Prices of printers vary greatly, as
the
type
of
printer varies. There
are
three
general
types
of
printers
that
can
be
used
with
your
TI-99/4A:
thermal printers, dot-matrix printers,
and
daisy
wheel
(or letter-quality) printers. Dot-matrix
printers are
the
most
popular,
due
to
their
relatively
low
cost
and
high reliability In a
dot-matrix printer, a print
head
that
contains tiny
hammers
moves horizontally across
the
paper,
striking
the
paper
through
an
inked ribbon.
Thermal printers
use
treated
paper
and
a
heat
process
to
"burn"
an
image
onto
the
paper.
Daisy-wheel printers use a printwheel
with
letters
on
the
end
of tiny
spokes
(rather
like
the
striking surfaces in a typewriter). These
spokes
are
moved
by
a small
hammer
and
strike
the
paper
through
an inked ribbon, producing
the
character
on
the
paper. Daisy-wheel
printers
are
often used for
word
processing—to print impor
tant
letters
and
reports. Thermal
printers
are
least
expensive, costing from $100
to
$400.
Dot-
matrix printers fall into
the
intermediate
price
range,
with
prices from $250
to
$1,000,
depend
ing
on
the
quality
and
features offered. Daisy-
wheel
printers are
the
most
expensive,
starting
around
$500
and
easily costing $2,000 or more.
The
Tl
Impact
Printer
(about
$750) is a
dot-
matrix
printer
with
excellent
quality
and
known
reliability This
printer
prints
characters
at
a
speed
of
80
cps
and
can
print
text
or
graphics,
under
the
control
of
the
computer's
software.
If
you
decide
to
use
the
Texas
Instruments
Impact
Printer,
you
will
need
a
cable
and
the
RS-232
Printer
Interface
available
from
Tl.
170
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