A printer can be defined as an output device for a computer, which prints results in the format of text or graphics. It produces a hard copy of documents stored in electronic form, generally on physical print media such as transparencies and papers. Generally for low volume of printing-in offices or for personal use; smaller printers like desktop printers are used. For bulk printing requirements however, the printing press is preferred. A desktop printer can be attached directly to a computer or can be directly connected to a network. It can normally print on a standard paper like A4 or letter size or sizes lesser than them.
Printers can be distinguished into two groups-Impact Printer and Non-Impact Printer. Impact printer creates text and images when tiny wire pins on print head strike the ink ribbon by physically contacting the paper. Impact printers include Dot matrix, Daisy- wheel and line printers.
Non-impact printer is a type of printer that generates text and graphics on paper without striking the paper. They are quieter in operation and can print finer, smoother and hi-resolution prints in lesser time.
The most commonly used types of printers are dot-matrix printers, inkjet printers and laser printers.
Dot-Matrix Printers: These are impact printers which print matrix of small dots to print a larger image. They use small pins to create precise dots. These are of two types: character based or line based. These printers were gradually replaced by ink-jet printers. Today dot-matrix printers are commonly used in places where there is bulk requirement of invoice or bill printing and for cash registers in shopping areas.
Inkjet Printers: One of the non-impact printers; it functions by spraying variable sizes of drops of ink on paper through the jets of ink. The cartridges have a series of tiny electrically heated chambers constructed by photolithography. The printers use aqueous inks based on a mixture of water, glycol and dyes or pigments. They are very easy to use, reasonably priced and easy to maintain. They produce high quality of color and black & white prints. The color cartridge has 3 different chambers for cyan, magenta and yellow color (C, M, Y) while the black cartridge has one chamber for black color (K). Various color combinations are possible by printing using a combination of CMY & K.
Laser Printers: High quality of text and graphics are created by these printers. They are one of the most popular non-impact printers these days. There are various factors that determine the cost of this technology like the cost of paper, toner and the replacement cost of other consumables.
Different kinds of printers use different kinds of cartridges; Gloima Imaging Components is a provider of total printing solutions suitable for all types and brands of printers. Varied range of cartridge components, ink or toner refills and other printer consumables which need replacement are offered by them.