A printer outputs data that is seen on the computer screen on to a paper. Most printers are used through a parallel port, but some newer ones use USB connections. The most crucial printer measurement is its dots per inch rating. Printers are best chosen by actually seeing the quality of the printer output. There are many types of print technologies like Daisy wheel, Dot matrix, Laser, Inkjet etc. Printers are normally categorized into impact and non-impact types. You will learn more about this as you go further in this lesson.
Printers can be divided into two categories:
Impact
The impact printers incorporate a built-in mechanism to print images on paper using a series of pins or hammers, which strike on an inked ribbon to create the image. For Example: Dot Matrix, Daisy Wheel etc.
Non-impact
The non-impact printers include those printers that do not have any kind of contact with the paper while printing either text or image. For Example: Inkjet, Laser, Bubble Jet, etc
These printers use different technology to print an image. For example, a laser printer uses heat to attach microscopic particles of dry toner to specific parts of the page. An inkjet printer has tiny nozzles through which it sprays droplets of ink onto the page.
