From various sizing and margin options to autorotation and resizing, it can be a challenge to identify which print settings you should be using to produce the best prints possible. Let’s go over some of the features on the printer preferences screen, and what they do for your prints.
Print quality: The print quality setting will just as the name says, impact the overall quality of the print. The “Best” setting will produce the printer’s best print quality at the slowest printing speed. “Fast” will print a draft quality quick print.
DPI: If your printer has the option to select “Maximum DPI,” use this to get the highest resolution print.
- 300 dpi does the trick
- 600 dpi looks great with graphics
- 1200 dpi is ready to be sent to the company executives
- 1440+ dpi is the professional-level photographic print quality
Paper type: If you’re using photo paper in an effort to achieve the best quality photo prints possible, you’ll want to make sure your printer knows. Your printer will automatically default to regular paper, so if you’re using photo paper, resume paper, or labels, select the appropriate paper setting to get the optimal print.
Auto duplex: On a mission to save trees? Activate the autorotate setting to command your device to print the document on both sides to minimize paper use.
Colour: It’s not all black and white. If you want high-quality black-and-white prints, you may want to opt for grayscale instead. Grayscale uses a variety of mixed colours to produce high-quality black-and-white prints.
Colour management: Printing an original design from Adobe Photoshop or InDesign? The colour management setting allows the application you’re printing from to control the printing colour options you’re using. This allows your printer to interpret colours derived from these apps so they come out as true to design as possible.
What is the difference between page size and paper size?
Choosing the right paper is just as important as choosing the right ink. There are lots of different kinds of paper to choose from. It all depends on what you’re printing. There are three main types of photo paper for high-quality prints: matte paper, glossy paper, and lustre paper.
Matte paper has a silky, smooth finish. The colour isn’t very shiny and has more of a flat finish. It’s very durable, which makes it good for printing brochures or handouts. You can also use it to matte a photograph that you’re framing.
Glossy paper is the opposite of matte paper. The colours are very bright and sharp, even shiny. This is one of the best papers for printing high-quality photographs.
Luster paper is the middle ground between matte and glossy paper. The colour is more vibrant than matte paper, but it’s not quite as shiny as glossy paper.
Try printing on all three types of paper to see which one you like the best.
How to Update Printer Settings for the Highest Quality Printing
There are two ways you can find your printer’s settings. The first is to begin the print process as usual. But when the printer dialogue box comes up, and before you click “Print,” take a moment to change your printer’s preferences.
The second way is to consult the system preferences from your Windows 10 start menu. The first option will change your settings for a single print, and the second will change your printer’s default settings.
You can also toggle through settings on your printer itself, which allows you to enter eco-friendly mode (lower quality print setting) to save ink or restore defaults.
Update printer settings for a single print
If you want to update your printer settings just for the document you’re currently printing, follow these steps as you print as usual. Keep in mind, this method does not change your printer’s default settings, meaning the next thing you print will use the original default settings. This method works for both Windows and Mac users.
Update default printer settings for all prints
The second way you can adjust your printer’s settings for high-quality printing is to go to your system preferences and make the changes from there. When you do this, you are changing the printer’s default settings, so every print following the change will be produced using these new settings. If you want to revert the printer settings, follow this process again or click the “restore defaults” button.
If you are looking to purchase a copier for your business, you may contact Clear Choice Technical Services. You can ask about Copier Leasing Services, Copier rental services, IT Services, and even Copier Repair services.