What is a printer. Existing varieties

Probably, only a person very far from computing can be interested in what a printer is. Now these printing devices have become the de facto standard not only for office, but also for home computers. Due to the relatively low cost of such a purchase moved from the category of pre-prepared in the field of current expenditure. For example, with due diligence, you can find a new inkjet printer for only $ 20, which is available to everyone.

Today we will understand what a printer is. The question only seems banal. Statistics of queries to the search engine gives out almost one and a half million interrelated words. This indicates that the owners of computers want not only to simply use the printer, but also to understand what a printer is.

Fortunately, this device is one of the simplest (of course, from the user's point of view). Understand what a printer is, even a person unfamiliar with computers can.

So, the printer is a specialized external device designed for printing text and images on paper. Industrial models can print on different materials, for example, fabrics. It is necessary to dispel the sometimes confusing error, according to which the printer can be compared with a mechanical typewriter, on the buttons of which the computer "presses". This is only partly, although attempts have been made to create such solutions (UniPrinter). The principle of operation is radically different, and there are no ready-made symbols hitting the tape through the paper.

Currently, there are the following types of printers: matrix, inkjet and laser. It is these varieties that can be purchased in stores. Another key feature is the ability to print a picture in color. Sometimes in different sources the indicated fourth type is freeze-dried, but it is rather expensive, therefore it is not used in everyday life.

Matrix printers use obsolete technology to build an image. In the print head moving along the sheet, there is a block of needles that, in accordance with the commands of the controller, hit the desired section of paper through the impregnated tape. Any image, including letters, is formed from points. The mobility of each needle is ensured by a miniature coil of an electromagnet. The quality of the print depends on the number of punching needles, 9 or 24. The bigger, the better.

Disadvantages of technology: low speed of printing and noise at work.

However, the matrix method of output on paper is still used in cash registers and ATMs.

Inkjet printing is currently the most popular, because such devices allow you to receive color images of high quality, and the cost of the solution, as indicated in the beginning of the article, is low. There is a row of microscopic nozzles in the print head , through which ink droplets forming an image are output onto the paper. Colors of different colors (from four, including black) are contained in special containers of the printer - cartridges. Depending on the technical solution used, droplets from the nozzles can be squeezed out by means of piezo (Epson) and thermo (Canon) effects.

Now more and more popular are laser models. They use the principle of creating a focused laser beam image on a rotating photoconductor. Then by means of an electrostatic charge on it the toner (a powder) put on a sheet of paper, finally fixing by a high temperature (baking) is put on.

Sometimes, users ask a question about how to use the printer. To do this, you need to perform several necessary actions: connect the printer to the computer, plug it into the network, install the drivers, select the "Print" item in the program.