Each page of output requires large amounts of network bandwidth and high per-page costs that can make the relatively open environment of the networked printer an expensive playground for unauthorized users. Still, users are demanding quality color output and the high cost of peripherals makes networking a necessity for most organizations. Color has become the standard in the computer display market. GUIs are becoming increasingly popular. GUIs, and the applications written for them, let users create word processing documents, spreadsheets, desktop publications and other items in which color plays a key role.
Users are no longer satisfied seeing color on their displays alone.
Users want it in hard copy as well. And, they want more than rough approximations of the colors they see on their screens. Just as networking early laser printers and plotters made good economic sense in most organizations, it's also a good bet for this next generation of output devices. Networking a high-resolution color printer can lead to a couple of problems. First, you need a method to handle the network traffic required to feed these voracious printers.