An entire training course could be written covering all aspects of printers and printing. Perhaps we'll create such a course in the future. Until then, though, here are a few things to keep in mind about your printer and the process of printing.

Paper and Ink
Ink jet printers are designed to produce the best results when the printer manufacturer's paper and ink are used. That's not to say that competitive or alternative supplies (made for your brand of printer) will not provide acceptable results. It is to say, however, that the very best results will be produced when the supplies come from the company that manufactured the printer.

Maintain your Printer
The software that came with your printer include some important maintenance utilities. The two most important are the 'Head Cleaning' and 'Head Alignment' utilities. Refer to the printer's instruction manual to learn how to execute these functions, and run them whenever there is the slightest hint of 'striping' or 'banding' in your printed pictures or if the printer has not been used for some time.

Color Management
Newer printers come with drivers (software) that have the ability to provide color management. Problems can arise when both your photo-editor's software and the printer software are both managing color. We make no assertion concerning which is better. We do suggest, however, that you learn how to turn color management on and off in both programs, and then experiment to see which delivers the best results. Instruction manuals and Help systems will tell you how to do this. Don't forget, though, monitor calibration is the first step in resolving color management issues.

Print Longevity
Pictures printed with an ink jet printer will maintain their color and brilliance for quite some time. Some brands claim 100 years or more. Pictures stored in a closed photo album will last much longer than those hung on a wall hit by strong sunlight. Newer printer models that use dye-based inks rather than pigment-based inks claim to produce better, longer lasing prints. If you're concerned about your pictures lasting more than a century, you should consider pursuing a more detailed course of instruction on digital photography than this one.