Question

What is the Dot Matrix Printing - What is dot matrix printing??

Accepted Answer

A method of printing  this process creates an image by striking a set of pins against a ribbon to transfer ink to the substrate in the form of small dots  which recreate the image being printed as a dot matrix pattern             Dot matrix printing is one of the most common and popular examples of impact printing  and this printing process is based on the manual typewriter  Dot matrix printers have a printhead that contains a series of metal rods  known as    wires    or    pins     an ink soaked ribbon  and a small guide plate to guide the pins to the substrate  Early dot matrix printers had fewer pins  ranging from seven to twelve   but as demand grew for higher quality print  more pins were added  modern dot matrix printers have a range of between eighteen to forty-eight pins  although the most common number is twenty-four             These printers are most commonly used to print text  although they are also capable of producing very simple graphics  usually in bitmap form   The text or image being printed is represented by a pattern of dots  dot matrix pattern   which is created on the substrate by striking the relevant pins in the printhead against the ribbon and the substrate to create the required pattern  Dot matrix printers tend to print one line at a time  either as a serial dot matrix or a line dot matrix  In a serial dot matrix  the printhead moves horizontally across the substrate  by means of a stepper motor   This method is based on the idea of having one vertical column of pins in the printhead  with the column being roughly the maximum possible height of the characters that can be produced  Multiple columns  usually four  are actually used in the printhead to interleave dots during printing  which increases the density of dot placement  to improve print quality  and print speed  without the pins jamming together  In a line dot matrix  the printhead is as wide as the substrate and is fixed in place  This method is based on the idea of having one horizontal line of thousands of pins  although sometimes two are used to improve print quality and print speed by interleaving dots   which prints an entire line at a time as the substrate moves below the printhead             Dot matrix printers are predominantly used to print monochrome text  usually black   but are capable of printing in colour  This requires a colour ribbon  which is divided into four sections  one for each colour  usually black and the three primary colours of red  yellow  and blue   and multiple passes when printing  one for each colour   When printing colour  either the printhead is moved  to strike the appropriate colour section  or the ribbon is moved  to align the appropriate colour section with the printhead   However  the range and quality of colour is extremely low and there are often issues with the ribbon deteriorating  as the ink in the black section will often slowly bleed into the colour sections              These printers rose in popularity during the 1970s and 1980s  until they reached a peak in the 1990s  They had a number of advantages over other printing methods  some of which are still useful today   including the ability to create multiple copies of documents  carbon copies   processing continuous fanfold paper and individual sheets  using ribbon inks that run out gradually  they will fade rather than cutting off once a threshold has been met   and extremely low printing costs per page  This means dot matrix printing was  and still is  in some places  popular for marking product packaging  printing 2D barcodes  point of sale printers  continuous data logging  and multipart stationery and documentation  such as invoices              However  dot matrix printing also has a number of limitations  which have seen it surpassed by other methods of printing  in particular  inkjet printing and thermal printing   The printhead can only contain so many pins  which limits the number of dots that can be printed per inch and so restricts the resolution that these printers are capable of producing  This process also has to rely on less effective methods of differentiating between areas of text  such as striking a character twice to create bold text   is slower than other printing methods and much louder  due to the use of an impact to print   and has the tendency to jam  There are also a number of issues related to the use of a ribbon  ink soaked ribbons vary in the quality of print they produce and may often produce print that fades over time  multi-strike ribbons allow ribbons to be used over and over again  but quickly decrease in quality  and single-strike ribbons produce a higher quality but can only be used once  which results in wasted areas  and they also have the unusual side effect of being a less private form of printing  as whatever has been printed remains visible on the ribbon             Here is the Harvard-style citation to use if you would like to reference this definition of the term dot matrix printing     Label Planet  2016    What is dot matrix printing    Dot Matrix Printing Definition    Available at  https   www labelplanet co uk glossary dot-matrix-printing   Accessed  January 1  2023

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