Printer resolutions! Useful or Marketing Numbers?

[TRUMPHENT]

I am shopping for a laser printer and keep seeing these out of square printer resolutions. Are there programs that can print at these resolutions such as 2400x600? That is, without ruining the aspect ratios? Hmm!😛

 

[shortylickens]

Am not sure. I know my HP LJ 1000 is 600x600 and I can do much smaller text than my friends ink Lexmark at 2400x4800.
I also think photos look much better (sharper) on my laser. But of course they are in B&W.

I always advise folks in the market for a printer to ask the Office Max or Staples employee for a demonstration print using photo paper. They are usually pretty nice about this.

 

[gsaldivar]

A printer with a 600x600 imager, can achieve 600x1200 by slowing its print speed by half. A flatbed scanner with a 600x600 imager can also achieve 600x1200 by slowing its scan speed by half.

Aspect ratios aren't altered, the device simply outputs twice as much data along one axis. Pixels within the image area don't need to be square for an image to keep its aspect ratio.

So, answering your question: yes, "non-square" resolutions are a marketing gimmick. Increasing resolution along a single axis is only a marginal improvement over native resolution, and at a cost of 50% of the device's native speed.

When shopping for a printer and/or scanner, it's a good idea to simply ignore the higher of the two numbers given for resolution. So just remember that a 1200x2400 device is actually 1200x1200 running at it's normal speed. 🙂

 

[TRUMPHENT]

Thank you! I knew it applied to scanners and suspected the same for printers.