IMPACT AND NON-IMPACT PRINTERS

Introduction

Printers are major output devices that print characters, symbols and perhaps graphics on papers. They are characterized using various criteria’s. The basic types of printers are the impact and non impact printers.

Impact printers

They create text or image by physically marking the print head press the ink ribbon and cause the ink deposition on the paper in desired from. They are quite louder in nature when compared to other printers. They are popular and unique for business where multi-part forms are printed. The following are types of impact printers

i.             Dot matrix printers

ii.           Daisy wheel printers

iii.          Line wheel

iv.          Line matrix

§  Dot matrix printer

They are equally called an impact matrix printer. It is a type of printer with a point head that runs back and front, or up and down motion on the page and prints by impact-striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper.

The printing involves mechanical pressure and as a result these printers can create carbon and carbonless copies. Each dot is produced by a tiny metal rod, also called a “wire” or “pin” which is driven forward by the power of a tiny electromagnetic either directly or through small pawls.

Advantages

The major advantage of dot-matrix printer over other printers is that the paper is completely connected. This allows you to print long banners that span across several sheets of paper.

Disadvantages

a.   The major disadvantage of dot matrix printer is the speed it takes for printing. Each dot is individually printed so a significant amount of time is needed to print just a page

b.   They generally produce low quality print, particularly pictures.

c.    They are prone to jamming.

§  Daisy Wheel printers

It uses a wheel with all the characteristics on it produces output. It uses a plastic or metal hub with spokes like old fashioned wagon wheel minus the other rim. The shape of this printer resembles the petals of a daisy flower and hence called Daisy Wheel printer.

To print a character the daisy wheel rotates so that the required character is positioned just in front of the printer ribbon. The spoke containing the required character is hit by a hammer and strikes the ribbon leaving an impression on the paper placed behind the ribbon. Movement of all these part is controlled by microprocessor in the printer.

The major advantage of the Wheel printer is that it has a high quality print because the exact shape of the character hits the ribbon to leave an impression on the paper.On the other hand, its disadvantage is that it is noisy, slow and the ribbon must be charged frequently.

§  Line printer

It is a form of high speed impact printer in which one line of type is printed at a time instead of printing each character. The line printer is typically enclosed in a cabinet that completely seals the unit from the outside world. The two major line printers are Bard printers and line matrix printers.

Line printers still widely used. They print 1000 – 2000 lines per minute and are therefore useful to print large amounts of address, payroll checks, statements or bills. It advantage is that it can print built-part forms at a very fast rate. They do not print each character individually. It is typically enclosed in a cabinet to minimize noise level.

While its disadvantages that it uses only pin feed paper and can only print black ink.

§  Line Matrix printer:

It is a compromise between a line printer and a dot matrix printer. Line matrix printers are used for high speed printing applications in industries such as manufacturing, banking and back office environment. Line matrix printers are used to produce invoices, products shipments and transportation documentation.

Line matrix printers can print text, barcodes and graphics. They can be very easy to operate per page. They are preferred solution for high remissibility, lowest total cost of ownership and environmental benefits. On the other hand, line matrix printers have similar disadvantages as Dot matrix printers and line printers.

§  Non-Impact printers

They produce text or images without striking the paper physically. They are not loud compared to other types of printers they can print in both monochrome and colour. They are commonly used in homes. The following are non-impact printers:

a.   Toner based (laser)

b.   Liquid ink (ink jet)

c.    Solid ink

d.   Dye – sublimation

e.    Thermal

f.     Bubble jet

§  Toner based

This is equally called a laser printer. They are only able to print text and images in black and white. But recently they have been able to print both coloured and black and white. They have the ability to print on both pages of the paper.

They are not equally prone to water damage. While the disadvantages are that continuous exposure to toners cause some health problems like respiration problems. They are bulky and heavy. It is equally costly to replace cartridges for a laser printer.

§  Ink-jet printer

It is a peripheral device that place extremely small droplets of ink into paper to create an image. The dots are extremely small (usually between 50 and 60 micro in diameter). The print head has several tiny nozzles also called jets.

An ink jet printer can produce from 100 to several hundred pages, depending on the nature of hard copy, before the ink cartridges must be replaced. Its major advantage is that most of them are not expensive.

They are light weight and modest desktop footprint. They are easy to transport. On the other hand, papers used in this type of printers are heavier than that used in laser printers and more expensive. They are slow and not designed for high amount of printing. They are expensive to maintain over time.

Conclusion

Printers are very important hardware devices used to output information on papers. The study or knowledge of the various types is very essential so as to select the best or most suitable one at a particular point of need or for a particular purpose.

REFERENCES

-     Hardwaresoftware.wikispace.com