Printer (computing): Difference between revisions

{{use American English|date=August 2022}}

{{use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}

A '''printer''' is a [[peripheral]] machine which makes a durable representation of graphics or text, usually on [[paper]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/printer|title=Printer - Definition of printer by Merriam-Webster|work=merriam-webster.com|access-date=6 August 2017|archive-date=18 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818221053/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/printer|url-status=live}}</ref> While most output is human-readable, bar code printers are an example of an expanded use for printers.<ref name=BarCo>{{cite web

  |title=0271-2834-MTDC; Assembling a Bar-Code Tracking System

  |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm02712834/page03.htm

  |quote=Printers designed to print bar-code labels ...

  |access-date=3 April 2019

  |archive-date=1 June 2017

  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601172309/https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm02712834/page03.htm

  |url-status=live

  }}</ref> Different types of printers include 3D printers, inkjet printers, laser printers, and thermal printers.<ref>{{cite web   |url=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/p/printer.htm   |title=What is a Printer?   |work=computerhope.com   |access-date=3 April 2020   |archive-date=21 February 2020   |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221203714/https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/p/printer.htm   |url-status=live   }}</ref>

The first computer printer designed was a mechanically driven apparatus by [[Charles Babbage]] for his [[difference engine]] in the 19th century; however, his mechanical printer design was not built until 2000.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/710950.stm |title=Babbage printer finally runs |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=13 April 2000 |access-date=6 December 2010 |archive-date=11 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111224712/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/710950.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> He also had plans for a curve plotter, which would have been the first computer graphics printer if it was built.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Eccles |first=Simon |date=2019-12-13 |title=How Charles Babbage invented computer printing |url=https://www.printweek.com/content/features/how-charles-babbage-invented-computer-printing/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=[[Printweek]] |language=en}}</ref>

The first patented printing mechanism for applying a marking medium to a recording medium or more particularly an electrostatic inking apparatus and a method for electrostatically depositing ink on controlled areas of a receiving medium, was in 1962 by C. R. Winston, Teletype Corporation, using continuous inkjet printing. The ink was a red stamp-pad ink manufactured by Phillips Process Company of Rochester, NY under the name Clear Print. This patent (US3060429) led to the Teletype Inktronic Printer product delivered to customers in late 1966.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jim |first=Haynes |publisher=Southwest Museum of Engineering Communications and Computation |title=Archivist |url=http://www.smecc.org/teletype_inktronic.htm |access-date=29 May 2021 |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021152339/http://www.smecc.org/teletype_inktronic.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

A '''card printer''' is an electronic [[desktop printer]] with single card feeders which print and personalize [[plastic cards]]. In this respect they differ from, for example, [[label printer]]s which have a continuous supply feed. Card dimensions are usually 85.60 × 53.98&nbsp;mm, standardized under [[ISO/IEC 7810]] as ID-1. This format is also used in [[Electronic cash|EC-cards]], [[telephone card]]s, [[credit card]]s, [[driver's license]]s and [[European Health Insurance Card|health insurance cards]].  This is commonly known as the [[bank card]] format.  Card printers are controlled by corresponding printer drivers or by means of a specific programming language. Generally card printers are designed with laminating, striping, and punching functions, and use  desktop or web-based software. The hardware features of a card printer differentiate a card printer from the more traditional printers, as ID cards are usually made of PVC plastic and require laminating and punching. Different card printers can accept different card thickness and dimensions.

The principle is the same for practically all card printers: the plastic card is passed through a [[thermal print]] head at the same time as a color ribbon.  The color from the [[ribbon]] is transferred onto the card through the heat given out from the print head.  The standard performance for card printing is 300 dpi (300 dots per inch, equivalent to 11.8 dots per mm). There are different printing processes, which vary in their detail:

;Thermal transfer:Mainly used to personalize pre-printed plastic cards in monochrome. The color is "transferred" from the (monochrome) color [[ribbon]]; [[Dye sublimation]]:This process uses four panels of color according to the [[CMYK color model|CMYK]] color ribbon.  The card to be printed passes under the print head several times each time with the corresponding [[ribbon]] panel.  Each color in turn is diffused (sublimated) directly onto the card.  Thus it is possible to produce a high depth of color (up to 16 million shades) on the card.  Afterwards a transparent overlay (O) also known as a topcoat (T) is placed over the card to protect it from mechanical wear and tear and to render the printed image UV resistant.

