I've seen laser printers with a resolutions of 1200×1200 dpi and, strangely, 2400×600 dpi.
As the measure is dots per inch, not Kdots on a page or something (where a higher vertical resolution might make sense because paper is rectangular, not square), I'm wondering what the uneven resolution is good for.
Why print one square inch with 2400 dots vertically but only 600 horizontally?
Does this look more detailed than 1200 by 1200 dots? Or is it better for textile printing or some other special case?
Best Answer
Most likely this has to do with mechanics; a new "line" requires precise action from the roller that moves paper; a new "column" on the other hand is purely about timing and software. My understanding is that the laser ray moves at pretty much constant speed across the page, and getting more precision on that direction is just a matter of turning laser on and off at higher frequency.