Buyer's Guide: 11 Color Inkjet Printers
Meet The Color Inkjets: A Features Table
In this section, we introduce the 11 printers we chose for coverage in this guide, and include a handy features matrix to help you compare and contrast these units across a wide range of capabilities. We begin with a brief listing of these items, and follow it with the features matrix. After that, you'll find a brief section devoted to each of these 11 units that describes its capabilities in more detail, along with a photo of the printer and links to additional information. In the conclusion, we'll point out some particularly compelling items.
- Canon Pixma iP1800
- Canon Pixma iP4300
- Canon Pixma iP6310D
- Epson Picturemate Pal PM200
- Epson Stylus Photo R260
- Epson Stylus Photo R380
- HP Business Inkjet 1200
- HP Deskjet 4160
- HP Deskjet 9800
- Lexmark Z1300
- Lexmark Z1420
Inkjet Printer Features Table Part 1
Header Cell - Column 0 | Canon Pixma iP1800 | Canon Pixma iP4300 | Canon Pixma iP6310D | Epson Stylus Photo RX260 | Epson Stylus Photo R380 | Epson Picturemate Pal PM200 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B/W ppm | 20 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 1 |
Color ppm | 16 | 24 | 24 | 30 | 30 | 1 |
Color Scanning | NA | NA | 19200 | 1200 | NA | NA |
DPI Color | 4800x1200 | 9600x2400 | 4800x1200 | 9600 | 5760x1440 | 5760x1440 |
DPI Black | 600 | 600 | 1200 | 600 | 5760 | 5760x720 |
Max Paper Size | 8.5x14 | 8.5x14 | 8.5x14 | 8.5x14 | 8.5x14 | 4x6 |
Envelope Size | #10 | #10 | #10 | C6 | #10 | N/A |
Interfaces | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0, Direct Print Port | USB 2.0, Direct Print Port, Bluetooth | USB 2.0, Pictbridge Port | USB 2.0, Pictbridge Port | USB 2.0, Bluetooth |
Tray capacity | 150 | 150 | 100 | 120 | 120 | 20 |
Print 2-Sided | Y | Y | N | N | N | N |
Media Cards | N | N | Y | N | Y | N |
Ink Cartridges | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
Ink Colors | CMYb | CMYb | CMYb | CMYblclm | CMYblclm | CMYb |
Ink Drop Size (picoliters) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3 |
* Italics indicate an interface is an added-cost option (all HP printers also work with USB-attached external JetDirect devices).** Color abbreviations: C=Cyan, lc=Light Cyan, M=Magenta, lm=Light Magenta, Y=yellow, b = black
Inkjet Printer Features Table Part 2
Header Cell - Column 0 | HP Business Inkjet 1200 | HP Deskjet D4160 | HP Deskjet 9800 | Lexmark Z1300 | Lexmark Z1420 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
B/W ppm | 28 | 30 | 30 | 22 | 28 |
Color ppm | 24 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 14 |
Color Scanning | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
DPI Color | 4800x1200 | 4800x1200 | 4800x1200 | 4800x1200 | 4800x1200 |
DPI Black | 1200 | 1200 | 1200 | 1200 | 1200 |
Max Paper Size | 8.5x14 | 8.5x14 | 16x20 | 8.5x14 | 8.5x14 |
Envelope Size | #10 | #10 | #10 | #10 | #10 |
Interfaces * | USB 2.0, Parallel, 802.11b/g | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0, Parallel | USB 2.0, None | USB 2.0, 802.11b/g, Fast Ethernet, GbE |
Tray capacity | 400 | 100 | 150 | 100 | 100 |
Print 2-Sided | Y | N | N | N | N |
Media Cards | N | N | N | N | N |
Ink Cartridges | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Ink Colors ** | CMYb | CMYb | CMYb | CMYb | CMYb |
Ink Drop Size (picoliters) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Row 14 - Cell 0 | HP Business Inkjet 1200 | HP Deskjet D4160 | HP Deskjet 9800 | Lexmark Z1300 | Lexmark Z1420 |
B/W ppm | 28 | 30 | 30 | 22 | 28 |
Color ppm | 24 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 14 |
Color Scanning | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
DPI Color | 4800x1200 | 4800x1200 | 4800x1200 | 4800x1200 | 4800x1200 |
DPI Black | 1200 | 1200 | 1200 | 1200 | 1200 |
Max Paper Size | 8.5x14 | 8.5x14 | 16x20 | 8.5x14 | 8.5x14 |
Envelope Size | #10 | #10 | #10 | #10 | #10 |
Interfaces * | USB 2.0, Parallel, 802.11b/g | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0, Parallel | USB 2.0, None | USB 2.0, 802.11b/g, Fast Ethernet, GbE |
Tray capacity | 400 | 100 | 150 | 100 | 100 |
Print 2-Sided | Y | N | N | N | N |
Media Cards | N | N | N | N | N |
Ink Cartridges | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Ink Colors ** | CMYb | CMYb | CMYb | CMYb | CMYb |
Ink Drop Size (picoliters) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
* Italics indicate an interface is an added-cost option (all HP printers also work with USB-attached external JetDirect devices).** Color abbreviations: C=Cyan,M=Magenta, Y=yellow, b = black
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