Line Matrix Printer

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What Does Line Matrix Printer Mean?

A line matrix printer is a printer which combines the printing techniques of both dot matrix printers and line printers. Line matrix printers are widely used in industries such as banking, back office and manufacturing due to their high-speed printing capabilities.

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Techopedia Explains Line Matrix Printer

In line printers, the printing is done rapidly one line at a time. In the case of dot matrix printers, the printing is done with a print head which strikes the ink ribbon against the paper. Line matrix printers combine these two features in their printing technique. In the line matrix printer, the printing is done by building a line of text with the help of lines of dots. With continuous feed forms, the integrity of the printed document is easily maintained. Line matrix printers are eco-friendly printers as they generate less landfill waste from packaging, hardware or consumables and also consume less energy than most other printers. Line matrix printers are considered the best printers for printing multi-part forms, labels, card stock, oversize media and many other non-typical media categories. Line matrix printers are categorized as impact printers.

There are significant benefits associated with line matrix printers. The average lifespan of the line matrix printers is twice that of laser printers. It provides high resistance to tough environmental conditions as well as rough handling. It provides fast throughput as well as high reliability. Compared to laser printers, line matrix printers produce significant energy savings as well as lower cost per page. It is also capable of printing graphics and bar codes in addition to text. Due to all of these reasons, it provides one of the lowest costs of ownership among printers.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist
Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.