Different Types of Printers
Types of printers: A printer is a device that accepts text and graphics from a computer and transfers the information to paper. in other words, a Printer is an output device that transfers information to paper-called hardcopy.
TYPES OF PRINTERS ON THE BASIS OF TECHNOLOGY
In terms of the technology utilized, printers fall into two basic types.
- Impact Printers
- Non-Impact Printers
Impact Printers
- Impact minters include all printers that work by striking an ink ribbon.
- They can produce carbon copies.
- Impact printers are much noisier than other printers.
TYPES OF IMPACT PRINTERS
- Daisy Wheel Printer: They print one character at a time similar to a ball-head typewriter. this type of printer has a plastic or metal wheel on which the shape of each character is embossed electric motor spins the wheel and a. A hammer presses the wheel against the ribbon, which in turn makes an ink stain in the shape of a character on the paper. Daisy wheel printers produce better quality print but cannot print graphics.
- Dot Matrix Printer: Dot Matrix printer is also a character printer because it prints one character at a time. Dot-matrix printers create characters by striking pins against an ink ribbon. Each pin makes a dot and combinations of dots form characters and illustrations.
- Line Printer: A-line printer contains a chain of characters or pins an entire line at one time. Line printers are very fast but produce the low-quality print. Drum printers and Chain printers are sub-division of line printers.
Non-Impact Printers
Non-impact printers use magnetic, electronic, thermal, chemical, optical, inkjet, or laser technology to give output on paper. They cannot produce carbon copies. they are called quit printers.
Examples:
Non-impact printers include laser printers, inkjet printers, etc.
Types of Impact Printers
Inkjet Printer: Inkjet printers spray on a sheet of paper, producing high text and graphics.
Laser Printer: Laser printers use the same technology as photocopier machines. Laser printers produce high-quality text and graphics.
LCD & LED Printer: Similar to a laser printer, but uses liquid crystals or light-emitting diodes rather than a laser to produce an image on the drum.
Thermal Printer: An inexpensive printer that works by pushing heated pins against heat-sensitive paper. thermal printers are widely used in calculators and fax machines.
TYPES OF PRINTERS ON THE BASIS OF CHARACTERISTICS
Printers are also classified by three following characteristics.
Quality of Print: the output produced by printers is said to be either better quality (as good as a typewriter), near better quality, or draft quality. only daisy wheel, inkjet, and laserjet printers produce better quality type. some dot-matrix printers claim better quality print, but if you look closely, you can see the difference.
Speed: Measured in characters per second (cps) or pages per minute (ppm), the speed of printers varies widely. if you do a lot of printing, the speed of the printer is important.
- Daisy-wheel printers tend to be the slowest, printing about 30 cps.
- Line printers are the fastest (up to 3,000 lines per minute).
- Dot-matrix printers can print up to 500 cps.
- Laser printers range from about 4 to 20 text pages per minute. Generally, more expensive printers are much faster.
Graphics: Some printers (daisy-wheel and line printers) can print only text. Other printers can print both text and graphics.
Fonts: Some printers, notably dot-matrix printers, are limited to one or a few fonts. In contrast, laser and ink-jet printers are capable of printing an almost unlimited variety of fonts.
Color:
- Color is important for users who need to print pages for presentations or maps and pages where color is part of the information.
- Color printers can also be set to print only in black and white.
- Color printers are more expensive to operate since they use two ink cartridges (One color and one black ink) that need to be replaced after a certain number of pages.
Resolution: printer resolution (the sharpness of text and images on paper) is in dots per inch (dpi) Most inexpensive printers provide sufficient resolution most purposes 600 dpi.
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