PRINTERS

A printer is an output device that accepts information from a computing system and produces output, usually text and graphics, to the end user in paper form. Many printing devices and printing technologies are available today. For the purpose of studying for the exam and its printer troubleshooting questions, we will focus on the current printer port standards, dot matrix, ink-jet, and laser printer technologies.

Printers can be categorized into groups based on the way they apply an image or text to a consumable product, such as paper. The three most popular printer groups are impact printers, thermal ink printers, and laser printers.

Impact printers: Impact printers include dot matrix and daisy wheel printers. They typically use a print head (which can get very hot) with pins to strike against an ink ribbon to create a character, number, or symbol. They are very noisy and are considered old-fashioned technology. Their main purpose in today’s world is for printing multipart, carbon-copy forms.

Thermal ink printers: Thermal ink printers include the very popular ink-jet and bubble-jet printers. Small nozzles are used to disperse ink onto paper to form an image. These printers are considered affordable and are commonly used in households across the world.

Laser printers: Laser printers use an electrophotographic process to place an image on paper. This more-expensive technology is well worth the price for the speed at which it can print, as well as the quality it can produce. Laser printer speed is measured by the number of Pages Per Minute (PPM) that the printer can produce. Laser printers can be found in most business environments.