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 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
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
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
Prints faster
Better quality
Disadvantage
Very expensive

9. Differences between the Printers

10. Printer Type Dot Matrix Printer InkJet Printer Laser Printer COST SIZE
Cheap
Cheaper depends on quality and speed
Expensive
SIZE
Bulky
Lighter
Heavy
RESOLUTION
Low/Draft quality
Near letter quality
Letter quality
SPEED
cps (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 Drum 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
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