#lang pollen

◊(define-meta title "printers and paper")
◊(section-from-metas metas)


As I mentioned in the introduction, it really doesn’t matter what word-processing program you use—all of them are capable of producing good typography.

But your printer and paper can make a big difference in the final result. As your eye for typography gets better, you’ll start to notice that not all printers are alike.

◊(omission)

◊subhead{inkjet printer or laser printer?}

Laser. Inkjet printers used to be the cheaper and lower-quality alternative to laser printers. Inkjets are a lot better than they were 20 years ago, but they still can’t equal the crisp edges of laser printing.

◊(omission)

◊subhead{color or monochrome?}

If I could have only one laser printer, it would be a color laser printer. But I have two—one color, one monochrome—so I know that the monochrome performance of a color laser printer is not as good as a dedicated monochrome printer in the same price range. This makes sense—a color laser printer is really four laser printers sharing a single paper path.

◊(omission)

◊subhead{duplex or simplex?}

A ◊em{duplex} printer can print on both sides of a sheet of paper; a ◊em{simplex} printer only prints on one side.

If you care at all about the environmental impact that lawyering has on the world, get a duplex printer. A duplexing unit is often available as an accessory for simplex printers. You don’t have to print fewer pages. You’ll just be printing them on half the number of sheets of paper. What’s not to like?