Number of colors
The color palette that a printer or MFP can print.
A large number of colors is required for high-quality photo printing and obtaining color prints with many shades. As a standard, for a color MFP,
4 colors are provided.
B/W printing
The number of pages the printer can produce per minute in black and white mode. Typically indicated for low print quality, higher print quality takes longer. This setting is important if you need to frequently print text documents.
Colour printing
The number of pages the printer can proceed per minute in colour mode. As like b/w printing, the print speed is usually indicated in the worst quality (at maximum speed), in higher quality the print speed is lower. This setting is worth paying attention to if you need to print colour graphic materials frequently.
Photo printing
Printer's print rate in photographic (highest) quality. Unlike other similar parameters, in this case the speed is usually indicated for a 10x15 sheet (A6 as the most popular format for photos). In addition, photo printing speed is not expressed in pages per minute, but in seconds per page, because such printing takes a lot of time. This option is worth paying attention to if you plan to
print photos frequently.
Black Ink Page Yield
Approximate number of pages that the MFP can print in black and white mode without replacing the cartridge. In fact, this greatly depends on the specs of the images to print, so the actual resource may greatly differ from the claimed one in one way or another. Nevertheless, according to this indicator, it is quite possible to evaluate the capabilities of the MFP and compare it with other models.
Colour Ink Page Yield
Approximate number of pages that the MFP can print in colour mode without replacing the cartridge. In fact, this greatly depends on the specs of the images to print, so the actual resource may greatly differ from the claimed one in one way or another. Nevertheless, according to this indicator, it is quite possible to evaluate the capabilities of the MFP and compare it with other models.
Number of cartridges
The amount of cartridges required for the full operation of the MFP. In black and white devices, usually, one cartridge is installed. For colour printing, at least 4 colours are required (CMYK colour scheme), however, cartridges in such devices can be installed as
4(one for each colour), or only
2 — black and colour. The last one is essentially three multi-coloured cartridges in one case; This design somewhat reduces the cost, but creates certain inconveniences: when the ink of one colour is empty, the entire colour cartridge becomes inoperative. However, this disadvantage is not critical if the possibility of refueling is provided.
There are printers designed for more than 4 cartridges. This design means that this model uses one of the extended colour schemes; this, on the one hand, contributes to high-quality colour reproduction, on the other hand, it significantly affects the price.
Cartridge model
Types of cartridges (both black&white and colour) used in the MFP. Some models of the MFP are able to work with third-party cartridges, but this feature usually refers to undocumented, and the manufacturer's warranty applies only to specific types of cartridges. So, use third-party compatible cartridge models with caution.
Display
The type of display provided in the design of the MFP. This parameter is indicated by two points — colour (monochrome or
colour display), as well as the availability of a
touch screen(if only spec 'coloured' is indicated, then the display is non-touch).
Chroma determines the features of the image on the display. Monochrome (black and white) displays allow you to show a lot of different information, and are inexpensive. On the other hand, such a display is poorly suited for viewing drawings and photos sent for printing, the results of scanning pictures, etc. — for such purposes it is better to use more expensive, but more functional colour displays.
As for touch displays, they provide additional convenience in management and expand its capabilities. Various controls can be displayed on such a display — sliders, lists, text menus, etc.; operating them with touches on the display is easier than using traditional control panels with hardware buttons. On the other hand, the presence of a sensor affects the cost of the display, and it makes sense to use this feature mainly in advanced MFPs with an abundance of additional functions.
