Summary

10 IT Essentials: PC Harware and Software Companion GuideIn a daisy-wheel printer, the wheel contains the letters, numbers, and special characters. Thewheel rotates until the required character is in place, and an electromechanical hammerpushes the character into the ink ribbon. The character then strikes the paper, printing thecharacter on the paper.A dot-matrix printer is similar to the daisy-wheel printer, except that instead of a wheelcontaining characters, a print head contains pins that are surrounded by electromagnets.When energized, the pins push forward onto the ink ribbon, creating a character on thepaper.The number of pins on a print head, 9 or 24, indicates the quality of the print. The highestquality of print that is produced by a dot-matrix printer is called near-letter quality (NLQ).Table 7-1 lists some advantages and disadvantages of an impact printer.Table 7-1Impact Printer Pros and ConsAdvantagesUses inexpensive consumablesUses continuous-feed paperHas carbon copy printing capabilityDisadvantagesNoisyLow-resolution graphicsLimited color capabilitySlow printing, normally in the range of 32 to 76characters per second (cps)Describe Inkjet PrintersInkjet printers produce high-quality prints. Inkjet printers are easy to use and inexpensivecompared to laser printers. The print quality of an inkjet printer is measured in dots per inch(dpi). Higher dpi numbers provide greater image details. Figure 7-4 shows an all-in-onedevice that contains an inkjet printer. Figure 7-5 shows inkjet printer components.Figure 7-4Inkjet Printer