Man is always in constant search for knowledge which he



makes use to create innovations that will make his life

better. Among the varied inventions of man is a

computer printer. The first computer printer can be

traced back in the year 1953 which was developed by

Remington-Rand as a match for Univac computer. Laser

printers were evolved from the dry printing process or

Xerox invented by Chester Carlson in 1938. 1971

witnessed the birth of the first laser printer which

was then named as EARS. The next years are period of

experiments and added inventions which paved the way to

the first IBM printer. The IBM 3800 Printing System was

considered as the first high-speed laser printer with a

speed of more than 100 impressions-per-minute.

Nowadays, a computer printer is of vital importance in

the different areas of human activities. It goes hand

in hand with a computer as a component that generates

the hard copy or a readable text from the stored data

on the computer's system. Several printer technologies

are available today but it can be categorized into two

types - namely the impact and the non-impact

technologies. A computer printer that uses the impact

technology is equipped with a system that requires

contact with the paper or whatever material that can be

used to produce the readable text.

Dot Matrix and Character Printers are the two major

classifications of Impact printer technology. A

character printer is a computerized typewriter made up

of a group of bars which serve as the platform for

letters and numbers. Like a typewriter, the right

characters are hit or struck to touch the ink ribbons

which in turn pass on the characters to the paper. It

can be used with speed but has limited uses. Computer

printers with Dot matrix technology have a group of

small pins needed to strike the ink coated ribbon to

pass on the image to the paper.

A printer using the Non-Impact technology does not need

contact with the paper to produce the desired image.

An example of this is the commonly used Inkjet painters

and Laser printers. An inkjet printer directly sprays

drop of inks into the paper while a laser printer is

equipped with a toner, heat and static electricity to

produce the image. Inkjet printers are used in almost

all offices, business, caf? and many other

establishments. The printed image coming from an

inkjet printer has tiny dots that usually have a

diameter of 50-60 microns.

Print head assembly, paper feed assembly, power supply,

control circuitry and interface ports are the parts

making up a typical inkjet printer. The quality of the

produced image in an inkjet printer is also dependent

on the type of paper used. Brightness and absorption

are the main factors that determine the quality of the

printed image. The brightness is determined by the

smoothness of the paper's surface. Smooth surface

reflect more light which makes the image brighter.

Absorption refers to the ability of the paper to take

in the ink. Papers with good absorption capacity have

images that will stay tight while poor absorption

capacity can result in blotting.

Monochromatic and multi-colored images can be produced

depending on the type of printer. Monochrome printer is

only capable of generating images with only one color,

commonly black, while a color printer can produce

colored images. A printer can transform a group of

characters, a vector image and a bitmapped image into a

printed version. Other printers however cannot process

all of these types. By examining your needs, you can

choose the optimum printer for you.