Different types of printers

There are many different printer manufacturers available today, including Canon, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Xerox and Lexmark, among many others. There are also several types of printers to choose from, which we’ll explore below.

• Inkjet printers recreate a digital image by spraying ink onto paper. These are the most common type of personal printer.
• Laster printers are used to create high-quality prints by passing a laser beam at a high speed over a negatively charged drum to define an image. Color laser printers are more often found in professional settings.
• 3D printers are a relatively new printer technology. 3D printing creates a physical object from a digital file. It works by adding layer upon layer of material until the print job is complete and the object is whole.
• Thermal printers produce an image on paper by passing paper with a thermochromic coating over a print head comprised of electrically heated elements and produces an image in the area where the heated coating turns black. A dye-sublimation printer is a form of thermal printing technology that uses heat to transfer dye onto materials.
• All-in-one printers are multifunction devices that combine printing with other technologies such as a copier, scanner and/or fax machine.
• LED printers are similar to laser printers but use a light-emitting diode array in the print head instead of a laser.
• Photo printers are similar to inkjet printers but are designed specifically to print high-quality photos, which require a lot of ink and special paper to ensure the ink doesn’t smear.