Datasheet

72 Chapter 1
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Hardware
Dot-matrix printers are still found in many warehouses, and other
businesses, where multipart forms are used.
Ink-Jet Printers
Ink-jet printers are one of the most popular types in use today. This type of printer sprays
ink on the page to print text or graphics. It’s a nonimpact, sheet-fed line printer.
Figure 1.24 shows an ink cartridge. Some cartridges, like this one, contain the print-
head for that color of ink; you get a new printhead each time you replace the cartridge.
On other printer models, the ink cartridge is just an ink reservoir, and the heads don’t
need replacing.
FIGURE 1.24 A typical ink cartridge (size: approximately 3×1½ inches)
There are two kinds of ink-jet printers: thermal and piezoelectric. These terms refer to
the way the ink is sprayed onto the paper. A thermal ink-jet printer heats the ink to about
400° F, creating vapor bubbles that force the ink out of the cartridge. Thermal ink-jets are
also sometimes called bubble-jets. A piezoelectric printer does the same thing but with elec-
tricity instead of heat.
Ink-jet printers are popular because they can print in color and are inexpensive. How-
ever, their print quality isn’t quite as good as that of a laser printer, and the per-page cost of
ink is much higher than for a laser printer. Therefore, most businesses prefer laser printers
for their main printing needs, perhaps keeping one or two ink-jet printers around for situa-
tions requiring color printing.
Laser Printers
Laser printers are referred to as page printers because they receive their print job instruc-
tions one page at a time. They’re sheet-fed, nonimpact printers. Another name for a laser
printer is an electrophotographic (EP) printer.
LED printers are much like laser printers except they use light-emitting
diodes (LEDs) instead of lasers. Their process is similar to that of laser
printers. They’re covered in more detail later in this chapter.
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