Have Dot-Matrix Printers Gone The Way Of The Typewriter?

Dot matrix printers are the true and steady, reliable old friend. They tend to get overlooked and forgotten to the new and cooler laser and thermal printers on the market. However, they shouldn’t. Below is a summary highlighting both the advantages and disadvantages dot matrix printers offer.

Advantages:

• Low cost and readily available - dot matrix printers have a lower total cost of ownership compared to other printers. The cost per page for laser printers is typically 6 times more than dot matrix printers.
  
• Ink Ribbon – Ribbons are very inexpensive and last a long time. With dot matrix printers the quality of print fades out gradually rather than causing the printer to come to a sudden halt, providing plenty of notice prior to having to change the ribbon.
  
• Rugged Durability and Low Maintenance - dot matrix printers are better engineered to withstand harsh environments compared to laser. Laser printers are more sensitive to humidity levels, dust particles, extreme temperatures and static electricity. As well, their construction and rugged design allows for better endurance and less maintenance and problems equates to less downtime and maintenance costs.
  
• Electrical Consumption - dot matrix printers require 3 times less energy than laser, as they don’t require the hot rollers to heat up, thus saving money.
  
• Reliability - Tractor-fed continuous forms paper used with these printers is a much more reliable paper feeding system than cut-sheet media, and also maintains printing order. Since they are continuous feed reducing the need for frequent paper changes.
  
• Continuity – Much less complex when it comes to printing multi-part forms compared to implementing these requirements for multiple separate sheets of output through a laser printer. They can make carbon copies of the print out unlike non-impact printers.
  
• Environmentally Sustainability - Are more environmentally friendly and affordable in regards to electrical consumption and the volume usage of consumables that are discarded over other printers.

• Print Quality - The print is not high resolution. The density of barcodes is low and color printing is limited.
  
• Print Speed – Dot matrix printers are very slow compared to laser.
  
• Noise Level – With the pins striking the ribbon to the paper, the dot matrix printers when in use are very loud.
  
• Print Head Sensitive - The pins can get bent easily damaging the print head.
  
• Manual Sheet Alignment – Requires the single sheet of paper to be wound and aligned by hand, which is time-consuming, plus prone to frequent jamming.

For further information on dot matrix printers and to learn more about all your options for all your labeling and barcode printing and scanning needs, call us as (800) 643-2664 and immediately talk to one of our friendly representatives today!

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