| Color
Printers
Printer Resolution
Resolution refers to the number of dots that can be placed in a
square inch. However, dots per inch (dpi) is not always such a straightforward
predictor of quality among color printers. Depending on the process
used to create different colors, a printer's resolution should be
interpreted differently.
All color printers
create different colors by mixing cyan, magenta, and yellow in various
combinations. One way to mix colors is called dithering. In this
process, dots of cyan, magenta and yellow are placed close together
to create the effect of a given color. Because the eye does not
see each individual dot, it is fooled into seeing the desired color.
In contrast, continuous tone printing lays dots with varying amounts
of cyan, magenta, and yellow on top of one another to form a dot
of the appropriate color. Since continuous tone printing does not
require multiple dots to give the visual impression of a single
color, it can create very good looking output at much lower resolutions.
In fact, most continuous tone printers print at just 300 dpi.
Dithered images
need much smaller individual dots to create the same quality image.
To compete with continuous tone printers, dithering printers typically
offer resolutions of 600 dpi or even 1200 by 600 dpi.
|