300 dpi uses less toner than 600 dpi?

[Franklin]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Hi guys

Does printing text at 300 dpi on my desktop laser printer use more
toner than printing text at 600 dpi?

If so then is the difference very small (like 5%) or is it quite
significant (like 40%).

What about if I print pictures and graphics instead of text: does
that make a difference to toner consumption?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

It probably make very little difference, if any.

The 600 dpi setting simply uses smaller dots which are of double the
addressable resolution in each dimension from the 300 dpi ones. At 600
dpi, your printer uses 4 dots for every one 300 dpi dot and you achieve
higher res, and therefore smoother curves, and more apparent gray scale
levels.

Art

Franklin wrote:

> Hi guys
>
> Does printing text at 300 dpi on my desktop laser printer use more
> toner than printing text at 600 dpi?
>
> If so then is the difference very small (like 5%) or is it quite
> significant (like 40%).
>
> What about if I print pictures and graphics instead of text: does
> that make a difference to toner consumption?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

In message <9572DCB427B1171F3M4@130.133.1.4>, Franklin
<no_thanks@mail.com> writes

>What about if I print pictures and graphics instead of text: does
>that make a difference to toner consumption?

And this bit depends on the graphic or picture.

If you print a graph with thin lines that is mostly white space you will
use virtually no toner.

On the other hand, if you print a picture of a black cat in a coal
cellar, you'll use vastly more toner that you would printing text.

It's obvious really. Toner used is proportional to area covered.


J/.
--
John Beardmore

 

[Franklin]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers,comp.graphics.misc (More info?)

Franklin wrote:
>
> Does printing text at 300 dpi on my desktop laser printer use more
> toner than printing text at 600 dpi?
>
> If so then is the difference very small (like 5%) or is it quite
> significant (like 40%).
>
> What about if I print pictures and graphics instead of text: does
> that make a difference to toner consumption?



On 29 Sep 2004, John Beardmore <wookie@wookie.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
> And this bit depends on the graphic or picture.
>
> If you print a graph with thin lines that is mostly white space
> you will use virtually no toner.
>
> On the other hand, if you print a picture of a black cat in a
> coal cellar, you'll use vastly more toner that you would
> printing text.
>
> It's obvious really. Toner used is proportional to area
> covered.


John, I think I didn't ask my question clearly enough.

What I meant was ... is there a significant difference between toner
consumption on my Samsung desktop laser printer at 300 dpi compared
to 600 dpi for:

(a) text

(b) graphics

Hope that makes it clearer!










[groups widened to comp.graphics.misc]

 

[Franklin]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Art, thank you for your reply.

To me, the strange thing is that my laser printer prints *black* text
more heavily (I mean the characters seem darker) at 300 dpi than it
does at 600 dpi! It is quite noticeable.

This difference in darkness between 300 dpi and 600 dpi is a bit less
noticeable when the Samsung is set to "toner saving".

All other settings in the printer driver are kept the same.

(1) Is this sort of result normal on all laser printers?

(2) Or is it just a quirk of how the Samsung has chosen to
interpolate the gaps between the dots? (Or something like that.)

(3) Is it to do with choice of fonts and how the printer interprets
the fonts? I used Courier 11pt on WinXP.

Thanks to anyone for any advice.
Franklin


PS: my printer is a 600x600 Samsung ML-1510 http://snipurl.com/9hrs




On 29 Sep 2004, Arthur Entlich <artistic@telus.net> wrote:
>
> It probably make very little difference, if any.
>
> The 600 dpi setting simply uses smaller dots which are of double
> the addressable resolution in each dimension from the 300 dpi
> ones. At 600 dpi, your printer uses 4 dots for every one 300
> dpi dot and you achieve higher res, and therefore smoother
> curves, and more apparent gray scale levels.


> Franklin wrote:
>>
>> Does printing text at 300 dpi on my desktop laser printer use
>> more toner than printing text at 600 dpi?
>>
>> If so then is the difference very small (like 5%) or is it
>> quite significant (like 40%).
>>
>> What about if I print pictures and graphics instead of text:
>> does that make a difference to toner consumption?




[groups widened to include microsoft.public.win2000.printingfonts]

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

I cannot speak directly to the Samsung printer and how they have
accomplished their resolution modes, However, in a general sense, what
you are likely seeing is the problem with dot size with lower resolution.

As I mentioned in my earlier posting, at 300 dpi, the dot is
considerably larger. In order to form a letter with larger dots, it
needs to be designed heavier in total to give it proper proportions and
smoother curves. That would make the letters, especially in fonts which
have a lot of curved surfaces tend to be heavier in 300 dpi mode.

Some printers when printing in 300 dpi (and even in 600 dpi) use special
patented methods to make larger and smaller dots to fill in edges (I
believe HP developed this system), which allowed for finer text.

