How to choose: Laser Printers, Inkjet Printers, Dot Matrix Printers

Man is always in constant search for knowledge which he
makes use to create innovations that will make his life
better. Among the varied inventions of man is a
computer printer. The first computer printer can be
traced back in the year 1953 which was developed by
Remington-Rand as a match for Univac computer. Laser
printers were evolved from the dry printing process or
Xerox invented by Chester Carlson in 1938. 1971
witnessed the birth of the first laser printer which
was then named as EARS. The next years are period of
experiments and added inventions which paved the way to
the first IBM printer. The IBM 3800 Printing System was
considered as the first high-speed laser printer with a
speed of more than 100 impressions-per-minute.

Nowadays, a computer printer is of vital importance in
the different areas of human activities. It goes hand
in hand with a computer as a component that generates
the hard copy or a readable text from the stored data
on the computer's system. Several printer technologies
are available today but it can be categorized into two
types - namely the impact and the non-impact
technologies. A computer printer that uses the impact
technology is equipped with a system that requires
contact with the paper or whatever material that can be
used to produce the readable text.

Dot Matrix and Character Printers are the two major
classifications of Impact printer technology. A
character printer is a computerized typewriter made up
of a group of bars which serve as the platform for
letters and numbers. Like a typewriter, the right
characters are hit or struck to touch the ink ribbons
which in turn pass on the characters to the paper. It
can be used with speed but has limited uses. Computer
printers with Dot matrix technology have a group of
small pins needed to strike the ink coated ribbon to
pass on the image to the paper.

A printer using the Non-Impact technology does not need
contact with the paper to produce the desired image.
An example of this is the commonly used Inkjet painters
and Laser printers. An inkjet printer directly sprays
drop of inks into the paper while a laser printer is
equipped with a toner, heat and static electricity to
produce the image. Inkjet printers are used in almost
all offices, business, cafe and many other
establishments. The printed image coming from an
inkjet printer has tiny dots that usually have a
diameter of 50-60 microns.

Print head assembly, paper feed assembly, power supply,
control circuitry and interface ports are the parts
making up a typical inkjet printer. The quality of the
produced image in an inkjet printer is also dependent
on the type of paper used. Brightness and absorption
are the main factors that determine the quality of the
printed image. The brightness is determined by the
smoothness of the paper's surface. Smooth surface
reflect more light which makes the image brighter.
Absorption refers to the ability of the paper to take
in the ink. Papers with good absorption capacity have
images that will stay tight while poor absorption
capacity can result in blotting.

Monochromatic and multi-colored images can be produced
depending on the type of printer. Monochrome printer is
only capable of generating images with only one color,
commonly black, while a color printer can produce
colored images. A printer can transform a group of
characters, a vector image and a bitmapped image into a
printed version. Other printers however cannot process
all of these types. By examining your needs, you can
choose the optimum printer for you.