- What kind of printers are available?
- Which printer should I use?
- Can one type of printer be used for more than one application?
- What is the cost to print a page?
- How many copies can be printed?
- What is throughput?
- Can the printer (any type) connect to my network?
1. What kind of printers are available?
Answer: There are three basic types of printers, Impact, Laser and
Thermal. An Impact printer uses a set of hammers to strike a formed character
image or a series of dots against a ribbon to create a character on the paper.
A Laser printer utilizes toner and a "drum" or imager to place the dots of toner
onto the paper andis then fused to prevent the toner from being rubbed off of the
paper.
A Thermal printer utilizes a thermal printhead, heats the ribbon until the ink
is transferred to the paper. Thermal printers can also utilize a special
thermal-sensitive paper instead of a ribbon where the heat of the printhead
causes the chemicals in the paper to change color and thus form the desired
image.
2. Which printer should I use?
Answer: Which printer to use is determined by how the printed material
(paper/label/etc.) will be used. What print quality is required? Many large
reports or copies? Will customers see the document or for internal purposes
only? Will you be printing mostly labels? In what environment will the labels be
used?
A good rule of thumb is: Industrial/high volume environment would utilize the
impact printer; an Office environment would normally use a Laser Printer and a
Bar Code application would utilize a Thermal/Thermal Transfer Printer.
As with most rules, these rules have exceptions. Contact DSI sales for
further information.
3. Can one type of printer be used for more than one application?
Answer: Yes. Any of the three types of printers can print a wide variety of images such
as: bar code, pictures, text, forms, special characters and fonts. The biggest
difference between the images will be the image quality due to the number of
'dots' that the printer utilizes.
A Laser printer will range from 200 to 1200 'dpi'; an Impact printer will have
up to 180 'dpi' and Thermal printers will range from 200 to 400 'dpi'.
4. What is the cost to print a page?
Answer: The cost to print a page(or labels) is dependent upon several factors. Some are: the
amount and type of text being printed, the type of material being used, i.e.
paper or polyester or special label stock, the volume of documents being printed
and the amortized price of the printer.
5. How many copies can be printed?
Answer: Most impact printers will print multi-part forms. Four to five copies is common, but
some printers are capable of printing up to ten-part forms.
6. What is throughput?
Answer: DHTML is the embodiment of a combination of technologies- JavaScript, CSS, and
HTML. Through them a new level of interactivity is possible for the end user
experience.
7. Can the printer (any type) connect to my network?
Answer: Yes, most printers have options available to connect to the more common Networks, such as Novell, Ethernet or NT.
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