Comparison Between Impact Printer and Non-Impact Printer

Impact Printers

An impact printer makes contact with the paper. It usually forms the print image by pressing an inked ribbon against the paper using a hammer or pins. Following are some examples of impact printers dot-matrix printer, daisy-wheel printer, Line printers, drum printer, chain printer, band printer.

Non-impact Printers

Non-impact printers do not use a striking device to produce characters on the paper; and because these printers do not hammer against the paper they are much quieter. Following are some non-impacted printers Ink-jet printers and laser printer.

We summarized all the differences between impact printer and non-impact printer regarding to their features

Descriptions

• Impact printer – Produces text and images when tiny wire pins on print head strike the ink ribbon by physically contacting the paper
• Non-impact printer – Produces text and graphics on paper without actually striking the paper

Types

• Impact printer – Dot-matrix printer
• Non-impact printer – Inkjet printer, laser printer and thermal printer

Speed

• Impact printer – Low printing speed
• Non-impact printer – Reasonably fast

Quality

• Impact printer – Print quality lower in some types
• Non-impact printer – High quality of output, capable of printing fine and smooth details

Letter quality

• Impact printer – Produce near letter quality (NLQ) print only, which is just suitable for printing mailing labels, envelopes, or invoices
• Non-impact printer – Letter-quality printouts

Consumption

• Impact printer – Not commonly used today
• Non-impact printer – Most commonly used printer today

Tools

• Impact printer – Uses ink ribbon
• Non-impact printer – Uses ink spray or toner powder

Cost

• Impact printer – Less expensive
• Non-impact printer – More expensive

Durability

• Impact printer – Reliable, durable (lasting for a long time)
• Non-impact printer – Print head is less durable, inclined towards to clogging and damage

Sound effects

• Impact printer – Generally noisy because of the striking activity
• Non-impact printer – Generally much quieter than impact printers because there is no striking mechanism

Image clearness

• Impact printer – Poor graphics or none at all
• Non-impact printer – Can handle graphics and often a wider variety of fonts than impact printers

Multipart forms

• Impact printer – Ideal for printing multipart forms because they can easily print through many layers of paper
• Non-impact printer – Cannot print multipart forms

Color output

• Impact printer – Limited color printing
• Non-impact printer – Capable of printing in strong clear color, good for printing pictures

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