Printer: Its Types, Working and Usefulness
Printer: Its Types, Working and Usefulness
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Printers
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What is a printer?
An external hardware device responsible
for taking computer data and generating a
hard copy of that data. Printers are one of
the most commonly used peripherals and
they print text and still images on the
paper.
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“Factors affecting print quality”
(1) DPI:
It is a measurement of printer’s resolution indicating how
many ink dots can be placed by the printer in one square
inch. The higher the DPI, the sharper is image.
(2) Type of printer:
Each type of printer has its own capabilities of printing.
Some types of printers produce high quality print while
other produce low quality print.
(3) Print Mode:
The printing mode may also affect the quality. For
example the draft mode increases the print rate but quality
is reduced.
(4) Toner:
The quality and amount of toner also affects print
quality.
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“Impact Printer”
These printers have a
mechanism that
touches the paper to
create an image.
These printers work
by banging a print
head containing a
number of metal pins An impact printer showing details
which strike an inked of print head.sss
ribbon placed between
the print head and
the paper.
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“Non-Impact Printers”
These printers create an
image on the print medium
without the use of force.
They don’t touch the paper
while creating an image.
Non-impact printers are
much quieter than impact
printers as they don’t strike
the paper. A non-impact printer
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“Dot Matrix Printer”
The term dot matrix
refers to the process of
placing dots to form an
image.
Its speed is usually 30 to
550 characters per second
(cps).
This is the cheapest and
the most noisy printer
and has a low print
quality. Dot Matrix were
1st introduced by
Centronics in 1970.
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“Advantages/Dis-advatages of
Dot-Matrix”
Advantages:
(1) In-expensive.
(2) Low per page cost.
(3) Energy efficient.
Dis-advantages:
(1) Noisy
(2) Low resolution
(3) Limited fonts flexibility
(4) Poor quality graphics output.
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“Daisy Wheel Printer”
.
Color cartridge showing inkjet nozzles
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Advantages/ Dis-advantages
Advantages:
(1) High resolution output.
(2) Energy efficient.
(3) Many options to select.
Dis-advantages:
(1) Expensive.
(2) Special paper required for higher
resolution output.
(3) Time consuming in case of graphics
printing. 12
Thermal Printer
Thermal printers are in-
expensive printers
mostly used in fax
machines. The Thermal
printers are further
classified into two types.
(1) Electro thermal
printers:
A fax machine using a thermal printer
(2) Thermal Wax
printers:
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“Laser Printer”
Laser printers use very
advanced technology
and produce a high
quality output. Laser
printers can also
produce high quality
graphics images.
Resolution is 600 to
1200dpi.
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“Multi-function printer”
A multi function printer
abbreviated as MFP is an
all purpose device that
prints, faxes, copies and
scans. A single multi
function printer can
replace several bulky
devices. These printers
use inkjet technology and
provide high quality print
but at slow speed.
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“Plotter”
A large scale printer
which is very accurate in
producing engineering
drawings and
architectural blueprints.
Two types of plotters are
flatbed and drum.
Flatbed plotters are
horizontally aligned while
drum plotters are
vertically positioned.
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“Printers for different users”
To choose a printer from a printer’s family
following considerations are to be made.
(1) What’s the budget?
(2) Is color needed or just black& white?
(3) What is the Volume of the output?
(4) How important is the quality of the output?
(5) What special features are needed?
(6) Is the printer is to be used by a single user
or a whole network?
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“Printer for Home users”
For home users, the quality of the print
and the price of the printer both matter.
So a better choice in such case is a
portable color Inkjet printer.
If the budget of the user is good enough
then the best choice is a personal laser
printer which enhances both the speed
and quality of the print.
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“Small and medium offices”
For small and medium scale offices a
better option is a multi-function printer
which is an integrated device fulfilling
various requirement of the office.
For better output, a laser printer is the
best choice.
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“Printers for banks, large
business organizations and
companies”
In banks, large size business
environments and companies printers with
networking capabilities should be
preferred which can increase productivity
and reduce the cost without compromising
on the quality. Of course laser printer is
quite suitable choice but multi-functional
printer and inkjet printer can also play
vital role.
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“Conclusion”
In fact computer world is incomplete
without printers in the modern age of
technology. A printer is one of the basic
needs of every computer user and one
can not utilize computer resources
properly in the absence of a quality
printer.
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“References”
Books:
(1) Fundamentals of Electronic Data Processing.
By: S.Jaiswal
(2) COMPUTERS. By: Larry Long/Nancy Long.
(3) Using Information Technology. (Course book)
Websites:
http://redhat.com/docs/manuals
http://doit.ort.org/course/output/307.htm
http://deverace.com/printers_types.html
http://howstuffworks.com
http://prenhall.com/long
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