9 Different Types Of Printers With Examples [As Of 2026]

Printers are among the most common computer peripherals. They create hard copies of digital files, including text documents, images, or a combination of both.

Different types of printers are designed for different tasks. For example, barcode printers create barcode labels and tags, laser printers provide fast and quiet printing, and 3D printers produce physical three-dimensional objects from digital designs.

Many people believe the printing industry is slowly disappearing, but that’s not the case. The industry remains strong and continues to grow. According to Mordor Intelligence, the global printer market is worth more than $70 billion and is expected to surpass $88.7 billion by 2030, growing at a 4.85% CAGR.

The demand for multifunctional printers has grown significantly over the past few years as consumers have become more energy-neutral. Manufacturers are adopting new technologies for the ever-growing printing requirements.

Below, I have listed all different types of printers based on obsolete, modern, and special-purpose printing technologies. This guide will help you choose the right printer for your home, office, or business.

Did you know?

The average printer sells for about $452 worldwide. Despite declining unit sales, businesses continue buying premium printers, with North America making up about 37% of the global market.

Table of Contents

9. Plotters

HP 9862A Calculator Plotter

Example: HP DesignJet T210

A plotter prints vector graphics by drawing lines on paper using a pen. Some models use pens or markers to draw continuous lines, while others use blades to cut materials like vinyl or leather. These are known as cutting plotters.

Traditional pen plotters have largely been replaced by computer-controlled printers. However, cutting plotters are still widely used in many industries.

Pros

Prints on large sheets of paper with high resolution
Draws a single pattern more than one thousand times with no degradation
Works with various materials, including cardboard, plywood, plastic, and aluminum

Cons

Expensive and larger than a conventional printer

8. Impact Printers

An impact printer prints by striking an inked ribbon against the paper. A plastic or metal print head presses the ribbon onto the page, transferring characters onto the paper. Although this technology is old, impact printers are still widely used in many workplaces and industries.

Many different types of impact printers have been developed to date. The most common ones are:

8.1 Line Printers

IBM 1403 line printer

Example: Printronix P7-1500N line matrix printer

As the name suggests, Line printers print one line of text at a time (the full width of the page). They use a continuous feed of paper instead of individual cut sheets. And they can print up to 2,500 lines per minute.

Pros

High-speed printing
More durable
Low operating costs
Consumables are less harmful to the environment

Cons

Low print quality and cannot print graphics
Very noisy, requires sound-absorbing cases

Although the basic technology used in these printers dates back to the early 1940s, they are still suited for high-speed, business-oriented printing. They are mainly used in shop floors and industrial environments, where dust, humidity, and extreme temperatures could easily damage modern printing machines.

8.2 Dot Matrix Printers

Epson LX-310

Example: Tvs MSP 250

In a dot matrix printer, the pins are arranged in one or multiple vertical columns. The print head (which contains several pins) moves up and down or in a back-and-forth motion and prints by striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the page. This is just like a typewriter, but it can also print arbitrary patterns and not just particular characters.

A character printed by a dot matrix printer is actually an accumulation of multiple dots on a very small region of the paper. The printer can be used for text, multiple fonts, and basic graphical printing. The outputs, however, have a “dotted” appearance.

Pros

Low printing cost
Reliable
Prints on multipart forms or carbon copies
Useful for data logging

Cons

Slow speed
Limited print quality

They can be used to print multiple copies at the same time with the help of carbon copying. Thus, they are widely installed in offices and shops where multipart forms are required.

8.3 Daisy Wheel Printers

The daisy wheel and print head on a Diablo D-25 printer

Example: Commodore DPS 1101

A daisy wheel printer contains a disk and attached extension on which molded metal characters are mounted. When printing, the printer rotates the disk to each character and strikes it into an ink ribbon to create characters on paper.

Pros

Can use heavy paper grades and fan-fold paper
Can create carbon copies
Low costs and maintenance

Cons

Slow speed
Low print quality

Invented in 1969 by Dr. Andrew Gabor at Diablo Data Systems, these printers became popular in the 1970s — they were widely used in electronic typewriters, word processors, and computers. However, the technology is now obsolete and found only in some electronic typewriters.

7. Minilab Printers

SureLab D870

Example: Epson SureLab D1070DE

Minilabs are compact photo processing and printing machines used in many retail stores for fast photo printing. A typical minilab combines two systems: a film processor and a photo printer, often built into a single machine.

Some of the major players in the minilab industry are Noritsu America Corporation, Kodak Moments, Mitsubishi Electric, Agfa, HiTi Digital, and DNP Imagingcomm America Corporation.

