Printers

Printers

Objectives

• Define the term printer

• Distinguish between impact and non-impact printers 

• Identify different types of impact and Non-impact printers 

What is a printer?

(Discussion)

What is a printer?

A printer is an output device that produces text and graphics on a physical medium, example paper. The printed information is called a hard copy.

There are impact and non-impact printers.

Multiple Choice

A printer is

• an input device

• an output device

• a storage device

Multiple Choice

Hard copy refers to

• what you see on the screen/monitor

• printed text and graphics on paper

• sound from a speaker

TYPES OF PRINTERS

• Impact printers

• Non-impact printers

Impact printers

An impact printer forms characters and graphics on a piece of paper by striking a mechanism against an inked ribbon that physically contacts the paper. 

Impact printers are generally noisy because of this striking activity.

Impact printers are ideal for printing multipart forms because they print through many layers of paper easily. 

Examples of Impact Printers

• Dot matrix

• drum printers,

• chain printers

• Daisy wheel printers

Dot Matrix Printer

These printers use pins that hit an ink ribbon to print.

They can be used to print multiple copies of text at the same time with the help of carbon copying. Therefore, they are mostly used in places where multipart forms are required.

They are noisy, slow, and the print quality is low.

Drum Printer

Print characters which are on a physical drum that spins around. A series of hammers behind the paper would press the paper onto the drum at the right time, to create text on a page. 

Chain printers

Uses a chain that spins around a set of hammers. When the desired character is in the correct position the hammer hits the paper into the ribbon and onto the character in the chain.

Daisy Wheel Printer

uses a metal or plastic disk containing each of the letters, numbers, and other characters it supports. When printing, the printer rotates the disk to each character and, using a hammer, strikes each character into an ink ribbon to create characters on paper.

NON-IMPACT PRINTERS

A printer that prints without hitting a ribbon.

Examples of Non-Impact Printers

Laser Printers -laser printers have a cylindrical drum that rolls electrically charged ink onto the paper.

Inkjet Printers - Inkjet printers form images with tiny dots, they spray tiny drops of ink onto the page

Thermal printers - output characters are formed by a special heating element placed with special heat-sensitive waxy paper.