;Reverse image technology:The standard for high-security card applications that use contact and contactless [[Smart card|smart chip cards]].  The technology prints images onto the underside of a special film that fuses to the surface of a card through heat and pressure.  Since this process transfers dyes and resins directly onto a smooth, flexible film, the print-head never comes in contact with the card surface itself.  As such, card surface interruptions such as smart chips, ridges caused by internal [[RFID]] antennae and debris do not affect print quality. Even printing over the edge is possible.

;Common printing problems:Many printing problems are caused by physical defects in the card material itself, such as deformation or warping of the card that is fed into the machine in the first place. Printing irregularities can also result from chip or antenna embedding that alters the thickness of the plastic and interferes with the printer's effectiveness. Other issues are often caused by operator errors, such as users attempting to feed non-compatible cards into the card printer, while other printing defects may result from environmental abnormalities such as dirt or contaminants on the card or in the printer.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistir/IR-7056/Interoperability/Goyet-Interoperability.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310101533/http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistir/IR-7056/Interoperability/Goyet-Interoperability.pdf |archive-date=10 March 2016 |title=Interoperability and Card Printing |conference=NIST Workshop on Storage and Processor Card-based Technologies |year=2003 |pages=8–9 |accessdate=9 March 2016}}</ref> Reverse transfer printers are less vulnerable to common printing problems than direct-to-card printers, since with these printers the card does not come into direct contact with the printhead.

Broadly speaking there are three main types of card printers, differing mainly by the method used to print onto the card. They are:

;Near to Edge:This term designates the cheapest type of printing by card printers. These printers print up to 5&nbsp;mm from the edge of the card stock.

;Direct to Card:Also known as "Edge to Edge Printing". The print-head comes in direct contact with the card. This printing type is the most popular nowadays, mostly due to cost factor. The majority of identification card printers today are of this type.

;Reverse Transfer:Also known as "High Definition Printing" or "Over the Edge Printing". The print-head prints to a transfer film backwards (hence the reverse) and then the printed film is rolled onto the card with intense heat (hence the transfer). The term "over the edge" is due to the fact that when the printer prints onto the film it has a "bleed", and when rolled onto the card the bleed extends to completely over the edge of the card, leaving no border.

;[[Smart card|Contact Smart Card]]: The Contact Smart Cards use [[RFID]] technology and require direct contact to a conductive plate to register admission or transfer of information. The transmission of commands, data, and card status held between the two physical contact points.

;[[Contactless smart card|Contactless Smart Card]]: Contactless Smart Cards exhibit integrated circuit that can store and process data while communicating with the terminal via Radio Frequency. Unlike Contact Smart Card, contact less cards feature intelligent re-writable [[microchip]] that can be transcribed through radio waves.

;HiD Proximity: HID's proximity technology allows fast, accurate reading while offering card or key tag read ranges from 4" to 24" inches (10&nbsp;cm to 60.96&nbsp;cm), dependent on the type of proximity reader being used. Since these cards and key tags do not require physical contact with the reader, they are virtually maintenance and wear-free.

;[[Magnetic stripe card|ISO Magnetic Stripe]]: A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of storing data by modifying the [[magnetism]] of tiny iron-based magnetic particles on a band of magnetic material on the card. The magnetic stripe, sometimes called swipe card or magstripe, is read by physical contact and swiping past a magnetic reading head.