Pros

Perfect for photo processing
High-capacity ink packs
Prints on double- or single-sided sheet media
Provides better exposed, color-corrected prints in less than 30 minutes

Cons

Quite pricey
Larger and bulkier than typical printers

Agfa and Kodak minilab machines use C41b chemistry to process film and RA-4 chemistry to process paper. Depending on the device capabilities and operator’s expertise, films can be ready for collection within 20 minutes.

6. Thermal Printers

F2C portable thermal printer

Example: Polono Label Printers

A thermal printer is made of three components:

Thermal head: Generates heat to produce an image on the page
Platen: A roller that moves the page
Spring: Holds the printhead and paper together by applying small pressure

The printer passes paper with a thermochromic coating over a printhead. This print head contains several electrically heated elements, typically arranged as a line of small, closely spaced dots. The coating on the paper turns black in the region where it is heated, generating an image.

These printers can have a resolution of up to 1,200 DPI. Although most print black-and-white (monochrome) text, some produce two-color images.

Due to decent print quality, speed, and portability, thermal printers are widely used in the banking, retail, grocery, healthcare, and airline industries. Voucher printers in slot machines, information kiosks, and point-of-sale systems are some of the commercial applications of these printers.

Pros

Quieter and faster than dot matrix printers
Easier to use as there is less use of software involved
Requires less maintenance
Comes in various models and sizes

Cons

Prints fewer colors
The high heat limits wax and resin choices

They are also used to generate sub-seafloor seismic imagery and print real-time records of side-scan sonar. In the data processing field, they are used for quickly creating hard copies of continuous hydrographic or seismic records.

5. Dye-sublimation Printers

Texart RT-640

Example: Texart XT-640 High-Volume Dye-Sublimation Printer

Dye-sublimation printers utilize heat to transfer dye onto materials like card, paper, fabric, or plastic. They use the CMYO (cyan, magenta, yellow, overcoating) system to deposit the ink on the surface one color at a time. The ink is deposited via a heat press, which ultimately changes from solid to gas (hence the name “sublimation”) and enters the material.

The process is carried out at lower temperatures and higher pressures. Small heating elements on the print head change temperatures quickly to lay different amounts of dye. Polyester and polyester resin-coated materials are ideal for this printing technique.

Pros

Allows printing on rigid surfaces
Print thousands of colors using four-color ink (CMYK)
Best for creating ID cards and photographic prints
Short learning curve

Cons

The item may lose color over the months
A specific type of ink is required

Professional and consumer dye-sublimation printers are used to create photo prints, ID cards, license plates, and more. They come in different sizes, allowing users to print designs on products such as mousepads, coffee mugs, handbags, phone cases, clothing, pillows, and other personalized items.

4. Solid Ink Printers

Example: HP Laserjet M209DW

As the name suggests, these printers use solid ink instead of fluid ink or toner powder. The printer melts the ink (usually a waxy resin-based polymer) to print images on paper or any substrate.

This is how the process goes: small pucks or spheres of solid ink are stored in a hopper. From there, they are transferred to the printhead and melted as needed.

Pros

Provides precise prints with bright colors
Can print on many different types of media
Less waste generated compared to inkjet or laser printers
Suitable for intermittent use with long periods of downtime

Cons

The printer needs to pause and reheat in between prints
Ink may clog printhead nozzles

This type of printer can create large graphic images with bright and vivid colors at reasonable costs. It is suitable for users who always have to print in color and require high-quality images.

And since the solid ink doesn’t dry out over time, you don’t have to order new cartridges when you need to print something after a long time.

3. 3D Printers

Prusa I3 MK3S

Example: Tronxy X5SA Pro

3D printers use a process called additive manufacturing to create physical objects from CAD models or other digital designs. They build the object layer by layer using materials such as plastics, resins, metals, or biomaterials.

Unlike CNC machines or injection molding, which remove or shape material with cutting tools, 3D printers build objects directly on the print platform without any cutting.

Pros

Enables fast design and production
Gives you the flexibility to create anything that fits within its build volume
Minimize waste
Cost-effective

Cons

Not yet versatile enough to work with most materials
Requires post-processing

Depending on the type of printer, material used, and size of the object, a print takes several hours to complete. The finished object often requires post-processing (like sanding, paint, or other conventional finishing touches) to achieve the desired surface finish.

3D printing processes can be categorized into 7 groups:

Vat photopolymerization
Material Extrusion
Sheet Lamination
Directed Energy Deposition
Material Jetting
Binder Jetting
Powder Bed Fusion

Learn Every 3D Printing Process In Detail

Modern 3D printers are advanced enough to create complex structures and geometries that would be otherwise impossible to build manually.

