Like all technology, printers have evolved a great deal over the last 20 years. In that time many new methods of printing have come to consumers. Some printing methods are still going to be too expensive for home or small business use, but are accessible through printing and publishing companies. For this article we are going to focus on printers that you would find in any small business office, or even in your own home.
Ink-Jet Printers
These are the most common type of printers for low volume printing. The technology is quite inexpensive, and the print quality is usually quite good for the cost. They are designed for lower output because they have a slower print speed than other kinds of printers. They are also not that efficient with their ink, leading to users having to replace the printer cartridges rather frequently.
Laser Printers
Laser printers work by burning toner onto a page. This is a quick, high quality, and efficient toner usage type of printer. Toner cartridges are not going to dry out, like the ink-jet printers cartridges can. They are going to be more expensive to purchase, but if you are doing a lot of printing you may want to look into how much it can save you over the long term.
Other
There are a host of other types of printers. Dot-matrix printers are quite outdated; they did not provide very good quality, and therefore got left behind. Thermal printers are another type of printer you may be familiar with. It uses special paper and heat to create an image; this is the common method of printing receipts at consumer stores. Finally, LED and LCD printers run on the same principle as a laser printer. The only difference between these types are that they use LEDs or LCDs to burn the toner, instead of a laser.
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