Inkjet printers function by spraying tiny dots of ink onto a page of paper. This process can produce black-and-white or color images, and in some cases, photo-quality images. However, inkjets can have trouble with sharp lines so text can vary from adequate to good depending on how fast the printer runs. Dedicated photo inkjets, on the other hand, are great for photos but generally not good for text.

A few printer manufactures make inkjet printers. The most common printer in the inkjet market is probably HP. Epson, Canon, Lexmark and Dell fall close behind. Xerox and Compaq also used to make inkjet printers, but dont any longer. Kodak is a new competitor in the inkjet market place, and they are expected to gain market share with their focus on "cheaper" cartridges than the other competitors.

Inkjet printer use is expected to grow significantly in the foreseeable future.