Printers

TYPES OF PRINTERS
1. IMPACT PRINTERS- In this an inked ribbon exists
between the print head and the paper and the
characters are printed when the head strikes the
ribbon. For eg. DOT MATRIX PRINTERS.
2. NON IMPACT PRINTERS- They use techniques
other than the head striking the ribbon . Since
there are no mechanical operations involved thus
they are very fast. For eg. LASER PRINTERS AND
INKJET PRINTERS.

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TYPES OF IMPACT PRINTERS
1.LINE PRINTERS- They can print an entire line in a
single operation. A Print line of a line printer
usually consists of 132 print positions. Modern
line printers usually consists of a microprocessor
for the purpose of control. The speed of line
printer is measured in terms of “LINE PER
MINUTE”.
2.SERIAL PRINTERS- They can print only one
character at a time. A serial printer can print upto
74 to 132 characters in a line. In serial printers
bidirectional printing is possible, since the print
head can move from left to right as well as from
right to left.
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Dot-matrix printer
 Dot-Matrix printer been around since PCs.
 Impact printer—Multipart forms
Use mechanical means to press ink from ribbon onto page.
Type writer print quality
Near Letter Quality (NQL)
 9 or 24 pin print head
9pins == low quality and 24 pin has smaller pins close to
each other giving better quality print.
 Various size and shape ribbon cartridges
 Tractor feed and friction feed
Uses a sprocket to mesh with holes in the side of continuous form
paper. Type writers use friction feed.
 Serial or parallel connections

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DOT MATRIX PRINTERS
 A character printed by a dot matrix printer
appears as a matrix pattern of dots.
 The speed of a dot matrix printer varies from 80
to 220 characters per second.
 The quality of this type of printing is poor since
characters appear as pattern of dots. To improve
the quality a more dense matrix is used.
 This type of dot matrix printers are known as near
letter quality printers.
 Nlq printers generally have 18 or more needles.
 Nlq operate in draft mode and quality mode.
 Higher speed is achieved in draft mode.
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  Examples of Dot-Matrix Printers
                                       

                          

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Other impact printers
 Daisy wheel Printers
 Band printer

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Dot-matrix printer issues
 Print head -Print heads wear off after a while.
-The ink from the ribbon can clog the tiny pins that make up the tiny pins
-Pins can be bent
-Electromagnet can be damaged
 Ribbon- Poor print quality can simply mean that the ribbon needs to be
replaced. Each printer get its own ribbon, the cartridge that the ribbon contained
within varies from printer to printer thus they are not interchangeable.
 Overheating- Due to noisiness dot matrix printers are often kept
under a padded, sound proofed cover.
-Less ventilation lead to overheating
 Paper jams- Biggest problem paper jam
- If perforated sides can be ripped off they jam the printer. (patience ,patience ,
patience is required to fix that .)

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NON IMPACT PRINTERS
1.THEY DO NOT REQUIRE MECHANICAL
METHODS.

2.THEY USE TECHNIQUES OTHER THAN

MECHANICAL METHOD OF HEAD STRIKING THE
RIBBON FOR PRINTING.

3.NON IMPACT PRINTERS ARE FAST A NO

MECHANICAL METHODS ARE REQUIRED.

4.EXAMPLES ARE- INJET PRINTERS,LASER

PRINTERS.
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An inkjet printer

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Inkjet process
 Ink jet printers or Ink dispersion printers
Forcing ink through tiny holes. 50-60 microns diameter.
Two methods: Thermal Bubble or Piezoelectric Tech.
 Thermal bubble technology- Heats the ink, which vaporizes it creating a bubble. The
bubble protrudes out through the nozzle, and sprays onto paper. When the bubble bursts it creates a
vacuum which draws more ink from the cartridge into the print head, readying it to create another dot.
 Piezoelectric technology- Creates a bubble with a piezo crystal behind each nozzle. An
electrical current sent to the crystal causes it to vibrate. When it vibrates inward, it releases ink onto the
paper; when it vibrates outward it pulls ink from the cartridge.
 Ink cartridges– Ink reservoirs. The number varies from printer to printer.
 Dithering– Shades of each of basic color.
 Dithering is the process of juxtaposing pixels of two colors to create the illusion that a third
color is present. A simple example is an image with only black and white in the color
palette. By combining black and white pixels in complex patterns a graphics program like
Adobe Photoshop can create the illusion of gray values
 Print heads– Wears off fastest

