Impact Printer vs. Non Impact Printer

The main difference between Impact and non-impact printers is that impact printers were the first of their kind which was used for printing documents but has become redundant. whereas, Non-impact printers are the current form of printers that are extensively used.

Comparison Chart

Basis of Distinction	Impact Printer	Non-Impact Printer
Definition	The older form of printers that did not have many features.	The modern form of printers that have many more features and feasibility when it comes to printing.
Cost-Effectiveness	The price of needles for an impact printer is less than the other parts.	The price of ink required for a non-impact printer becomes its biggest drawback.
Speed	Slower	Faster
Type	Dot-matrix printer, Daisy wheel printers, line printer, Drum printers, chain printers, and band printers.	Inkjet printers, photo printers, laser printers, thermal printers, mobile printers, plotters, and large-format printers.
Tool	Uses either needle or other pointy objects.	Only uses ink or laser to perform a function.

What is Impact Printer?

Considered as the first type of printers they work by thumping the needle and putting it inside the ink lace. Through this activity, imprints are formed over the surface and after that ink spreads throughout the paper. Another feature, which we call as a disadvantage is that they are noisier than other types of printers as the needle continues to move at a quick speed and the paper moves gradually, thus making a sound. Numerous types of impact printers are available even though their significance has diminished over time. The working is simple where the needle strikes the page for each line and types the word. It was mostly used for organizations where a lot of pages are required for internal purposes.

Drum printers, chain printers, band printers are some of the main types, but many other types exist. The original dot matrix printer had around 9 to 24 needles at the front to ensure things print efficiently on the screen. A basic knowledge tells that 24 needles imprint better than nine. The needles strike the page on an individual level, and the entire instrument moves over the print line in the left to the right side.

What is Non-impact Printer?

They either utilize an ink-jet or laser for finishing the document printing and do so at high speeds. Even though they work better, the expenses of such printers are generally large and require ink consistently since it is consumed at quicker rates. Laser printers work just like a photocopying machine. They create content and pictures on paper by concentrating the laser pillar on the mirror that bounces the laser on the drum. This drum has an individual covering into which the ink gathers within the container. At this point, little spots are formed with the assistance of a laser, and the drum ends up giving us the shape. Nonimpact printers don’t have any striking component.

The first type is the inkjet printer work in the same manner to that of a laser printer when we talk about images and text. While in the first, the spot creation occurs through the needle; here it is given through ink that is showered on the outline to carry the stream near the paper and duplicate the same character from the first document. They can print around 250 words in a few seconds, and therefore, take precedence over others.

Key Differences between Impact Printer and Non Impact Printer

1. The price of ink required for a non-impact printer becomes its biggest drawback whereas the cost of needles for an impact printer always stays lower than that of the ink and hence becomes an advantage.
2. The speed of a non-impact printer remains much faster than an impact printer because of the technology and usually prints words three times faster than impact printer.
3. Some of the central types of non-impact printers are inkjet printers, photo printers, laser printers, thermal printers, mobile printers, plotters, and large-format printers. On the other hand, some of the primary types of impact printers are a dot-matrix printer, Daisy wheel printers, line printer, Drum printers, chain printers, and band printers.
4. The non-impact printer either uses ink or laser to perform its task and therefore requires electricity in more substantial amounts whereas an impact printer only uses ink and nozzle and thus takes less amount of power.

Video Explanation