printer

A device that prints text or illustrations on paper. There are many different types of printers. In terms of the technology utilized, printers fall into the following categories: daisy-wheel: Similar to a ball-head typewriter, this type of printer has a plastic or metal wheel on which the shape of each character stands out in relief. A hammer presses the wheel against a ribbon, which in turn makes an ink stain in the shape of the character on the paper.Daisy-wheel printers produce letter-quality print but cannot print graphics. dot-matrix: Creates characters by striking pins against an ink ribbon. Each pin makes a dot, and combinations of dots form characters and illustrations. ink-jet: Sprays ink at a sheet of paper. Ink-jet printers produce high-quality text and graphics. laser: Uses the same technology as copy machines. Laser printers produce very high quality text and graphics. LCD & LED : Similar to a laser printer, but uses liquid crystals or light-emitting diodes rather than a laser to produce an image on the drum. line printer: Contains a chain of characters or pins that print an entire line at one time. Line printers are very fast, but produce low-quality print. thermal printer: An inexpensive printer that works by pushing heated pins against heat-sensitive paper. Thermal printers are widely used in calculators and fax machines.