They can be used to build a range of objects, from simple prototypes to intricate final products, such as medical instruments, aircraft parts, eco-friendly buildings, and even artificial organs using layers of human cells.

2. Liquid Inkjet Printers

HP Smart Tank 530

Example: Canon PIXMA G4770

The inkjet printer creates an image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper or plastic substrates. Its printhead moves back and forth as the paper feeds through rollers. The complete image is made of thousands of minuscule dots, like the pixels on a television screen.

These dots are extremely small, measuring 50 to 70 microns in diameter, and are placed with high precision at resolutions of up to 1200 × 1440 DPI. Their colors blend together to produce sharp, high-quality images.

Pros

Quieter than impact printers
Practically no warm-up time
Really good at producing natural shades and colors
Easy to set up and use

Cons

Liquid ink can dry out when stored for a longer period of time
Expensive ink refills

Liquid inkjet printers perform best on nonporous paper and slightly heavy bond paper with a hard surface that effectively prevents colors from bleeding. They are available in many different varieties and sizes, ranging from small cost-efficient consumer models to expensive professional machines.

While most home inkjet printers are lightweight and have low per-page costs, commercial machines are larger and print on a broader range of materials.

1. Laser Printers

Pantum M6602NW

Example: Brother HL-L3220CDW

Laser printers have become a common consumer product, often used along with personal computers. Their working principle involves electrophotography, which is the same technique used in photocopy machines.

To create a high-quality image, the laser printer continuously passes a laser beam back and forth over a photoreceptor drum. This drum is nothing but a negatively charged cylinder. It collects positively charged powdered ink (toner) and transmits the image to paper. The paper is then slightly heated to permanently fuse the image onto it.

The standard resolution in most laser printers is 600 DPI, whereas the high-end production machine can have a resolution of 2,400 DPI. Plus, they can print much faster than inkjet printers. A high-end model can print about 12,000 monochrome pages per hour or 6,000 colored pages per hour.

However, they don’t print color photos as well as inkjet printers do. That’s why most photographers and designers prefer inkjet printers for gallery-quality photos.

Pros

Fast printing speed
Noiseless
Produces high-quality monochrome prints
Mechanical components are reliable and durable

Cons

High initial investment cost
Not suitable for high-quality graphics

Laser printers are well suited for office use due to their capability to quickly print large amounts of documents. Overall, they are excellent for text, documents, and printing medium-quality color photos

1.1 LED Printers

OKI MC853dn

Example: Xerox VersaLink C7000DN

LED (light-emitting diode) printers are generally grouped with laser printers because they use a similar technique for creating text or graphics. Both use toner, a drum, and a fuser to provide high-quality prints. However, LED printers have an array of light-emitting diodes instead of a laser and mirror.

Since LED printers contain fewer moving parts, they are more reliable and efficient than traditional laser printers. Plus, they are cheaper to manufacture and less prone to mechanical wear.

Pros

Contains fewer moving parts
Inexpensive and reliable
Noiseless
Provides excellent image quality

Cons

High initial cost
Slower printing speed than laser printers

As of now, only a few manufacturers (including Xerox, Panasonic, and Oki Electric Industry) make office and business printers using LED technology.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a multifunctional printer?

A multifunctional printer serves the primary purpose of scanning, copying, and printing documents. It can also email, fax, even browse the internet, and print straight from the display panel. Some multifunctional printers offer finishing options like folding, hole punching, stapling, and booklet making.

Moreover, all-in-one printing devices come with features oriented to home and personal use. Unlike larger machines, they include direct connection to digital cameras, smart card readers, and other similar functions.

What type of printer is best for home use?

For office and home use, you should choose either an inkjet or a laser printer. If you are a designer or photographer, go for an inkjet printer. If your work involves printing documents, graphs, and colored reports, you should definitely choose a laser printer. Although it costs more upfront, it is much more economical than an inkjet printer in the long run.

Which printer has the fastest printing speed?

A laser printer is known to be the fastest printing machine. Some high-end models can print about 200 monochrome pages per minute (PPM) or 100 colored pages per minute, or higher.

What is offset printing?

In offset printing, the inked image is printed on a rubber cylinder and then moved (or offset) to paper or other substrates. The rubber cylinder makes it easier to print on rough paper, cloth, leather, wood, and metal.

The offset printing method is based on the principle that grease and water never mix. Thus, greasy ink can be deposited on specially treated printing areas of the plate, while non-printing portions, which hold water, reject the ink.

This technique is used for bulk printing of media, including large quantities of newspapers, magazines, brochures, and stationery.

Read More