27 Aug
2012
27 Aug
'12
2:03 p.m.
On 08/27/2012 02:23 PM, Tony Duell wrote:
I support a couple of companies that still use current-production
dot-matrix printers. It is actually not true that you can print three
(or whatever) copies faster on a laser printer; most of the time it's
just a sales receipt on a pre-printed form, and you're only printing a
few dozen to a couple hundred characters on it. Keep in mind that the
speed of paper through a laser printer is constant regardless of the
amount of text on it, which is not the case for most types of impact
printers. One retail chain I support prints and form-feeds a typical
two-part receipt in about four seconds. Combine that with the fact that
they don't want to put a laser printer at each register, and the fact
that they *like* their pre-printed forms...that's why dot-matrix
printers are still being made.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
[1] oddly, one
of the local car parts stores - not long opened, either -
has one, but I couldn't see what model; I can understand a pre-existing
store perhaps having one, but I was a little surprised that for new
businesses there wasn't some more recent alternative.
IIRC, such printers are either still being made, or have only recently
been discontinued. Their advantaeg is that they will aprt on multi-part
(carbon copy) forms, and some businssses still use those. Yes, you could
print out 3 separate pages on an inkjet or laser printer in less time,
but I guess businesses like the idea that all 3 copies (or whatever) were
printed together so they must be the same.