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Inkjet printer cartridges

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Inkjet cartridge print heads

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Inkjet print quality
 Affected by:
 DPI ( dots per inch) of the printer
 Quality of the paper
 Quality of the ink if printed page gets wet

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Straight-through paper path

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Curved paper path

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Inkjet photo printers
 Don’t hold up as long as traditional,
chemically produced dark-room photos
 Special paper required
 Use regular paper = lower quality prints
 Can print on non-paper items

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Printing on non-paper surface

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Inkjet printer installation
 Connect via USB
 Windows autodetects and installs drivers
 Can install additional software from manufacturer

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Ink level utility

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Inkjet communications interfaces
Parallel interface USB interface

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Installing an inkjet printer
1. Connect the printer to a computer using the
correct interface
2. Plug it in
3. Power it up
4. Windows will likely recognize you’ve
connected a new device and install drivers
for it automatically
5. If drivers aren’t installed automatically, you
can do it manually using the materials that
shipped with the printer
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Troubleshooting
 Acquire information about the problem
 Simplify by removing any non-critical components,
shut down unnecessary running programs, and
disconnect from the Internet or network.
 Implement by identifying probable causes and
implementing potential solutions one at a time.
 Document the error symptoms, the components you
removed from the computer, and the solutions you
tried and whether they were successful.

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Inkjet problems
 Cost of consumables
 Nothing prints
 Poor print quality or stray lines
 Paper jams

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Laser printer

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Producing Output on Laser Printer
 Laser printers are standard level of quality by which printers are
compared.
 High quality documents in high volume printing
 Mostly black and white output devices. But color printers are
dropping in prices to be considered for home use depending on
your volume of printing.
 Electro-photographic : Combining electrostatic charges, toner
and laser light, high quality images are produced. One page at a
time.

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Steps in the Laser printing process
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 Charging or conditioning
The primary corona wire applies a negative charge of approximately -600volts to the EP
drum.

 Writing or exposing
The laser beams reduces the negative charge to about -100 volts on the EP drum in the
areas that become the image to be printed.
 Developing: Areas of the drum that were written to by the laser attract toner.
 Transferring: A positive charge of about +600volts is applied to the
paper by transfer corona wire.

 Fusing: Pressure and heat set the toner to the paper. A 350 deg F fusing
roller melts the toner, and squeezing the paper through a set of rollers presses the
toner into the paper.

 Cleaning and erasing: A rubber blade clears the excess toner from the
drum. Another corona wire removes the charges from the drum.

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Laser print process (cont’d)

Corona wire packages

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Unpacking
 Toner is removed
 Gently roll toner cartridge side to side
 Install drum
 Remove Styrofoam from toner area
 Remove packing tape
 Install toner cartridge

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Installing a laser printer
1. Connect the printer to the network or a
computer using the correct interface
2. Plug it in
3. Power it up
4. Windows will likely recognize you’ve
connected a new device and install drivers
for it automatically
5. If drivers aren’t installed automatically, you
can do it manually using the materials that
shipped with the printer
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Laser printer problems
 Safety issues– Too much toner inhalation can be toxic, due to high voltage power supplies let printers cool off
before working on them.

 Paper jams: -- paper crumbles, no sensor signal sent, humidity levels above 50%, Damaged corona wire therefore
no paper discharge and can stick to the drum.

 All or nothing:-- Jobs on the print queue but nothing coming out from the printer (printer says ready) Check cables
esp. those connected to the network.
-If paper comes out blank check the cartridge, a broken corona wire or a non working HVPS.
-If paper comes out all black, the drum isn’t being charged so toner sticks everywhere instead of just where the image should be
created. This is usually due to a broken corona wire.

 Partial prints and smudges:--Low toner,

-Indistinctive images are often a result of faulty corona wire or HVPS.
-Flakes off or smudges are due to fuser problems, replacing that is usually the solution.
 Repeating marks and stray marks:-- due to dirty rollers or a scratched drums. A
bad formatter board can also cause wavy output.
N.B. A formatter board interpret the computer output into commands that the printer can use to create your
output
 Garbage prints: due to bad formatter board, incorrect printer drives. Two common
languages used to do computer to printer translation: PCL(Printer Control Language) and
PostScript

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