inkjet

inkjet — adjective

  • inkjetpositive
  • inkjettercomparative
  • inkjettestsuperlative

1. Describes a type of printer that creates text or pictures by spraying tiny drops

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Describes a type of printer that creates text or pictures by spraying tiny drops of ink onto the page through a print head with many small holes.

Example

The office bought a new inkjet printer for printing color documents.

collocation: inkjet printer

Yuki prefers inkjet printing for making high-quality photos at home.

collocation: inkjet printing

Common collocations
  • inkjet printer
  • inkjet printing
  • inkjet cartridge
  • inkjet technology
  • inkjet paper
  • inkjet photo
Antonyms
  • laser

    laser printers use toner powder instead of liquid ink; the main alternative to inkjet for home and office printing

Grammar Patterns

inkjet + noun (printer / printing / cartridge / technology)

Usage Note

Only used as an attributive adjective — always placed before a noun such as printer, printing, cartridge, or technology. It is not typically used after a linking verb (✗ 'this printer is inkjet').

Common Mistakes

I use an inkjet to print photos.
I use an inkjet printer to print photos.
inkjet is an adjective and needs a noun like printer or machine after it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Inkjet, laser, and thermal all describe printer technologies but work differently. Inkjet printers spray liquid ink through tiny nozzles, making them great for color photos and detailed images on various paper types. Laser printers use toner powder and heat to fuse text onto paper, giving sharper text and faster speeds for black-and-white office documents. Thermal printers use heat on special heat-sensitive paper, common for receipts and labels. Choose inkjet for rich color printing at home, laser for high-volume text documents, and thermal for portable receipt or label printing.

inkjet ↗laser ↗thermal ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • inkjet technology
  • inkjet print head
  • inkjet photo paper

Etymology

English

Inkjet is a compound word formed from ink (the colored liquid used for writing and printing) and jet (a narrow stream of liquid forced out of an opening). The term appeared in the 1950s and 1960s as engineers developed printers that 'jet' or shoot ink onto paper through tiny nozzles, combining the two everyday English words to describe the new technology.