A printer is a hardware output device that produces a hard copy of any document, picture or other file type that is submitted to it for printing. It takes a digital print file and physically converts it into a piece of paper with all the squiggly lines and other information in the right place, as instructed by the computer. Modern printers are often wireless and can work with other devices like smartphones, tablets and computers.
There are several different types of printer technologies including Laser, Inkjet and Thermal. Inkjet printers can use a variety of cartridges with different colors and sizes of ink. Laser printers can be used for monochrome and color printing. Dot matrix printers had either 9 or 24 pins on the print head which emerged to form characters and were one of the most common types of home and office printers in the 70s and 80s. Solid wax ink printers, created and patented by Xerox years ago, were a great device that had the highest print quality but only worked on certain types of physical media.
In most computers, a printer is controlled and used by a program which sends print data to it via a special file known as a printer driver. The driver is a software program that knows exactly how the printer works and can translate all the squiggly lines into something that will be interpreted by the actual hardware device. The driver is commonly installed separately from the printer itself and may require a separate USB or wired connection to be used. On Unix and other Unix-like operating systems, the system CUPS (Common Unified Printing System) acts as a print server which accepts prints from clients and sends them to a specific printer, assuming there is one available.
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Portable Printer Wireless for Travel, Small Bluetooth Thermal Inkless Printer Support 8.5×11" US Letter Thermal Paper, Mobile Printing for Office, Car, Home, Compatible with iOS, Andorid & Laptop
$64.99 (as of July 3, 2025 21:49 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Canon Pixma MG3620 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer with Mobile and Tablet Printing, Black
$64.00 (as of July 3, 2025 21:49 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Canon PIXMA TR8620a - All-in-One Printer Home Office|Copier|Scanner|Fax|Auto Document Feeder | Photo, Document | Airprint (R), Android, Black, Works with Alexa
$139.00 (as of July 3, 2025 21:49 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Nelko Bluetooth Thermal Shipping Label Printer, Wireless 4x6 Shipping Label Printer for Shipping Packages, Support Android, iPhone and Windows, Widely Used for Amazon, Ebay, Shopify (Black)
$69.99 (as of July 3, 2025 21:49 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e All-in-One Printer w/3 Months of Instant Ink for Free, Copy, Smart Advance Scan, Fax, 2-Sided Prints, 2-Sided Scan, A Printer-for-Small Medium Business (Renewed)
$158.00 (as of July 3, 2025 21:49 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
HP Envy 6155e Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer, Print, scan, Copy, Duplex Printing Best-for-Home, 3 month Instant Ink trial included (714L5A)
$109.99 (as of July 3, 2025 21:49 GMT +00:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)