30 ppm — average, 31 – 40 ppm — decent, and the fastest models are capable of delivering more than 40 pages per minute.

Colour print speed provided by the printer. Usually, the specifications give speed at low quality, when performance is highest; on standard and especially high settings, the print speed can be noticeably lower, so it’s worth choosing with a certain margin. It is also worth considering that high speed significantly affects the price, power consumption and noise level. Therefore, it does not always make sense to chase maximum performance — for simple applications and small print volumes, a relatively slow and inexpensive device may be the best choice.

The "slowest" colour printers today are capable of delivering less than 10 pages per minute. A more decent value is considered 10 – 20 ppm, a speed of more than 20 ppm can already be called quite good, and in the fastest models this figure exceeds 30 ppm.

Printer print speed in photographic (highest) quality. Unlike other similar parameters, in this case the speed is usually indicated for a 10x15 sheet (A6, the most popular format for photographs). In addition, photo printing speed is not expressed in pages per minute, but in seconds per page, because. printing takes a lot of time. This option is worth paying attention to if you plan to print photos frequently.

The maximum number of pages that the printer's ink (toner) can print. The value is rather conditional, in reality the deviations from the norm are very large (up or down). In inkjet printers, the cartridge life is relatively small and amounts to several hundred prints. In laser and LED devices, the bill is already in the thousands.

The maximum number of pages that the printer's ink (toner) can print. The value is rather conditional, in reality the deviations from the norm are very large (up or down). In inkjet printers, the cartridge life is relatively small and amounts to several hundred prints. In laser and LED devices, the bill is already in the thousands.

The printer has a built-in CISS — a continuous ink supply system.

The essence of such a system is that the ink for printing is not in the cartridge, but in external containers, from where it is supplied to the print head as needed. This provides a number of advantages over traditional cartridges. Firstly, CISS containers hold much more ink and need to be refilled less frequently. Secondly, refilling the CISS in terms of one print is much cheaper than "recharging" and even more so replacing the cartridge. Thirdly, dyes of different colours are refilled into such a system separately, and when ink of one colour is exhausted, it is enough to replenish only their stock (whereas some colour cartridges need to be changed completely, even if only one of the colours has run out).

Note that CISS can be installed separately; however, the factory setting is more reliable, such devices are less likely to fail. At the same time, this feature significantly increases the cost and complicates the design of the printer. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to models with built-in CISS first of all if you plan to print often and in large quantities.