A printer is a computer peripheral which produces a hard copy of document stored in digital form on paper, plastic, cloths or transparencies. Printers are generally classified by their underlying printing technology. Previously, liquid ink was used in the printing machines. With the advent of new printing technology, many innovative technologies have arrived. One of the latest and most popular technologies is the advanced laser technology. In this kind of printing machine, the Xerographic principle is used. Laser printing machines are available in both colour and monochrome varieties.

In the market, several brands are available and the most popular printer manufacturing companies are HP, Epson, Intex etc. Among them, HP is one of the best selling printers manufacturers – in both inkjet and laser forms.

There are two category of printing machines that are available nowadays. The two primary categories are impact and non-impact printers. The printing machines which are using impact technologies work by touching the paper to fabricate text and images on it. Dot matrix printers come under this category. On the other hand, the non-impact printers do not actually touch the paper, they generally use the blower or bubble technology to take a print out. Both Inkjet and laser printers fall under this category.

Apart from the Inkject and laser printers, there are many types of printing machines that are available in the market. The most common types are Solid Ink printers, Dye-sunlimation printer, Inkless printer, Electrolytic printer, Spark printer, Barcode printer etc. The mostly used printers are Inkjet printer. Inkjet printers that are operated by variably-sized droplet of liquid or molten material (ink). They are the most common type of computer printer for the general consumers due to their high quality of output, capability of printing in vivid colours, ease of use and low cost. The due sublimation printer uses heat to transfer dye to a medium such as a plastic card, paper or canvas. The process is usually to lay one colour at a time using a ribbon that has colour panels.

Now that we have gathered valuable information about the printers, we will be able to make sound decisions when it comes to their usage.



Source by Jacob Marshal