What is the difference between ink jet, dot matrix and laser printers?

Good Question!





A dot Matrix printer is an ';Impact'; printer.


It is called an ';Impact'; printer because it actually strikes the page it is printing on, through a ribbon that is coated with ink.


The ribbons usually last a long time.


They are mostly used for Text and Numbers, not pictures.


They are a bit loud, and usually pretty large in size


Impact printers are mostly used in an office that needs to print on ';Triplicate'; forms or ';Duplicate'; forms.








Ink jet / Bubble jet printers are like mini electronic ';Spray painters';.


They spray ';paint';, or ink, directly onto a page to create an image.


Pretty cheap these days.


Really getting small and quiet, too.


They even ';paint'; a document, just like an image.


But the ink tends to run out pretty quickly.


Ink Jets / Bubble jets are the kind usually used on a home PC.





Laser printers are special because they don't have a moving ';Head';.


They are really quiet and usually are the fastest at printing.


But they aren't very small.


Laser printers are also the most expensive of the three you mentioned.. (Especially the color ones!)


The toner lasts a really long time, but costs a good bit more to refill when it runs out.


A laser printer is the most durable, longest lasting of the three, probably because they don't have a moving ';Head'; to get jammed or broken.


When a print is made on a laser printer, a special wire called a ';Charger'; or ';Charging Wire'; first creates the image or document on the paper (invisible to you and me), then the paper is passed through the ';Toner'; which sticks to the image that the charger created.


Then the toner is ';Set'; using heat so that it will stay on the paper.


(That's why paper coming out of a laser printer feels warm to the touch)





I hope this answers your question!





Good Luck, and Happy Surfing!What is the difference between ink jet, dot matrix and laser printers?
the oldest Dot matrix


uses pins ( either 9 or 24 depening on the age)


to make the shape of the letter,


and then strikes the ribbon ( likea typewriter) to make a mark on the page


very slow.





Ink Jet uses liquid ink, and sprays it on a page from nossles,


then it dries, and its done


they are measured in dots per inch,


the higher the better.





Laser puts toner ( ink dust) on a page, and then the laser melts it/attaches it to the page


it too is measured in DPI.


laser is the fastest way to print,


and cheaper in the long run, but is more expensive to get started with





most lasers are black and white, the color ones are a bit more pricy.





I hope this helps.What is the difference between ink jet, dot matrix and laser printers?
ink jet,


sprays wet ink on paper


http://computer.howstuffworks.com/inkjet…


dot matrix


uses type ribbon (like typewriters)


http://bits.me.berkeley.edu/mmcs/PROPRNT…


laser printers


sprays dry heated ink...


http://www.howstuffworks.com/laser-print…
and you couldnt google this?
dot matrix - little wires make dots


ink jets - spray ink


laser - vaporizes ink and deposits on surface ( in actuality it uses a static charge to attract the ink to heated paper and more heat to set the ink - but vaporize sounds more cool )