There are basically two categories of card printer software: desktop-based, and web-based (online). The biggest difference between the two is whether or not a customer has a printer on their network that is capable of printing identification cards. If a business already owns an ID card printer, then a desktop-based badge maker is probably suitable for their needs. Typically, large organizations who have high employee turnover will have their own printer. A desktop-based badge maker is also required if a company needs their IDs make instantly. An example of this is the private construction site that has restricted access. However, if a company does not already have a local (or network) printer that has the features they need, then the web-based option is a perhaps a more affordable solution. The web-based solution is good for small businesses that do not anticipate a lot of rapid growth, or organizations who either can not afford a card printer, or do not have the resources to learn how to set up and use one. Generally speaking, desktop-based solutions involve software, a database (or spreadsheet) and can be installed on a single computer or network.

Alongside the basic function of printing cards, card printers can also read and encode magnetic stripes as well as contact and contact free RFID chip cards ([[smart card]]s).  Thus card printers enable the encoding of plastic cards both visually and logically. Plastic cards can also be laminated after printing.  Plastic cards are laminated after printing to achieve a considerable increase in durability and a greater degree of counterfeit prevention. Some card printers come with an option to print both sides at the same time, which cuts down the time taken to print and less margin of error. In such printers one side of id card is printed and then the card is flipped in the flip station and other side is printed.

 

Alongside the traditional uses in time attendance and access control (in particular with photo personalization), countless other applications have been found for plastic cards, e.g. for personalized customer and members' cards, for sports ticketing and in local public transport systems for the production of season tickets, for the production of school and college identity cards as well as for the production of national ID cards.

 

[[Solid ink]] printers, also known as phase-change ink or hot-melt ink printers, are a type of [[thermal transfer printer]], graphics sheet printer or 3D printer . They use solid sticks, crayons, pearls or granular ink materials.  Common inks are [[CMYK color model|CMYK]]-colored ink, similar in consistency to candle wax, which are melted and fed into a piezo crystal operated print-head. A Thermal transfer printhead jets the liquid ink on a rotating, oil coated drum. The paper then passes over the print drum, at which time the image is immediately transferred, or transfixed, to the page. Solid ink printers are most commonly used as color office printers and are excellent at printing on transparencies and other non-porous media. Solid ink is also called phase-change or hot-melt ink and was first used by Data Products and Howtek, Inc., in 1984.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gregory|first=P|title=Editor|publisher=Blackie Academic & Professional for Chapman and Hall|year=1996|isbn=0-7514-0238-9|location=Great Britain|pages=113–138}}</ref>   Solid ink printers can produce excellent results with text and images. Some solid ink printers have evolved to print 3D models, for example, Visual Impact Corporation<ref>{{Cite book|last=Burns|first=Marshall|title=Automated fabrication : improving productivity in manufacturing|date=1993|publisher=PTR Prentice Hall|isbn=0-13-119462-3|location=Englewood Cliffs, N.J.|pages=97|oclc=27810960}}</ref> of Windham, NH was started by retired Howtek employee, Richard Helinski whose 3D patents US4721635 and then US5136515 was licensed to Sanders Prototype, Inc., later named Solidscape, Inc.  Acquisition and operating costs are similar to [[Laser printing|laser printers]]. Drawbacks of the technology include high [[energy conservation|energy consumption]] and long warm-up times from a cold state. Also, some users complain that the resulting prints are difficult to write on, as the wax tends to repel inks from [[pen]]s, and are difficult to feed through [[automatic document feeder]]s, but these traits have been significantly reduced in later models. This type of thermal transfer printer is only available from one manufacturer, [[Xerox]], manufactured as part of their [[Xerox Phaser]] office printer line. Previously, [[solid ink]] printers were manufactured by [[Tektronix]], but Tektronix sold the printing business to Xerox in 2001.

