Inkjet vs Deskjet: Difference and Comparison

Printers have become some of the most common electronic devices used in everyday life.

As documentation and paperwork are a crucial part of any job setting, printers and photocopying instruments are also required when working in an office environment.

Different technologies are used for printing, and accordingly, different types of printers are available in the market.

Key Takeaways

  1. Inkjet printers use liquid ink, ejecting tiny droplets onto the paper to create images or text.
  2. Deskjet is a specific brand of inkjet printer manufactured by Hewlett-Packard (HP).
  3. Both printers use similar technology, but “Deskjet” refers to HP’s affordable, home-use inkjet printers.

Inkjet vs Deskjet

Inkjet is a type of printer that sprays tiny droplets of ink onto paper to create an image, and it’s known for its high-quality color output. Deskjet is a brand of inkjet printers manufactured by HP, known for their affordability and versatility in both home and office environments.

Inkjet vs Deskjet

Inkjet is a type of printer that uses inkjet technology for printing. The technology was first developed in 1970 by Epson, Hewlett-Packard, and Canon.

Since then, the technology has been adopted by different companies for manufacturing printers. This category of printers uses printheads that eject small droplets of ink to the sheet surface.

Deskjet is the brand of printers that are manufactured and marketed by HP. These are a variant of the Inkjet category of printers and use the same technology as other Inkjet printers.

Hewlett-Packard further refined the Inkjet technology for application in Deskjet products, but the operation is based on the same principle.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison InkjetDeskjet
Definition A category of printers that operate on the Inkjet technology Deskjet is the brand of printers manufactured and marketed by HP
Developed in Inkjet technology was developed in 1970 by Epson, HP, and CanonHp developed the first Deskjet in 1988
Technology Inkjet technology uses printheads to eject small droplets on the surface of the sheetDeskjet uses a refined version of the thermal Inkjet process to increase the printing speed
Type of ink   Inkjet printers use thermal heat activated ink for printing Deskjet printers can only work with HP ink cartridges 
Drawbacks The ink used for Inkjet printers is expensive Deskjet printers are slower than Officejet and laser printers  

What is Inkjet?

Inkjet is a category of printers that work on Inkjet technology.

The concept for the technology was first developed in the late 1950s, which was then developed and produced by Epson, Hewlett-Packard, and Canon in the 1970s.

The technology works on thermal ink for printing on the surface of sheets. Thus a special type of ink must be used for printing with this type of printer.

The Inkjet technology uses printheads to eject small droplets of ink on the surface to be printed on. The printhead consists of small microscopic nozzles that eject the ink in the form of a stream directly onto the sheet surface.

High pressure is used to eject the stream of ink, thus, a pump is fitted on the nozzles to create the stream. As the ink is heat-activated, it is first heated before spraying.

The nozzles can be made of two types, Continuous nozzles and Drop on Demand nozzles. Both the nozzles eject ink at different times; thus, different ink quantities are ejected.

The Inkjet printers are relatively cheaper than Laser printers, and they also take up less space, as they do not have as many working parts as Laser printers and thus are more compact.

inkjet printers

What is Deskjet?

Deskjet is the brand of printers manufactured and marketed by HP. These printers use thermal ink to print on the same principle of Inkjet technology.

But the technology has been refined by Hp for use in their printers to increase the printing speed.

Inkjet technology was developed by Hp in 1970, along with Canon and Epson. The technology uses species thermal ink to print on the surface of sheets. 

Heated ink is sprayed in the form of a stream on the surface of the sheet. The stream is ejected through a set of microscopic nozzles under pressure from a small pump placed above the nozzle.

Thus droplets of ink are dispersed to create an image of the printing material on the sheet. The first Deskjet printer was introduced in 1988, and it had a print rate of only 2 pages per minute.

Later on, faster and more efficient printers were manufactured that could print more pages while keeping the amount of ink dispersed to a minimum to save on ink.

Deskjet printers require HP ink cartridges to operate and thus cannot work on other types of ink cartridges.

Thus although Deskjet printers are cheaper than Laser printers, the cartridges required are expensive, increasing the cost of maintenance.

deskjet scaled

Main Differences Between Inkjet and Deskjet

  1. Inkjet is a category of printers that operate on Inkjet technology, whereas Deskjet is a brand of printers manufactured and marketed by HP.
  2. Injet was developed in 1970 by HP, Epson and Canon. The first Deskjet was made by HP in 1988
  3. Inkjet uses printheads to eject small droplets of ink on the print surface. Deskjet uses a refined version of Inkjet to increase printing speed.
  4. Inkjet printers use thermal heat-activated ink for printing. Hp Deskjets can only work with HP ink cartridges.
  5. The only drawback with Inkjet printers is that the ink is expensive. Deskjet printers are slower than Officejet printers, and as they do not work using other cartridges, the maintenance cost is high.
Difference Between Inkjet and Deskjet
References
  1. https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/94feb/feb94a2.pdf

Last Updated : 18 June, 2023

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6 thoughts on “Inkjet vs Deskjet: Difference and Comparison”

  1. While the article provides a comprehensive overview of Inkjet and Deskjet printers, the detail about Deskjet printers being slower than Officejet printers and the high cost of maintenance is disappointing.

    Reply
  2. The comparison between the Inkjet and Deskjet printers was quite revealing. The drawbacks of both types of printers were also clearly laid out. It makes for a very good read.

    Reply
  3. The explanation of the concepts behind Inkjet and Deskjet technologies was explained exceptionally well. It’s also interesting to know that Deskjet printers can only work with HP ink cartridges.

    Reply
  4. Great article! Loved how the details about different types of printers were laid out so effectively. The part about how Deskjet printers use a refined version of the thermal Inkjet process was really informative.

    Reply
  5. It’s quite surprising to see how Inkjet printers are relatively cheaper than Laser printers and take up less space. The comparison table was very helpful in understanding the differences between Inkjet and Deskjet printers.

    Reply
  6. A well-researched piece of information. The historical aspect of the development of Inkjet and Deskjet technologies is very interesting. I’m impressed with the thoroughness!

    Reply

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