Printers are output devices that print the result of an operation on paper. A printer is capable of producing output that contains printed words. It is also capable of printing straight lines and simple figures like squares, rectangles and circles. Printers are classified based on a number of parameters, like the mechanism used for printing, the speed of printing , the quality of output, the direction of printing and the kind of interface they have with the computer. The following section will elaborate on these parameters.
There are two main types of printers, impact printers and non-impact printers.
Impact printer
In impact printers, characters are printed by pressing a typeface against an inked ribbon, which makes a mark on the paper. The most commonly used impact printers is the Dot Matrix Printer.
In DMP, an arrangement of tiny hammers or pins strikes the ribbon to produce the desired characters. These tiny pins typically print in a matrix of 7 dots across and 9 dots down. The impact of the appropriate pins on paper through the inked ribbon forms letters made up of dots. A kind of printer with a vertical column of up to 48 small closely packed needles or pins each of which can be individually forced forward to press an ink ribbon against the paper. There are printers which use up to 24 vertical pins to print characters with a higher resolution. The speed is usually 30 to 550 cps( character per second).
DMPs are expensive but noisy. They can print both text and graphics. They can print any language without additional hardware. They can also be made to print in color by changing ribbons. These printers are used to produce internal reports and memos needed by organizations. The other types of impact printer are drum printers, daisy wheel printers, line printers, Braille printers. However, these printers are not as popular as DMPs.
Non-impact printer
In non-impact printers, there is no contact between the typeface and the paper while printing. They are much quicker than impact printer as their printing heads do not strike the paper.
The main type of non-impact printer are:
Laser printer: This printer use a light beam to form images on the paper using toner ink as the medium. The light beam strikes parts of a drum surface to form an image. Those parts of the drum surface, which are exposed to the light beam, become electrically charged. Only these electrically charged areas attract the toner ink particles. These toner particles are then deposited on, and permanently fixed to the paper using heat or pressure.
Ink jet printer: ink jet printer, invented by canon, use jets of ink to print characters on paper. Three color of cartridges which combine magenta, yellow and cyan inks are used to create color tones. A black cartridge is also used for crisp monochrome output. It produces high resolution dot matrix characters.
Thermal printer: Thermal printers use heat to print characters on paper. Mostly ink jets use thermal technology ,whereby heat is used to fire ink onto the paper. These printers are used in calculators and many fax machines. The drawback with this technology is that it produces low-quality and low resolution print.
There are two main types of printers, impact printers and non-impact printers.
Impact printer
In impact printers, characters are printed by pressing a typeface against an inked ribbon, which makes a mark on the paper. The most commonly used impact printers is the Dot Matrix Printer.
In DMP, an arrangement of tiny hammers or pins strikes the ribbon to produce the desired characters. These tiny pins typically print in a matrix of 7 dots across and 9 dots down. The impact of the appropriate pins on paper through the inked ribbon forms letters made up of dots. A kind of printer with a vertical column of up to 48 small closely packed needles or pins each of which can be individually forced forward to press an ink ribbon against the paper. There are printers which use up to 24 vertical pins to print characters with a higher resolution. The speed is usually 30 to 550 cps( character per second).
DMPs are expensive but noisy. They can print both text and graphics. They can print any language without additional hardware. They can also be made to print in color by changing ribbons. These printers are used to produce internal reports and memos needed by organizations. The other types of impact printer are drum printers, daisy wheel printers, line printers, Braille printers. However, these printers are not as popular as DMPs.
Non-impact printer
In non-impact printers, there is no contact between the typeface and the paper while printing. They are much quicker than impact printer as their printing heads do not strike the paper.
The main type of non-impact printer are:
Laser printer: This printer use a light beam to form images on the paper using toner ink as the medium. The light beam strikes parts of a drum surface to form an image. Those parts of the drum surface, which are exposed to the light beam, become electrically charged. Only these electrically charged areas attract the toner ink particles. These toner particles are then deposited on, and permanently fixed to the paper using heat or pressure.
Ink jet printer: ink jet printer, invented by canon, use jets of ink to print characters on paper. Three color of cartridges which combine magenta, yellow and cyan inks are used to create color tones. A black cartridge is also used for crisp monochrome output. It produces high resolution dot matrix characters.
Thermal printer: Thermal printers use heat to print characters on paper. Mostly ink jets use thermal technology ,whereby heat is used to fire ink onto the paper. These printers are used in calculators and many fax machines. The drawback with this technology is that it produces low-quality and low resolution print.
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