Dot Matrix is the oldest printing technology and is still widely used, owing to its low cost per page. These printers produce an image by using a mechanism called a Print Head which contains a row of “pins” (short sturdy stalks of hard wire) that are triggered in patterns to form letters and numbers as the Print Head moves to and fro on the paper.
Printing ProcedureThe pins in the Print Head are coiled by wire and are held in the rest position by a small magnet and a spring.
The Printer Controller activates a particular pin by sending a signal to the Print Head.
The Print Head in turn stimulates the wires around the appropriate print wire turning the print wire into an electromagnet.
This electromagnet fires the print pin, thrusting it into the ink ribbon and leaving a dot on the paper.
It is this arrangement of dots in various shapes that we see on the page.
