Is a type of printer which uses pins impacting an ink ribbon to print. It involves print head running in back and forth motion or horizontally across the page and prints using impacting mechanism. These printers are outdated and it was invented in the early 1970’s. However there are qualities which inkjet or laserjet don’t have.
It is much cheaper in the market, can make a carbon copies of the print-out,versatile when used in industrial environments but less quietier than thermal printers when use for POS retailers store . Early dot matrix printer had fewer pins ranging from seven to twelve. For the modern dot matrix printers it is between 9 to 48 pins but the most common is 24 pins. Each dot is produced by a tiny metal rod which is driven forward by the power of a tiny electromagnet or solenoid.
Printing directions can be classified into two types. A unidirectional prints only in one direction from left to right whereas bi-directional prints from left to right & right to left.
CPS character per second, speed can vary from 50 to over 500 cps. Different speeds depends on the quality of print desired. Print quality is determined by the number of pins. It has a features of parallee & USB interface for easy connectivity to various devices and also supports multiple paper types, including continuous paper, labels, envelopes, and cards.
