Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (
More info?)
The two most popular POS printers are dot matrix and thermal matrix.
The thermal use special paper pretty much identical to the old thermal
paper used in fax machines.
The advantage of the thermal is that there is no "ink" or ribbon
required. The head pins heat and darken the special surface of the
paper. It is fast, and relatively cheap (all the consumable cost is the
paper) and it is very quiet and reliable.
The disadvantages are that the chemical reaction tends to not be
permanent. The image tends to fade fairly rapidly, especially in sun,
it requires the special coated paper, the paper has a slick feel to it
and it tends to remain curled. If it gets wet, hot etc, it can easily
become unreadable. It is not good for multiple copies (each needs to be
printed individually).
The second type is dot matrix. The main advantage is that multiple
copies, up to 3 or even 4 thicknesses can be printed on "carbonless"
paper at the same time, The top copy is usually printed with an ink
ribbon, which is fairly permanent. The copies may be less so, depending
upon the type of chemistry used in the paper.
Costs can be higher, because they require an inked ribbon, are less
reliable due to the mechanical aspect of the head, they tend to be noisy
and can be slow (however time is made up by multiple copies printed at
one time), and are usually fairly low resolution, so forms are usually
preprinted and the information is filled into the form.
Replacing the ink ribbon sometimes is complex or time consuming in a
retail environment, and is usually left to off hours. The carbonless
paper chemistry may have an odor and may not be fully environmentally
safe. Some recyclers don't like it added to waste paper. The copies
are subject to physical damage from creasing or pressure.
If the forms need to updated or altered, there may be a lot of waste to
toss out, and programing the dot matrix printer to new forms may be time
consuming or costly. If using continuous tractor feed paper, they can
sometimes go out of alignment and the printing will not be entered in
the correct place. Sometimes the rear copies will not align with the
front copy, making them difficult to read.
Laser printers cannot print multiple copies at once, but they can be
programmed easily to print filled in forms in serial. So, copies can be
printed in a row. The printer can also produce high resolution output,
and can print the form at the same time as the unique information. They
use regular paper, and can handle both white and colored without
problems. Attached to a computer, the unique information can be held in
a database for printing after hours, if required, since printing 3 or
four copies may be too slow during the retail day. Preprinted forms
could be used if it will speed the process, or if a great deal of
information needs to be printed, or colored inks are required. In
general, laser printers have poorer alignment (registration) than a
tractor feed dot matrix. Laser copies are pretty much fade-free.
Cost of laser printers can be cut considerably by using refill or 3rd
party cartridges. In most cases these will be of nearly equivalent
quality, and will be guaranteed by reputable companies. Most cartridges
which incorporate the image drum are good for several refills before the
drum ages enough to make the image degraded, some can be replaced or
recoated. Laser printers may produce some ozone in a contained environment.
Art
BILL wrote:
> On Wed, 30 Mar 2005 16:28:41 GMT, measekite <measekite@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Gasoline is just too expensive. Going up every week. Give up your car
>>and get a horse and buggy. It is cheaper to run.
>>
>>Terrified Terry wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hi all,
>>>In our office we have a HP LaserJet 4100N operating for about 4 years
>>>now. There was one slight problem since we bought - but the warranty
>>>covered that. Since then there is no problem whatsoever with the
>>>printer.
>>>Now recently the toner price has gone up for about 15% in the part of
>>>the globe where the office is located. We are now considering if buying
>>>a dot matrix printer and using it could have proven more
>>>budget-friendly or not. We do not use the printer for anything other
>>>than normal office usage such as image printing.
>>>So is using a dot matrix printer is more cost-effective than using
>>>LaserJet 4100N? If yes, which dot matrix printer should we go for and
>>>how can we find out how many pages can each ribbon print, FYI the
>>>LaserJet toner covers up to 5000 pages each.
>>>Any idea anybody? TIA.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
>
>
> Dot Matrix printers are used a lot for Sales Dockets etc, on continuous flow
> paper.
>
> They are Very Noisy slow and produce bad print outs.
>
>
> A Laser is the Only way to go, the cheapest printer to run..
>
>
>
>
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