A photo printer is a printer (usually an inkjet printer) that is specifically designed to print high quality digital photos on photo paper. These printers usually have a very high number of nozzles and are capable of printing droplets as small as 1picoliter.
History
Photo printers have increased in popularity in recent years along with the increased use of digital cameras. Before this, photo printers were typically priced much higher than standard inkjet printers and were mostly used by professionals. Epson began to market photo printers to consumers with their Stylus Photo line. Soon after that, Canon began offering inexpensive photo printers and eventually all other major printer manufacturers followed.
Recently, the major printer manufacturers began releasing compact photo printers. These models print 4"x6" photos and do not require a computer. There are also larger format photo printers that are used to print on 8"x11", 10"x14" or larger photo paper. Mainly these larger format printers are manufactured by Canon, Epson or HP.
Differences between photo and standard inkjet printers
What typically sets photo printers apart from standard inkjet printers is their use of additional cartridges, either speciality photo inks or just variations on the standard color cartridges. In order to produce more vivid and realistic pictures, photo printers use colors like photo cyan, light magenta, yellow, and light black. The increased range of colors produces better results, while the increased use of black or gray colors enhances black and white prints.
Photo printers may also have digital media readers (memory cards) to print pictures without a computer. Some can print directly from a camera that supports the PictBridge protocol. Most standard inkjet printers lack these features.
Epson, Canon and HP printers all have different types of photo printer ink that have will last over 100 years.
Confusion over definition
Many inkjet printers currently sold to home users are marketed as "photo printers" because there are no official specifications designating what is and isn't a photo printer. Not all these models print photos as well as dedicated photo printers can, so some see this as a marketing ploy to increase the appeal of the product to the consumer.
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