This document summarizes different types of printers. It describes dot matrix printers, inkjet printers, laser printers, and plotters. Dot matrix printers use pins to print characters as dots and are inexpensive but noisy. Inkjet printers use nozzles to spray ink onto paper and are generally quieter but more expensive than dot matrix. Laser printers use toner powder and a laser beam to print very quickly and with high quality but are the most expensive. Plotters are used to print drawings and move pens across paper to create lines rather than printing dots.

1. PRINTERS
20nd
June 2011

2. INTRODUCTION
 What is a Printer?
 It is an output device that produces text and graphics
on paper.
 Function - To present data on paper
 Types of Printer:-
 Inkjet Printer
 Laser Printer
 Dot-Matrix Printer
 Plotter

3. Dot Matrix Printer
 Consists of a print head with a number of pins.
 These pins move in and out to print a character in the
form of dots.
 Printer speed - 100-800 per second (cps)
 Uses fanfold paper
 A fanfold paper is a long continuous paper with holes at the edges
 Printing quality depends on the printer resolution
 Printer resolution measures how closely the printer can print dots
 Measured in terms of dots per inch (dpi)
 Two types of printer quality
 Draft quality - uses low resolution
 Near letter quality - uses high resolution

4. Advantage and Disadvantage
 Advantage
 It is cheap
 Disadvantage
 Very noisy when printing

5. Ink Jet Printer
 Consists of a print head with a number of tiny nozzles.
The ink is pushed through the tiny nozzles onto the
paper to form tiny dots
 Uses A4 papers
 Printer speed - 2 to 10 pages per minute (ppm)
 Printer Resolution
 Draft quality
 Near letter quality - better quality than dot matrix because ink is darker

6. Advantages and Disadvantage
 Advantages
 Quiet when printing
 Lightweight
 Quite reliable
 Disadvantage
 Expensive than dot matrix printer

7. Laser Printer
 It prints images by transferring ‘ink powder’ onto a piece
of paper using a laser beam
 Printer speed - 4 to 17 pages pages per minute (ppm)
 Printer resolution
 Draft quality
 Near Letter quality
 Letter quality

8. Advantages and Disadvantage
 Advantages
 Prints faster
 Better quality
 Disadvantage
 Very expensive

9. Differences between the
Printers

10. Printer Type
Dot Matrix
Printer
InkJet Printer Laser Printer
COST Cheap
Cheaper depends on
quality and speed
Expensive
SIZE Bulky Lighter Heavy
RESOLUTION Low/Draft quality Near letter quality Letter quality
SPEED 100-400cps (Slow) 2-10ppm (Faster) 4-17ppm (Fastest)
NOISE LEVEL Noisy Quiet Silence
USED Ribbon Ink Cartridge Toner
POPULARITY Less dependent Very Popular Slightly popular
MECHANISM
It has a print head with
a number of pins.
These pins move and
form dots on paper
A print head with a no
of tiny nozzles. It uses
melted wax in cartridge
packing to form tiny
dots
Images are
transformed onto a
piece of paper with
‘mix powder’ using a
laser beam

11. Plotter
 A device that draws picture on paper based on commands from a
computer
 It differ from printers because plotter draws lines using a pen
 It can produce continuous lines, whereas printers can only simulate
lines by printing a closely spaced series of dots
 Function - moves special pens across the paper to create a
drawing or design
 Uses by Engineers, Architects and Designers

12. Types of Plotter
 Three types of Plotter
 Flatbed Plotters
• Hold the paper still while the pens move
 Drum Plotters
• Roll the paper over a cylinder
 Pinch-Rollers Plotters
• Mixture of the two types above

13. Advantages and Disadvantages
 Advantages
 Speed - Faster than other printers
 Precision - Allows to print more precise lines
 Versatility -It can be hooked up to any computer
 Disadvantages
 Can take over half an hour to produce a print,
depending on the size and complexity of the image
produced
 Not able to print photo-quality images
 Cost a bit more than other printers
 Very large equipment