Since the appearance of the first printers in the 19th century they have become an inevitable part of our life. The main purpose of a printer is to produce a copy of a digital document or photo on a simple sheet of paper.

Since the appearance of the first printers in the 19th century they have become an inevitable part of our life. The main purpose of a printer is to produce a copy of a digital document or photo on a simple sheet of paper. Printers use an USB based technology to connect to the computer, but of course not all of them require an external device such as the computer, some of them can work simply with an USB Flash Drive from which you can transfer your digital documents to a hard copy. The technology used by printers has changed a lot since the invention of the first ever – from pen-based printers to the newest UV printers. The pen-based printers used a mechanically driven pen to simulate the writing of the text on the permanent carrier while the modern UV printers special paper which is coated with chemicals who react to UV Light and so the UV printers have a UV Bar inside them which is able to write or erase the special paper, but this technology is still being developed so documents printed like this will last between 16-24 hours before they fade out. Printers use an USB based technology to connect to the computer, but of course not all of them require an external device such as the computer, some of them can work simply with an USB Flash Drive from which you can transfer your digital documents to a hard copy. The technology used by printers has changed a lot since the invention of the first ever – from pen-based printers to the newest UV printers.

But of course the pen-based printers are a thing of the past and the UV printers aren’t available for wide usage yet. The most commonly used printers are the laser printers and the inkjet printers and depending on your needs you can use each one of them. The inkjet printers work by spraying ink in different forms and sizes on the sheet of paper while the laser printers as you can tell from their name use a laser technology to produce a hard copy.

Printers don’t differ only by the way they print but also by their functions – there are 3 function categories - Multifunction printers, Multi-Function Devices & All-In-One printers. The Multi-Functional Devices usually consist of a printer, scanner and copier.

Both types of printers have their pros and cons. For instance the inkjet printers are cheaper than the laser ones but require more time to print depending on the complexity of the document or image, but the cost to repair an inkjet printer is much cheaper than to repair a laser one. The quality of the images produced by inkjet printers is also quite poor but it is good for everyday needs. However there is one huge con about the inkjet printers – they have to use ink and that ink must be bought which increases the overall cost of the printer, because it is required that you occasionally refill the ink toners of the printer. The laser printers on the other hand are more expensive than the inkjet ones but they do not require ink or anything like that so once you buy them you don’t have to buy anything extra for them to work. Of course due to their technology they’re bigger than the inkjet ones and require more space, the quality of the image produced by the laser printers is higher and if you are a professional photographer or designer you should review carefully the pros and cons of both types. Of course due to the innovative technology of the laser printers their repair cost is much more expensive than the one of the inkjet printers. So no matter if you are a student, office worker or a professional photographer you will need a printer from time to time and you should consider buying one for home usage.