impact printer

impact printer
Name	Impact printer
Invented	1930s–1960s
Inventor	Various manufacturers
Type	Impact printing
Media	Paper, multi-part forms
Related	Dot matrix printer, Daisy wheel printer, Line printer

impact printer

An impact printer is a class of output device that produces characters by mechanical contact between a print element and an inked medium, used historically and contemporaneously for high-reliability and multipart printing. Impact printing played central roles in office automation, data processing, and industrial environments where durability and carbon-copy capability were required. Major manufacturers and institutions shaped its evolution through competing designs, standards, and field deployments that intersected with developments in telecommunications, computing, and logistics.

Definition and Overview

Impact printers form a family of electromechanical devices in which a print actuator strikes a ribbon to transfer pigment onto paper. Prominent implementations include dot matrix, daisy wheel, and chain or line printers that were adopted by firms such as International Business Machines, Hewlett-Packard, Epson, Oki Electric Industry, and Centronics. The technology interfaced with mainframes from International Business Machines and minicomputers from Digital Equipment Corporation, as well as microcomputers by Apple Computer and Commodore International. Impact devices often supported multipart forms used by logistics companies like United Parcel Service and financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase.

History and Development

Early impact mechanisms trace to telegraph and typesetting machines, with lineage connecting innovations from Alexander Graham Bell-era telephony and printing telegraph systems. Developments accelerated with electromechanical tabulators from Herman Hollerith and punched-card equipment used by the United States Census Bureau. The 1950s and 1960s saw widespread deployment in data centers using line printers connected to computers from International Business Machines and Control Data Corporation. The 1970s and 1980s brought microprocessor-controlled dot matrix and daisy wheel printers marketed by Epson, Okidata, Brother Industries, and Hewlett-Packard, which became staples in small businesses and home offices during the personal computer revolution led by Microsoft and Apple Computer.

Types and Mechanisms

Major types include: - Dot matrix printers, which use a vertical column or matrix of pins driven by solenoids to form characters; common mechanisms were 9-pin and 24-pin heads produced by companies such as Epson and Canon. - Daisy wheel printers, which employ a spinning wheel with molded type elements; vendors like Wang Laboratories and Olivetti commercialized these for high-quality text. - Line printers, including chain, band, and drum designs, which print an entire line at once using impact hammers; these were widely paired with mainframes from International Business Machines and Univac. - Bar printers and hybrid mechanisms that combined impact with early thermal elements, used in industrial settings by manufacturers like Siemens and Honeywell.

Each mechanism relies on coordinated electromechanical timing, often synchronized to host systems from Digital Equipment Corporation or networked environments standardized by Bell Labs research.

Performance Characteristics

Impact printers are characterized by metrics such as characters per second (CPS), lines per minute (LPM), print density (dpi for dot matrix), and duty cycle. High-speed line printers achieved thousands of LPM in data centers supporting workloads for Bank of America and government agencies like the United States Postal Service. Daisy wheel models prioritized glyph fidelity over speed, favored by legal firms and publishers using devices integrated with software from Xerox Corporation and Novell. Dot matrix devices offered variable-quality graphics capability, exploited by engineering groups at General Electric and Siemens for plots and schematics.

Operational attributes include robustness in harsh environments, compatibility with multipart carbon forms employed by shipping firms such as FedEx and manufacturing lines at General Motors, and tolerance for wide operational temperature ranges in installations by Lockheed Martin.

Applications and Use Cases

Impact printers have been used for transaction receipts in retail chains like Walmart and Target Corporation, invoice and billing in utilities such as Con Edison, and logistics documentation for carriers like DHL. In government and military contexts, impact devices produced manifest and compliance forms for agencies including the Department of Defense and the Internal Revenue Service. Industrial automation used impact printing for serial-numbering and labeling in plants operated by Ford Motor Company and Boeing. Legacy archival printing persisted in libraries collaborating with institutions such as the Library of Congress for preserving data output.

Advantages and Limitations

Advantages include the ability to print on multipart forms, high reliability in dusty or variable climates valued by field services of AT&T and Siemens, and low cost per page for bulk text in corporate data centers run by Citibank and Goldman Sachs. Limitations encompass noise levels that led to displacement by quiet technologies from Hewlett-Packard and Canon, lower graphic resolution compared with inkjet and laser printers from Xerox Corporation and Canon Inc., and ongoing supply-chain dependence on ribbons and mechanical spares sourced through distributors like Grainger.

Maintenance and Operation

Routine maintenance includes ribbon replacement, printhead alignment, platen care, and lubrication of mechanical linkages; service protocols were standardized by manufacturers such as Epson, Brother Industries, and Okidata. Field technicians trained by equipment resellers and corporate service organizations like IBM Global Services performed diagnostics with oscilloscopes and test forms. Lifecycle management involved migration planning toward non-impact alternatives produced by Hewlett-Packard and Canon while retaining impact units for use cases requiring multipart output. Proper preventative maintenance prolongs service life in installations at postal facilities like those of the United States Postal Service and manufacturing plants of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Category:Printers