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Hardware Information |
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Survey of Both Past and Modern Printers
Printers are on-line devices initially categorised as being either impact whereby a printing head assembly of some type is in physical contact with the paper, and non-impact where there is no mechanical contact with the paper. Impact printers: Dot matrix printers; employ a set of pins that can be projected or withdrawn as required to form a dot matrix of the required character that is fired through an inked ribbon to form characters on an underlying sheet of paper. Advantages: Disadvantages: Daisy wheel printers; employ a metal or plastic wheel with raised letter or character embedded into the end of thin strips extending from the centre. The wheel spins to position the correct character under a single hammer which strikes it, forcing the character through an inked ribbon onto the paper. Advantages: Disadvantages: Barrel (or Drum) printers; employ a revolving barrel that contains a set of 32 characters, each of which has a hammer, which allows each print position to impact the correct letter for that position through an inked ribbon. This mechanism allows all the characters of the same type to be printed simultaneously. The process is required for all the required characters to build line of text the drum rotates so that the next line can be printed. Advantages: Disadvantages: Chain printers; employ a revolving chain that contains one of more sets of characters which revolves in front of 132 hammers, which allows each print position to impact a character through an inked ribbon as it passes the appropriate place on the line. This mechanism potentially allows a complete line to be printed in one pass. Advantages: Disadvantages: Drum plotters; operate by moving a pen across the paper to create horizontally movement and the paper revolves around a drum past the pen to create vertical movement. This mechanism allow text of images to be drawn. Advantages: Disadvantages: v They are not suitable for high volume output. Flatbed plotters; operate by moving pens mounted on a carriage that moves over a board. The carriage moves in 365 degrees over the paper placed on a board under the pen. Advantages: Disadvantages: Non-impact printer: Laser printers; apply an electrostatic charge to a rotating drum inside the printer. A laser or a light-emitting diode then discharges portions of the drum according to a sequence of electronic signals representing images or text that is build line at a time. The drum rotates so that the next line can be created. As the drum rotates, it makes contact with charged plastic like powdered ink (toner) attaches itself to these discharged sections. A piece of paper that is given a greater charge than the drum is passed over the drum, transferring the toner. The toner is heated and fused to the sheet. Advantages: Disadvantages: Ink jet printers; employ a set of nozzles embedded in the print head through which small ink droplets are sprayed onto the page in a matrix of ink dots to form images or text on the page. Advantages: Disadvantages: Direct thermal printers; employ an array of heated rods embedded in the print head that selectively burn a matrix of dots on heat sensitise thermograph paper to form images or text. Advantages: Disadvantages: Thermal transfer printers; employ an array of horizontal heating elements, one for each print position that melts ink from a ribbon to form a matrix of dots which is transferred to the pater to form images or text. Advantages: Disadvantages: Summary: It is clear that if the sole criteria for decision making is reduced software cost and speed, the Drum or Chain printers will fit the bill. However te laser technologies and their consumables are not cheap enough to make this a very cost effective alternative assuming there is a need for over say 10,000 pager a year! Anything else requires a closer analysis of the exact printing requirements to trade off the relevant software costs against other savings and convenience. I am the website administrator of the Wandle Industrial Museum, http://www.wandle.org
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