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Printers

A printer outputs data that is seen on the computer screen. Most printers are used through a parallel port, but some newer ones use USB connections. USB is somewhat faster, but there's not much of a difference for printers. Networked computers usually print to a printer through the network card. The most crucial printer measurement is its dots per inch rating. Although this can be misleading, a higher number is generally better. Printers are best chosen by actually seeing the quality of the printer output. A device for printing results from your computer on paper or other "hard" media. While there are many kinds of printers, most these days fall into two groups. Inkjet printers use a technique to "spray" the ink onto your paper. Practically all inkjet printers these days can print in color, and can print from 2 to 12 pages per minute. Laser printers use a combination of copier technology tied with a laser to essentially "copy" the image onto the paper. While color laser printers are available, they are expensive. Laser printers can print from 15 to 50 pages per minute

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Colour Laser A laser printer uses the same printing technology used an office copier, except a beam of laser light under computer control is moved to draw an image on a charged photosensitive drum or belt. Where the light hits, the charge is destroyed. Small carbon particles called toner are applied to the drum or belt, and they stick to the areas that still are charged. This toner image is then transferred to paper and fused to the paper by heat or pressure. While considerably more complex and expensive than most other common printer types, laser printers are capable of producing extremely high-quality text and graphics (including colour) at fantastic speeds.

Consumer Ink Multifunction

Copier

Dot Matrix This is a type of printer which uses a series of pins to create an image on paper. Dot matrix printers are the most economical way to print information.

Inkjet A type of printer that sprays droplets of ink onto paper to form an image. Continuous inkjet printers spray a continuous stream of ink, which is electronically controlled to print an image. Drop on demand inkjet printers shoot out single drops of ink as needed.

Large Format

Laser Multifunction

Mono Laser A laser printer uses the same printing technology used an office copier, except a beam of laser light under computer control is moved to draw an image on a charged photosensitive drum or belt. Where the light hits, the charge is destroyed. Small carbon particles called toner are applied to the drum or belt, and they stick to the areas that still are charged. This toner image is then transferred to paper and fused to the paper by heat or pressure. While considerably more complex and expensive than most other common printer types, laser printers are capable of producing extremely high-quality text and graphics (including colour) at fantastic speeds. Mono Lasers will only produce black and white printings.

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Solid Ink A class of inkjet inks which are solid at room temperature but liquid at an elevated temperature. Frequently, the ink is in pellet or stick form when inserted in the inkjet system where it is heated until it becomes liquid and then ejected from the printhead. It cools almost instantly or freezes when it hits the substrate. Because of this freezing reaction only a slight penetration ensues and if unaltered leaves a hemispherical dot on the paper. The freezing process provides a printing system with the most independence from the characteristics of the paper or the substrate. Vivd intense colors!

Thermal A nonimpact printer that uses a thermal printhead and specially treated paper to create an image. The main advangtage of a thermal printer is that it is virtually silent. Thermal printers are used in calculators and in terminals to provide a local printing capability.