Deciding on the most popular printer models of all time is a daunting task to be sure. The evolution of the printer, and the technology behind each incarnation along the thirty odd years of printer development, makes the task difficult when comparing apples to apples ?as it were. But if the printer's evolution were to be divided in its various incarnations and applications over this time period, some choices for the most popular can be made.



The Dot-matrix Chevy remains

When it comes down to the basics, sometimes the most popular printers are the simplest printers that don't have all the ?bells and whistles.? This might be like comparing cars and the older Chevrolets. Nothing fancy, but they did the job and rarely broke down. By comparison, this would be the dot matrix printer. Surprisingly, these workhorses are still in use as receipt printers and low use-lower quality applications. The Epson LX-300 II low impact printer is/was one of the most popular and still offers journeyman work loads. The Panasonic KX ?P3696 also ranks right up there as one of the most popular over time.

An evolutionary process

As printers began to catch up with the technological changes that were on-going in the computer end of things, the laser printer, ink jet printers, printer ink cartridges and several applications within each type of printer started to appear on the market. These evolutionary changes make it difficult to say which were really most popular simply because different people have different needs and the all cam and went quickly. But if a generalized ?most popular? might be imposed, ink jet printers such as the Canon Pixma MP500 for an all-in one might be suggested while Ricoh AficioG700 and the Canon CL7200D might be suggested as a few of the other more popular models.

Applications and need

To offer a printer that prints on a standard sheet of paper with lines of text as the end-product won't suffice in today's printer world. The printers found today must offer specific applications or at least several applications built into one. To this end, photo printers are the printing rage at the moment along with their business brethren the label printer. Photo printer wise, the Epson PictureMate is perhaps the most popular with the Canon Pixma iP4200 also being a popular choice for the duel printing photo/letter options.

As you move toward the business label printer application category you'll need to segment the application a bit further because their specific use requirements get more detailed by the day. But, since this particular printer application is relatively new, the Zebra line of printers is really the standard regardless of the requirements that you are putting on the printer. The Intermec PB40 can also fit the bill nicely.