Choosing An Onboard Printer

By Daniel Piltch, Marine Computer Systems

Two types of printer technology dominate the personal use market. The cheaper and more compact technology is based on inkjet printing, while the more expensive one is called laser printing. Each has its benefits.

Inkjet technology works by spraying ink out through tiny nozzles right onto the paper. Each nozzle is responsible for spraying one dot of ink in a particular position. The print head, consisting of up to 128 nozzles moves horizontally across the page as the paper is fed through the printer. The resolution of the printer is measured in dots per inch (dpi), with higher quality printers yielding more dots per inch.

Ink is typically fed to the printer by inserting small cartridges filled with ink, not unlike a miniature version of an old fashioned stamp pad. By adding the capability to deal with multiple cartridges containing different colored inks, many manufacturers were able to start offering relatively inexpensive color inkjet printers.

Because many of these inkjet printers are targeted at the low end of the market, with prices as low as $150, they're often made with less powerful print processors and a smaller amount of memory in the printer. For the average mariner printing weather fax charts, NAVTEX bulletins, and email this isn't a problem. If you want to use the same printer to output full-page graphics and photographs, you may find it isn't well equipped to do so.

Laser printers work on a different principle which is similar to a photocopying machine. It involves using a high voltage corotron to ionize a rotating drum which is then exposed to a laser to etch away the charge in the spots that are meant to attract ink. The areas of the drum that were etched by the laser then attract particles of black toner, forming the image of the page on the surface of the drum itself. A sheet of paper is then charged by another corotron and passed in close proximity to the drum. This transfers the image of the page from the drum to the paper. The paper is then de-charged by yet another corotron, and the image is fused or sealed onto the paper by the application of heat at around 400 degrees which melts the toner onto the surface of the paper.

Because there isn't much tolerance for components in a laser printer to be misaligned, a typical toner cartridge replacement actually contains new toner as well as certain replacement parts (such as a new corotron or developer roller). This raises the cost for consumables for a laser printer. It may cost as little as $5 or less to replenish the ink cartridge in an inkjet printer, but up to $50 to replace a toner cartridge for a laser printer. Keep in mind that a toner cartridge should be able to produce more pages than an inkjet cartridge before it needs to be replaced. On a boat with little storage space, keep in mind that you can store about 50 inkjet cartridges at around 2"x2"x2" each, in the same space as one toner cartridges at 12"x6"x6".

The biggest disadvantage of inkjet printers on a boat is their tendency to produce pages that smudge when they get wet. Laser printers don't have this problem.

Laser printers on the other hand, require more space and consume more power. My compact ink jet printer consumes about 55 watts through its AC adapter and can even be operated using an optional battery pack that attaches to the back of the printer. The HP LaserJet 1100se consumes 170 watts and runs only on AC electricity.

The corotrons in laser printers produce ozone which can build up in an unventilated area. If you do a lot of printing, make sure to vent the cabin properly. Ozone has a distinctive smell; one that reminds me of . . . well, laser printers. In small amounts it's harmless, but be wary.

Where space and cost are the primary concern, an inkjet printer is probably the best bet. Canon makes a compact portable color printer called a BLJ-50 that replaced the older BJC-80. The BJC-50 outputs 5.5 pages per minute at a resolution of 720 dpi in one dimension and 360 dpi in the other dimension. These printers measure about 12" wide, 6" deep, and 2" high - smaller than either the Ashley Book of Knots or Bowditch. At a cost of under $400 this is a good choice for a compact printer.

If you can afford to give a little more space to your printer, you can now get a small laser jet printer for around $400 as well. Hewlett-Packard makes the 1100se personal laser jet printer, printing 8 pages per minute with 600 dpi, in a space of about 14.5" wide, 13" deep, and 15" high. If you have the space for it, this would be a great addition to your onboard computerized navigation station.

See Also:

Choosing an Onboard Computer

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