In computing, a printer is a peripheral device which makes a persistent representation of graphics or
text, usually on paper.[1] While most output is human-readable, bar code printers are an example of
an expanded use for printers.[2] The different types of printers include, 3D printer, Inkjet printer, laser
printer, thermal printer etc.[3]
Contents
1History
2Types of printers
3Technology
o 3.1Modern print technology
3.1.1Toner-based printers
3.1.2Liquid inkjet printers
3.1.3Solid ink printers
3.1.4Dye-sublimation printers
3.1.5Thermal printers
o 3.2Obsolete and special-purpose printing technologies
3.2.1Impact printers
3.2.1.1Typewriter-derived printers
3.2.1.2Teletypewriter-derived printers
3.2.1.3Daisy wheel printers
3.2.1.4Dot-matrix printers
3.2.1.5Line printers
3.2.2Liquid ink electrostatic printers
3.2.3Plotters
o 3.3Other printers
4Attributes
o 4.1Printer control languages
o 4.2Printing speed
o 4.3Printing mode
o 4.4Monochrome, colour and photo printers
o 4.5Page yield
o 4.6Economics
o 4.7Printer steganography
o 4.8Wireless printers
5See also
6References
7External links
History[edit]
The first computer printer designed was a mechanically driven apparatus by Charles Babbage for
his difference engine in the 19th century; however, his mechanical printer design was not built until
2000.[4]
The first electronic printer was the EP-101, invented by Japanese company Epson and released in
1968.[5][6]
The first commercial printers generally used mechanisms from electric
typewriters and Teletype machines. The demand for higher speed led to the development of new
systems specifically for computer use. In the 1980s there were daisy wheel systems similar to
typewriters, line printers that produced similar output but at much higher speed, and dot
matrix systems that could mix text and graphics but produced relatively low-quality output.
The plotter was used for those requiring high quality line art like blueprints.
The introduction of the low-cost laser printer in 1984 with the first HP LaserJet,[7] and the addition
of PostScript in next year's Apple LaserWriter, set off a revolution in printing known as desktop
publishing.[8] Laser printers using PostScript mixed text and graphics, like dot-matrix printers, but at
quality levels formerly available only from commercial typesetting systems. By 1990, most simple
printing tasks like fliers and brochures were now created on personal computers and then laser
printed; expensive offset printing systems were being dumped as scrap. The HP Deskjet of 1988
offered the same advantages as a laser printer in terms of flexibility, but produced somewhat lower
quality output (depending on the paper) from much less expensive mechanisms. Inkjet systems
rapidly displaced dot matrix and daisy wheel printers from the market. By the 2000s high-quality
printers of this sort had fallen under the $100 price point and became commonplace.
The rapid update of internet email through the 1990s and into the 2000s has largely displaced the
need for printing as a means of moving documents, and a wide variety of reliable storage systems
means that a "physical backup" is of little benefit today. Even the desire for printed output for "offline
reading" while on mass transit or aircraft has been displaced by e-book readers and tablet
computers. Today, traditional printers are being used more for special purposes, like printing
photographs or artwork, and are no longer a must-have peripheral.[opinion]
Starting around 2010, 3D printing became an area of intense interest, allowing the creation of
physical objects with the same sort of effort as an early laser printer required to produce a brochure.
These devices are in their earliest stages of development and have not yet become commonplace.
[citation needed]
