Archive for category Tutorials
Planning to invest in a Printer or an MFD?
There’s always a better piece around the corner when you plan on buying a device and also a better one was standing inside the previous store’s window.
Here’s a quick guide to help you know what’s the stuff you need to know, and the jargons and crap involved.
READ THIS, GET OUT, PICK THE ONE YOU SEE TO BE GOOD FOR YO. PAY FOR IT AND GET OUT, END OF STORY.
Do I need an MFD?
MFDs provide an ideal way of cutting down on your desktop clutter by combining a printer and scanner-copier, and fax in one box, while requiring just the footprint of the former as the scanner is usually built into the top of the printer.
Advantages
With only one power supply and case between them, there are also some money-saving opportunities to be had.
Is the print and scan quality as good as separate units?
MFD printers get pretty close to offering you the best of both worlds. The underlying printer is almost always based on the same mechanics and consumables as regular printer models in the manufacturer’s range.
The associated flatbed scanner is also generally of high quality although, in a straight shoot-out, it wouldn’t match the very best of the latest dedicated photo scanners.
Even so, the bit-depth and resolution, as well as the colour and contrast accuracy, tend to be more than capable for most scanning tasks.
Can I use an MFD without a PC?
Of course. A particularly awesome feature of MFDs is that you can use them for standalone mono or colour photocopying, even when the PC is not connected. With this in mind, most models come with on-board controls that range from simple mono or colour copy buttons to fully-fledged interfaces with colour screen menus.
These enable versatile control of magnification, cropping and a range of tasks from straightforward plain paper photocopying to making copies of photos on specialist glossy paper, at popular sizes from 6×4-inch to A4.
Both PictBridge ports and media card readers are also usually built in, for direct photo printing, from digital cameras or memory cards.
Inkjet or laser?
With the multi-tasking photocopier facilities in mind, it’s worth bearing in mind how much you (and everybody else in the home or office) will want to make use of the copying facilities.
For higher volumes of both mono and colour copying, ink costs can be quite high, so it’s worth considering that the cheaper ongoing toner costs of a colour laser MFD can soon offset the initially higher purchase price of this kind of printer.
If photo printing is high on your priority list, go for a Canon or Epson inkjet MFD.
Do I need a built-in fax?
Sending faxes is far less popular than it used to be, thanks to practically everybody being on email nowadays.
If you do need to send faxes, you can do this through your internet-connected PC in Windows, using the MFD’s scanner.
For more than occasional use, however, it’s best to get an MFD with built-in fax capability, so it’s always ready to send or receive faxes, even when the PC is switched off. Get the built-in fax one, as it’ll just matter a $8-$20 extra and will be worth in the longer-run.
If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to mail me or better, use the comments option.
How To Find The Best Digital Camera.
I figure it’s the same situation most of you are facing.
After spending sizeable amount of time at the store figuring out which is the best digital camera for us, we finally have enough money to buy for that eye-popping, 7 mega pixel, 10x digital zoom, potable, candy colored, up to 512MB expandable memory of super hi-speed SD memory card and not to mention very portable, (that will be the envy of almost everyone we know). We march to the mall armed with our life savings and lotsa pride in ourselves, when we pass by a new display - an eight mega pixel, up to 1G expandable memory, with built it mic and stereo surround, video playback capable, with 22 scenic modes kind-of-camera. And we sigh because the producer of this amazing gadget claims that this is the best digital camera yet out in the market. And so as we always want to have the best, armed with our life savings and a few credit cards, we buy the “best digital camera.” But then again, that doesn’t last too long, after two months or so, there’s another “best digital camera.”
And so it confuses us. What makes a digital camera, the best digital camera?
Well, there are certain factors to consider when looking for the “best digital camera” for us.
MEGAPIXELS
One of the most important features of digital camera to make it into the best digital camera category is its mega pixel property. The higher the mega pixels the better the actual photograph will come out. A mega pixel is equivalent to one million pixels. The resolution of your image is based upon the mega pixel property of your camera. This means that as you enlarge the picture, you would get more detail and less blurry colors.
LCD SIZE
The best digital camera will always have a large LCD to help you frame your subject without having to squint to the viewfinder. This is also helpful when reviewing your images, some cameras enable touch up and editing features with its LCD. A 1.5-inch display is average, a 2-inch LCD display is good, but the best LCD size would be 2.5 inches or higher.
ZOOM
Most digital cameras have both digital and optical zoom. A higher optical zoom is always better than a higher digital zoom. Digital cameras are usually furnished with optical of between 3x to 10x. The better the optical zoom, the higher it climbs up to the best digital camera category.
MEMORY CARD
Always make sure that your memory card is the right one for your digital camera. There are different types of memory card like the xD, SD, Flash card and the likes. And these types of memory cards go with certain types of digital cameras. of course memory storage is also up there in choosing the best digital cameras. Choose the size of memory that you need, if you’re a photo junkie, you might need more than 32MB. Memory cards can go up to 1G.
The key point to find the best digital camera is to find one that will best fit you and your lifestyle. Don’t just buy the latest or the one that claims they are the best digital cameras out in the market. You wouldn’t want to buy a DSLR and use it with your home activities or family outing and have to lug it around?! Or you don’t want to buy the latest point and shoot camera when you’re serious about being a professional photographer. (Of course, you can use this for starters, but if you’re not a novice photographer anymore, you wouldn’t want to get this kind of camera.)
Actually, the best digital camera is the one that you will enjoy and use. Not the type that you’ll just leave rotting in its box or after a few weeks of usage or so, up there in the attic.
Photography is an art and a wonderful hobby to enjoy. If you love photography and have any questions about it, then please do respond in the comment box. We love to hear from you.
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