{{anchor|Impact_printers}} Impact printers rely on a forcible impact to transfer ink to the media. The impact printer uses a print head that either hits the surface of the ink ribbon, pressing the ink ribbon against the paper (similar to the action of a [[typewriter]]), or, less commonly, hits the back of the paper, pressing the paper against the ink ribbon (the [[IBM 1403]] for example).  All but the [[dot matrix printer]] rely on the use of ''fully formed characters'', [[letterform]]s that represent each of the characters that the printer was capable of printing. In addition, most of these printers were limited to monochrome, or sometimes two-color, printing in a single typeface at one time, although [[emphasis (typography)|bolding]] and [[underlining]] of text could be done by "overstriking", that is, printing two or more impressions either in the same character position or slightly offset. Impact printers varieties include typewriter-derived printers, teletypewriter-derived printers, daisywheel printers, dot matrix printers, and line printers. Dot-matrix printers remain in common use <ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.printersbuddy.com/uses-of-printer/| title = Uses of Printer?| work = PrintersBuddy.com| access-date = 7 June 2022| archive-date = 17 January 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230117222607/https://www.printersbuddy.com/uses-of-printer/| url-status = usurped}}</ref> in businesses where multi-part forms are printed. ''An overview of impact printing''<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/416/zable.pdf | url-status=dead | title=An overview of impact printing | journal=IBM Journal of Research and Development | author1=J. L. Zable | author2=H. C. Lee | pages=651–668 | volume=41 | issue=6 | date=November 1997 | doi=10.1147/rd.416.0651 | issn=0018-8646 | access-date=29 December 2008 | archive-date=9 October 2022 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/416/zable.pdf }}{{subscription required}}</ref> contains a detailed description of many of the technologies used.

[[File:Dot matrix example text.png|thumb|right|Sample output from 9-pin dot matrix printer (one character expanded to show detail)]]

* ''Comb printers'', also called ''[[line matrix printer]]s'', represent the fifth major design. These printers are a hybrid of [[dot matrix printing]] and line printing. In these printers, a comb of hammers prints a portion of a row of pixels at one time, such as every eighth pixel. By shifting the comb back and forth slightly, the entire pixel row can be printed, continuing the example, in just eight cycles. The paper then advances, and the next pixel row is printed. Because far less motion is involved than in a conventional dot matrix printer, these printers are very fast compared to dot matrix printers and are competitive in speed with formed-character line printers while also being able to print dot matrix graphics.  The [[Printronix]] P7000 series of line matrix printers are still manufactured as of 2013.

Liquid ink electrostatic printers use a chemical coated paper, which is charged by the print head according to the image of the document.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/frank/sheets/138/c/CK1366.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/frank/sheets/138/c/CK1366.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Raytheon|Raytheon Company]] |title= ''CK1366 CK1367 Printer-type cathode ray tube'' data sheet |date=1 November 1960 |access-date=29 July 2017 }}; {{cite web |url=http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/frank/sheets/138/c/CK1368.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/frank/sheets/138/c/CK1368.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Raytheon|Raytheon Company]] |title= ''CK1368 CK1369 Printer-type cathode ray tube'' data sheet |date=1 November 1960 |access-date=29 July 2017 }}</ref> The paper is passed near a pool of liquid ink with the opposite charge. The charged areas of the paper attract the ink and thus form the image. This process was developed from the process of [[electrofax|electrostatic copying]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cms.ironk12.org/TeacherWebsites/RyanDurfee/USHistory/HistoryStudentsWebsites/MadisonAlgerHISTORYWEBSITE/electrostaticprinter.html |title=Madison's website on Renn Zaphiropoulos |publisher=Cms.ironk12.org |access-date=2012-11-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201153330/http://cms.ironk12.org/TeacherWebsites/RyanDurfee/USHistory/HistoryStudentsWebsites/MadisonAlgerHISTORYWEBSITE/electrostaticprinter.html |archive-date=2012-12-01 }}</ref> Color reproduction is very accurate, and because there is no heating the scale distortion is less than ±0.1%. (All laser printers have an accuracy of ±1%.)

Today, most printers accept one or more [[page description language]]s (PDLs). Laser printers with greater processing power frequently offer support for variants of Hewlett-Packard's [[Printer Command Language]] (PCL), [[PostScript]] or [[XML Paper Specification]]. Most inkjet devices support manufacturer proprietary PDLs such as [[ESC/P]]. The diversity in mobile platforms have led to various standardization efforts around device PDLs such as the [[Printer Working Group]] (PWG's) [[PWG Raster]].

* [[Print screen|Print screen button]]