PRINTERS

20nd June 2011

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

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

Advantage and Disadvantage

Advantage It is cheap

Disadvantage Very noisy when printing

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

Advantages and Disadvantage

Advantages Quiet when printing Lightweight Quite reliable

Disadvantage Expensive than dot matrix printer

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

Advantages and Disadvantage

Advantages Prints faster Better quality

Disadvantage Very expensive

Differences between the Printers

Printer TypeDot Matrix

PrinterInkJet Printer Laser Printer

COST CheapCheaper 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

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

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

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