Types of Printer

Printer

Printers are the output device which provide hard copy of the output. They print the data on the paper or any other medium.It is a hardware device.A document can be of any type such as a text file, image, or the combination of both. It accepts input command by users on a computer or on other devices to print the documents. For example, if you have to submit a project report at your college, you need to create a soft copy of your report and print it with the help of the printer.



Types of Printers

 Printers are classified on various basis like printing method, printing speed and quality etc. Generally there are two categories of printers.
  • Impact printer
  • Non impact printer

Impact printers

These printers use hammer technology to print the data.They strike or hit on the paper to print the data. These printers are noisy yet popular. Impact printers have mechanical moving parts to conduct printing.
 Following are the impact printers

Daisy Wheel

daisy wheel printer is an early type of impact printer invented in 1969 by David S. Lee at Diablo Data Systems. The printer uses a metal or plastic disk containing each of the letters, numbers, and other characters it supports.

Chain printer

An early line printer that used type slugs linked together in a chain as its printing mechanism. The chain spins horizontally around a set of hammers. When the desired character is in front of the selected print column, the corresponding hammer hits the paper into the ribbon and onto the character in the chain. Chain and train printers gave way to band printers in the early 1980s.


Drum printer(Line printer)

An old line printer technology that used formed character images around a cylindrical drum as its printing mechanism. When the desired character for the selected position rotated around to the hammer line, the hammer hit the paper from behind and pushed it into the ribbon and onto the character.

Band printer

A line printer that uses a metal band, or loop, of type characters as its printing mechanism. The band contains a fixed set of embossed characters that can only be changed by replacing the band. The band spins horizontally around a set of hammers, one for each print column. When the required character in the band has revolved to the selected print column, the hammer pushes the paper into the ribbon and against the embossed image of the letter, digit or symbol.

Dot Matrix printer

A type of printer that produces characters and illustrations by striking pins against an ink ribbon to print closely spaced dots in the appropriate shape. Dot-matrix printers are relatively expensive and do not produce high-quality output.

Non impact printers

These  printers do not strike or hit the paper to print the data. The type of printer uses thermal, electrostatic, chemical and inkjet technology.
Following are non impact printers

Inkjet printers

An inkjet printer is a computer peripheral that produces hard copy by spraying ink onto paper. A typical inkjet printer can produce copy with a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch ( dpi ). Some inkjet printers can make full color hard copies at 600 dpi or more. Many models include other devices such as scanner , photocopier , and dedicated fax machine along with the printer in a single box.


Laser printer

A laser printer is a printer that uses a focused beam or light to transfer text and images onto paper. Though contrary to popular belief, the laser does not actually burn the images onto the paper. Instead, as paper passes through the printer, the laser beam fires at the surface of a cylindrical drum called a photo-receptor.

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