All ink cartridge & laser toner printers have certain features in common. For example, they all print at a certain number of dots per inch (dpi), and they all print at certain speeds. This web section introduces these features in order of importance (although everyone places a different emphasis on specific features). This web section covers the following topics:
- Paper
- Font quality and symbols
- PC interface
- Ease of use, modification, and repair
- the inkjet cartridges or other printer cartridge uses
If you require many paper sizes, a dot-matrix
printer is the most flexible. Paper sizes in the U.S. are
dramatically different than in Europe or Japan. Because
printers are designed for the world not specifically the
U.S. Most printers support a variety of paper sizes. But,
laser printers cannot support larger sizes of paper. The
paper width must be smaller than 8 1/2 inches to fit most
laser printers. Paper widths larger than this require a
dot-matrix or inkjet printer. The list below describes some
of the page sizes typically supported.
Laser printers typically require that you manually feed
individual sheets, or that you purchase special paper trays
to hold the different sizes. Most lasers come with at least
one tray.. If you use special trays with laser printers,
you can select the page size automatically (just like a
copier machine). The trays have a size stamped on them that
the laser printer can read after you have slid the tray
into place. If you use the laser printer in manual mode,
the printer still needs to know how long the page is for
the paper jam circuitry to function properly. You can tell
the laser printer the paper size by using the front panel
or PC software that sends the proper commands.
- Executive is 7.25-by-10.5 inches
- Letter is 8.5-by-11 inches
- Legal is 8.5-by-14 inches
- A4 is 210-by-297mm*
- Monarch is 3.875-by-7.5 inches
- Business is 4.125-by-9.5 inches
- DL is 110-by-220mm*
- C5 is 162-by-229mm*
- Computer is 11-by-14 inches
Note: When you use the front panel of
the laser printer to change paper sizes, the PC software
does not know that the change has taken place. There is
no way for the PC and the printer to coordinate their activity
unless the printer is an object printer. Use the front panel
for paper size adjustment only if you are not worried about
page formatting.
When dot-matrix printers were created, people had to enter
the paper length using the units of lines. The problem with
this method was that the lines could be spaced differently.
Also, if printing in graphics mode, the "lines"
unit of measurement does not make any sense. For this reason,
most dot-matrix printers can now accept the page length
in millimeters or lines, and assume that the current line
spacing is correct. This is usually done through the software,
although some models have paper-length adjustments on the
front panel. Most dot-matrix printers have adjustable widths,
depending on the model. The wide carriage models can expand
to 16.25 inches; the smaller models can expand up to 10.25
inches.
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