In terms of some fonts, it is probably true, therefore, that more toner
is used with 300 dpi than 600 dpi. Certainly, a darker (more likely a
thicker) lined appearance on the paper means more toner has been used.

The difference in graphics, other than if the graphic is made up of very
many thin lines, like a line drawing, probably would have little
difference in toner use. But, if the graphic shows heavier lines or
elements overall in the 300 dpi mode, then you might save toner in the
600 dpi mode.

Art

Franklin wrote:

> Art, thank you for your reply.
>
> To me, the strange thing is that my laser printer prints *black* text
> more heavily (I mean the characters seem darker) at 300 dpi than it
> does at 600 dpi! It is quite noticeable.
>
> This difference in darkness between 300 dpi and 600 dpi is a bit less
> noticeable when the Samsung is set to "toner saving".
>
> All other settings in the printer driver are kept the same.
>
> (1) Is this sort of result normal on all laser printers?
>
> (2) Or is it just a quirk of how the Samsung has chosen to
> interpolate the gaps between the dots? (Or something like that.)
>
> (3) Is it to do with choice of fonts and how the printer interprets
> the fonts? I used Courier 11pt on WinXP.
>
> Thanks to anyone for any advice.
> Franklin
>
>
> PS: my printer is a 600x600 Samsung ML-1510 http://snipurl.com/9hrs
>
>
>

 

[Franklin]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Art, sorry for a late reply but I have been away. Thank you once
again for some useful information.

Can I ask you something else.

If I have a 600 dpi printer then why would I want to print in 300 dpi
mode in general? I can little reason for it.

Is it perhaps because some printers take a lot longer time to
calculate all 600 dots than calculating 300 dots?

Or is a 300 dpi setting useful (in some sort of non-obvious way)
for older applications which somehow need a printer than offers no
more than 300 dpi?



On 04 Oct 2004, Arthur Entlich wrote:

> I cannot speak directly to the Samsung printer and how they have
> accomplished their resolution modes, However, in a general
> sense, what you are likely seeing is the problem with dot size
> with lower resolution.
>
> As I mentioned in my earlier posting, at 300 dpi, the dot is
> considerably larger. In order to form a letter with larger
> dots, it needs to be designed heavier in total to give it proper
> proportions and smoother curves. That would make the letters,
> especially in fonts which have a lot of curved surfaces tend to
> be heavier in 300 dpi mode.
>
> Some printers when printing in 300 dpi (and even in 600 dpi) use
> special patented methods to make larger and smaller dots to fill
> in edges (I believe HP developed this system), which allowed for
> finer text.
>
> In terms of some fonts, it is probably true, therefore, that
> more toner is used with 300 dpi than 600 dpi. Certainly, a
> darker (more likely a thicker) lined appearance on the paper
> means more toner has been used.
>
> The difference in graphics, other than if the graphic is made up
> of very many thin lines, like a line drawing, probably would
> have little difference in toner use. But, if the graphic shows
> heavier lines or elements overall in the 300 dpi mode, then you
> might save toner in the 600 dpi mode.
>
> Art
>
> Franklin wrote:
>
>> Art, thank you for your reply.
>>
>> To me, the strange thing is that my laser printer prints
>> *black* text more heavily (I mean the characters seem darker)
>> at 300 dpi than it does at 600 dpi! It is quite noticeable.
>>
>> This difference in darkness between 300 dpi and 600 dpi is a
>> bit less noticeable when the Samsung is set to "toner saving".
>>
>> All other settings in the printer driver are kept the same.
>>
>> (1) Is this sort of result normal on all laser printers?
>>
>> (2) Or is it just a quirk of how the Samsung has chosen to
>> interpolate the gaps between the dots? (Or something like
>> that.)
>>
>> (3) Is it to do with choice of fonts and how the printer
>> interprets the fonts? I used Courier 11pt on WinXP.
>>
>> Thanks to anyone for any advice.
>> Franklin
>>
>>
>> PS: my printer is a 600x600 Samsung ML-1510
>> http://snipurl.com/9hrs

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

Hi Franklin,

Today's higher res printers usually use a faster processor, so the time
you wait is minimal.

Some programs may only print with 300 dpi, depending upon how the
drivers are designed.

The main difference is memory. A 600 dpi print uses up 4 times the
memory for the same paper area as a 300 dpi print does. Since each
dot position needs to be rasterized and addressed, doubling the density
of the dots in both dimensions requires four time the memory. If the
printer has limited memory and, for instance, you are printing a legal
or longer sized paper, you might be forced to use a lower resolution.

Memory, in general, even for laser printers, has come down so low (much
is standardized to accept PC memory and memory cards) that it's false
economy for a printer company not to stock it well, but some still don't.

If you prefer heavier, lower res lines, I suppose that might also be an
advantage. But for gray-scaled images, the higher the resolution the
more natural photos type images you will get from the printer.

