Page 22 - CA_165_V2.0_C9_Flipbook
P. 22
Impact Printer
Impact printer prints the contents by striking the printer head or needle on an ink ribbon which rolls
through the cartridge to make a mark on the paper.
Impact Printer can be classified into:
l Line Printer: A line printer prints the content line by line. The printing speed of Line Printers varies
from 300 to 3000 lines per minute. Generally, a line printer is used because of its greater printing
capacity and higher speed than serial printers. It can be further divided into two types, i.e., Drum
Printer and Chain Printer.
l Character Printer: A character printer is also known as a serial printer. It prints the contents
character by character, i.e., it prints a character at a time in serial order. It can be further divided into
Daisy Wheel Printer, Dot Matrix Printer, etc.
Daisy Wheel Printer: A daisy wheel printer is a specific type
n
of mechanical impact printer that uses a metal or plastic disk
containing each of the letters, numbers, and other characters it
supports.
To print a character, the printer rotates the disk until the desired
letter is facing the paper. Then a hammer strikes the disk, forcing the character to hit an ink
ribbon, leaving an impression of the character on the paper.
Dot Matrix Printer: Dot Matrix Printer is the most commonly
n
used printer. It is also known as the Wire Matrix printer. In this
printer, head contains a matrix of pins. The characters are printed
by the dots which are formed by striking the pins on the ribbon,
with the help of small printer head which moves to and fro across
the page, it stops momentarily at each character position to
strike the print ribbon.
A print head of a dot matrix printer contains 9 to 24 pins. Dot matrix printer is cheaper and has
low printing cost than any other printers. The width of a dot matrix printer can be 80, 132 or 136
columns. Dot matrix printer can print upto 100 to 300 characters in a second. The resolution of
the printing ranges from 150 to 300 dots per inch (dpi).
Non-Impact Printer
Non-Impact printer prints the output without touching or striking the ribbon on paper or on the film. This
kind of printer prints by using thermal, chemical, electrostatic, laser beam or inkjet technology. Usually
non-impact printer has a greater resolution and is faster as compared to impact printer. Non-impact
printer can print colourful content also. This printer can be classified into:
l Inkjet Printer: An inkjet printer produces high quality print outputs
by spraying drops of ink (which is stored in coloured and black
cartridges). This printer has a print head which contains the cartridge
with several tiny holes through which the ink is sprayed on the
paper.
20 Touchpad Computer Applications (Ver. 2.0)-IX

