Printer Technologies

Here are some of the more common types of printers that are used in business environments today.

Dot Matrix

The good old dot matrix printer uses what is commonly known as "impact technology". In the print head of a serial dot matrix printer, many small pins strike a ribbon that is coated with ink, and upon impact, transfer the ink to the paper. The advantages of such printers are in the low cost of ownership and durability. However, they have no multi-color print capability, and therefore poorer graphics print quality. Not to mention that they are noisy too. However, dot matrix printers are still the only ones that can do form printing with carbon paper because of the print head impact operation, and can still be found in places such as hospitals and warehouses where reasonable text output is all that is required. Still, for single sheet, normal printing, the relatively low cost of inkjets nowadays makes dot matrix printers a less attractive option.

Inkjet

Simply put, an inkjet printer works by using nozzles to spray very fine droplets of ink to the paper. There are two popular types of inkjet technology today, namely thermal bubble jet technology (also known as "bubble jet") that is used by manufacturers such as Canon and HP; and piezoelectric technology, which was invented by EPSON. The advantages of inkjet technology are that it is relatively inexpensive, and that it is able to produce good-looking text as well as photo prints. Speed is reasonable too, though not as fast as laser printers.

Dye-Sublimation

Instead of using ink tanks found in an inkjet, a dye-sublimation printer uses a ribbon with sections of cyan, magenta, yellow and black dye. The print head heats up as it passes over the film, causing the dyes to vaporize and deposit onto the surface of the paper before they return to solid form. Such infusion means that prints are less prone to fading and distortion over time. Dye-sublimation printers are commonly used in demanding graphic art and photographic applications but are now increasingly used by many consumer-level direct photo printing and portable printers.

Mono Laser

Without going into details, a laser printer basically works by bonding the dry powdered ink (in the toner) onto the paper through means of static electricity and heat. The obvious advantages of a laser printer are its speed and high levels of precision. Another would be its ability to handle many concurrent jobs, thus making it a popular choice in many offices. Text printed by a laser printer is also great looking and does not smudge as much as an inkjet's would, though graphics (especially photos) can be its Achilles' heel. Laser printers are generally more expensive than inkjets, but running costs can be kept quite low as a toner cartridge can last for many prints.

Color Laser

Early laser printers were restricted to mainly monochrome printing. But color lasers are gaining momentum nowadays with the advancement in printing technologies. Color lasers work the same way as monochrome lasers; but with the additional colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), the paper has to go through the printing process four times - one for the application of each color. Such color lasers are what we called "four-pass" color laser printers. But some of the newest color lasers today are able to print both monochrome and color in just a single pass, which means printing in color is as fast as printing in monochrome. Expectedly, such "single pass" color laser printers are still quite expensive for the average consumer.

Solid Ink

This technology (exclusive to Fuji Xerox) makes use of solid blocks of ink that are made from a secret soy and wax-based formula. It works by having the printer melt the different colored inks into liquid form, and then combining them to produce the desired colors and prints the image onto a drum that is later transferred onto the paper medium. The obvious advantages are its fast throughput and high print quality. Color printouts are also produced within a single pass, and inks can be refilled on the fly (just put the blocks in) without the need to shut down the printer. As the ink blocks do not need a cartridge for delivery, this results in less wastage and are thus more environmentally friendly. Its ability to print on a very wide range of media is another bonus.

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