Computer Printers

One of the most common non-essential computer peripherals for outputting information is the printer. A printer produces a hard copy of documents that are stored on the computer in electronic form. A hard copy means that it is permanent and includes human readable text and/or graphics.

Computer printers are usually attached to the computer by a printer cable or USB cable. Network printers, however, have built-in network interfaces which are usually wireless connections or Ethernet connections which serve as hard copy devices for other users on the same network.

A lot of modern computer printers can actually communicate with other electronic media such as memory cards or memory sticks. They can also interface with image capture devices such as digital cameras and mobile phones. Some printers can be combined with scanners and fax machines in a single unit. A printer which is coupled with a scanner and can be used as a photocopier, giving the printer even more functions.

Computer printers for small office or home PCs are used and designed specifically for jobs with low volume and a short turnaround. They require very little no setup time but they are considerably slow and the cost per page is pretty high. Thirty pages printed in a minute is considered a fast turnaround for a consumer printer but the majority are a lot slower.

For higher volume jobs that require a faster turnaround, companies usually use a printing press which is designed and optimised for this purpose. The printing press is capable of producing hundreds of pages every minute and sometimes more which makes it perfect for high volume jobs such as newspaper print runs and printed design. The printing press produces an incremental cost per page which is often a fraction of that of printers.

Modern printers have improved in quality and performance so some jobs that may have been done by professional print and design companies in the past can now do it with professional desktop publishing programs and a good quality modern printer.

The most popular brands of computer printers are Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, Xerox, Dell, Acer, Hewlett Packard, and Sony. Printers use ink toners to print colours onto the paper. There are thousands of ink toners available as each printer has its own shape and settings. Because of this, finding the right ink toner is difficult. Ink toners by the official manufacturers can be expensive but compatible toners are available by third party manufacturers which fit perfectly, do the same job and quality but are cheaper.