Dotmatrix printers offers four options 136 columns, 132 columns, 94 columns and 80 columns. The choices depend upon the needs of the user.

A printer that can print a higher number of columns can be beneficial if you need to print account sheets or balance sheets.

This refers to the actual number of small metal pins on the printer head which strike on the ribbon and then on the paper to print a character.

A printer can have either 9 metal pins or 24 metal pins. The print resolution of the printout taken by a 24-pin printer is higher as compared to the one taken by a 9-pin print head. If you need to print graphics on your Dot matrix printer, then you should opt for a 24 pin printer.

A higher pin-printer gives a better quality printout. However, remember that there is very little quality difference between 9-pin and 24-pin models if the documents will be printed in draft mode.

A dot matrix image where each dot is represented by one bit in the digital memory. Complex images are built up using these dots. Resolution of about 300 dots per inch may require approximately I Mbyte for a complete A4 page.

A collection of bits in memory that forms a grid-that is, a rectangular pattern of bits. The bit image is pointed to in the base address field of a BitMap record.

A bit-map image is made up of small dots (pixels) arranged in a grid. The finer the grid, the higher the resolution of the image.

This is the method by which the printer takes in the paper for printing.

The friction feed method is a single sheet method where the stack of papers is kept in the printer tray and the printer takes in the paper as per the requirements. A set of rubber rollers then pulls the paper through the printer.

This is the method by which the printer takes in the paper for printing.

For this method you need to use a special paper with holes on the sides. This paper is sold in the form of a very long length of continuous paper, each sheet being separated by a perforation. Within the printer there are two tractors which have large stubby spokes on them, which fit into the holes in the side of the paper. As the circular tractor turns, the turning spokes force the paper through the printer mechanism. After you have finished printing on the paper, you can tear off the strips on the side which have the holes in them.

Input data buffer is memory within the printer that stores data from the computer until it can be printed.

Whenever you give a print command the computer sends the information to the printer. The buffer holds a certain amount of data and when its full, the printer alerts the computer to stop sending information. The buffer then continues to send all the commands to the processor and alerts the computer to begin sending the data again, when there is space available.

Dot matrix printers typically have the smallest buffers as they print information character by character. But the advantage of having a larger buffer is that, while your printer might still be printing, youre PC isnt tied up and you can use it for other things.

The noise level of the printer is the sound that it makes when in operation.