Art


Franklin wrote:

> Art, sorry for a late reply but I have been away. Thank you once
> again for some useful information.
>
> Can I ask you something else.
>
> If I have a 600 dpi printer then why would I want to print in 300 dpi
> mode in general? I can little reason for it.
>
> Is it perhaps because some printers take a lot longer time to
> calculate all 600 dots than calculating 300 dots?
>
> Or is a 300 dpi setting useful (in some sort of non-obvious way)
> for older applications which somehow need a printer than offers no
> more than 300 dpi?
>
>
>
> On 04 Oct 2004, Arthur Entlich wrote:
>
>
>>I cannot speak directly to the Samsung printer and how they have
>>accomplished their resolution modes, However, in a general
>>sense, what you are likely seeing is the problem with dot size
>>with lower resolution.
>>
>>As I mentioned in my earlier posting, at 300 dpi, the dot is
>>considerably larger. In order to form a letter with larger
>>dots, it needs to be designed heavier in total to give it proper
>>proportions and smoother curves. That would make the letters,
>>especially in fonts which have a lot of curved surfaces tend to
>>be heavier in 300 dpi mode.
>>
>>Some printers when printing in 300 dpi (and even in 600 dpi) use
>>special patented methods to make larger and smaller dots to fill
>>in edges (I believe HP developed this system), which allowed for
>>finer text.
>>
>>In terms of some fonts, it is probably true, therefore, that
>>more toner is used with 300 dpi than 600 dpi. Certainly, a
>>darker (more likely a thicker) lined appearance on the paper
>>means more toner has been used.
>>
>>The difference in graphics, other than if the graphic is made up
>>of very many thin lines, like a line drawing, probably would
>>have little difference in toner use. But, if the graphic shows
>>heavier lines or elements overall in the 300 dpi mode, then you
>>might save toner in the 600 dpi mode.
>>
>>Art
>>
>>Franklin wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Art, thank you for your reply.
>>>
>>>To me, the strange thing is that my laser printer prints
>>>*black* text more heavily (I mean the characters seem darker)
>>>at 300 dpi than it does at 600 dpi! It is quite noticeable.
>>>
>>>This difference in darkness between 300 dpi and 600 dpi is a
>>>bit less noticeable when the Samsung is set to "toner saving".
>>>
>>>All other settings in the printer driver are kept the same.
>>>
>>>(1) Is this sort of result normal on all laser printers?
>>>
>>>(2) Or is it just a quirk of how the Samsung has chosen to
>>>interpolate the gaps between the dots? (Or something like
>>>that.)
>>>
>>>(3) Is it to do with choice of fonts and how the printer
>>>interprets the fonts? I used Courier 11pt on WinXP.
>>>
>>>Thanks to anyone for any advice.
>>>Franklin
>>>
>>>
>>>PS: my printer is a 600x600 Samsung ML-1510
>>>http://snipurl.com/9hrs

 

[Alan]

Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)

> Franklin wrote:
>
> > Hi guys
> >
> > Does printing text at 300 dpi on my desktop laser printer use more
> > toner than printing text at 600 dpi?
> >
> > If so then is the difference very small (like 5%) or is it quite
> > significant (like 40%).
> >
> > What about if I print pictures and graphics instead of text: does
> > that make a difference to toner consumption?

If you want to save toner, many lasers (HPs anyway) have an
"Economode" setting, look at the printer settings in the Control Panel
-- some older ones have this as a dial inside the printer; this
changes the density of the toner used.

 

[mrmoshe]

Hi Franklin,

printing in 300 dpi will use less toner, i would say about 10%-15%.
But You will sacrifice quality. With regards to economode, HP is not making any commitment to save toner when using Economode. They claim it may save toner, but nothing more than that. You can read more at http://www.preton.com/ink-save-options.asp
If you want to save use a software like pretonsaver, it can save you 50% of toner consumption. You can try it for free.

Tom

 

[j_caraball]

600 x 600 dpi will use double the ink that it uses at 300 x 300. The dots remain the same - they are simply placed closer together.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

600 x 600 dpi will use double the ink that it uses at 300 x 300. The dots remain the same - they are simply placed closer together.

If that statement were true 600dpi would look twice as dark as 300dpi because of more coverage, which just isnt the case. Talking inkjet printers, most now have variable dot size. Laser printers have a minimum dot size due to the partacle size of the toner, and the resolution of the laser/led print head. When they print below their minimum dot size (300dpi for example) the print engine speeds up and dots are less accurate in the paper feed direction and light exposure on the drum is too fast to make the smaller dots so the dots appear bigger, and more toner is attracted per-dot. Its hard to explain in words, but yes, higher resolution might use slightly more toner in some cases, but it is certainly not double, its maybe 5-10% more due to more even coverage and detail. Like i said, if double resolution used double the toner, the images would appear double the darkness, which is not the case.