In this section we will discuss the three most commmon types of printers, the laser printer, the inkjet, and the dot matrix printer. A laser printer is a printer which uses laser beams to fix images onto paper. When the beam touches the paper, it forms an image area which attracts the electrically-charged toner. The toner is then heated onto the paper, forming an image. The print head is repeatedly scanned across the page and different combinations of needles activated at each point, the unit of measurement for text characters.
Most printers come with options to print on transparencies, large size paper, and special paper.
Special paper allows the user to print near photographic quality graphics for presentations and reports. Some printers even come with options for iron on transfers for T-shirts, etc. The general rule is that the more RAM you have the faster the print time, or the length of time it takes to print a page. Depending on the type of printer you have, each will require some kind of cartridge. Each type of printer comes with at least one cartridge, but this will need to be replaced at various times depending on what type of printer you have.