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Printer Types

There are several main types of printers for different needs: Inkjet printers are inexpensive and popular for home use but have expensive ink cartridges; Laser printers are faster and better for high-volume printing but have more expensive toner cartridges; Multifunction printers can also scan, copy, and fax in addition to printing; Dot matrix printers were common in the past but are rarely used now except for carbon copies; Plotters are specialized large-format printers used for posters and blueprints.

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111 views

Printer Types

There are several main types of printers for different needs: Inkjet printers are inexpensive and popular for home use but have expensive ink cartridges; Laser printers are faster and better for high-volume printing but have more expensive toner cartridges; Multifunction printers can also scan, copy, and fax in addition to printing; Dot matrix printers were common in the past but are rarely used now except for carbon copies; Plotters are specialized large-format printers used for posters and blueprints.

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58 Computer Basics

Lesson 2-11: Types of Printers


Figure 2-26
There are many different
types of printers available,
with an enormous range of
prices and features.

Figure 2-26

Leonardo da Vinci didn’t limit himself by using only paint and brushes to create his
masterpieces; he also used chalk to make sketches and a chisel and hammer to make
sculptures. Maybe Leonardo would have used an airbrush or spray paint if they had been
invented yet. Hmm… maybe not. Because there are different types of print jobs there are
different types of printers. Are you a home user that prints an occasional letter or two?
You’ll probably want to buy a cheap InkJet printer. Are you a busy office that has lots of
people who need to print lots of documents? You’re probably looking at getting a Laser
printer.
The following table describes the main types of printers out there and how or why you
would use them, so you’ll have no excuse for buying the wrong kind of printer when you
get around to buying one.

Table 2-9: Types of Printers


Printer Type Description
Inkjet printers are easily the most popular and inexpensive type of printer out
there. If you have a printer for your home computer, chances are it’s an InkJet
printer. InkJet printers create images by spraying ink onto a page. The
inexpensive InkJet printer gets its ink from very expensive InkJet cartridges.
Most InkJet printers can print in color, and their speeds vary from 2 to 16 pages
Ink Jet per minute (ppm).

2003 CustomGuide Inc.


Chapter Two: Understanding Hardware 59

Printer Type Description


Laser printers have blazing speed—anywhere from 4 to 20 pages per minute
(ppm), great resolution—anywhere from 300 to 1,200 dots per inch (dpi), and
recently have become relatively inexpensive. Laser printers are great for
businesses and people who need to produce large amounts of text documents or
correspondence.
Laser printers use the same technology as photocopy machines to create black
Laser and white images on paper. Laser printers use powdered black ink, called toner,
just like photocopy machines do. When the toner cartridge runs out, you have to
replace it with a new toner cartridge. Toner cartridges cost a lot more than InkJet
cartridges do, but they also last a lot longer.
A color laser printer works just like an ordinary laser printer, except that it can
print in color, of course. Color laser printers are quite expensive and the color
toner cartridges for them are even costlier.

Color Laser
As its name implies, a multifunction printer can perform more than one task.
Multifunction printers can usually operate as a fax machine, copier, and scanner
in addition to their traditional printing duties.

Multifunction
Popular in the 1980’s, noisy dot-matrix printers have gone the way of the
dinosaurs, except in businesses that need to print on carbon copies.
Dot matrix printers usually use a type of paper with holes punched along each
side called continuous form paper, and loads it through something called a tractor
feed. Dot-matrix printers range in speed from 25 to 450 characters per second
(cps), or 1 to 18 pages per minute (ppm).
Quick Reference
Resolution is measured differently with dot-matrix printers. Instead of using dot
Dot Matrix
per inch (dpi) dot matrix resolution is measured by how many little pins are on the Print Types Include:
dot-matrix print head. Dot-matrix printers are available with 9-pin (terrible quality) • InkJet
and 24-pin (higher quality) print heads.
• Laser and color laser
Don’t expect to find a plotter at your local computer store. Plotters are special, • Multifunction
very expensive printers that are used to create posters and blueprints.
• Dot matrix
• Plotter

Plotter

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