The dot matrix printer is one of the earliest types of printers. It was created in 1977 and has since been replaced by laser and inkjet printers. The dot matrix printer prints using a rotating drum with small pins that create an image on paper.
Dot-matrix printers are still used today for specific applications, such as printing barcodes or creating graphics for presentations. The best dot matrix printer typically offers higher quality printouts than other types of ink tanks, laser printers, duplex printers, or wireless printers but they are slower at printing pages because each letter must be drawn individually.
In this blog, we are going to review 6 best dot print matrix printer and guide you to buy the perfect one for needs.
Top 3 Pick Up’s
- Best Overall- Epson LQ-310
- Runner’s up- Tvs Printer-240
- Best Budget- Epson LX-310
6 Best Dot Matrix Printer In India
TVS Electronics MSP 250 Star Dot Matrix Printer
- Code Capability Up to 1 – 4
- 200 Million Characters for Print Head 10 Million on Characters for Ink Bank
- 15,000 Power-On Hours – Higher Reliability
- Faster Printing Speed – 450 Character Per Second
- Silicon Self-lubrication Maintenance Free
Tvs 240 Monochrome Dot Matrix Printer
- India’s first Vertical printer - Saves Space
- Printing Speed 450 cps - Faster Printing
- Built-in Barcode Fonts - Prints Barcodes
- 2 Years warranty incl. Print head (only valid on registration) from Manufacturer
Epson LX-310 Dot Matrix Printer
- Print speed: High 357 CPS print speed at 12CPI
- MTBF : 10,000 power on hour
- 9 Pin dot matrix printer
Epson Dot Matrix LQ50 Monochrome Printer
- Allows users to print on wider receipts
- Saves counter space
- High quality printing
Epson LQ-310 Dot Matrix Printer
- Print speed : High 416 CPS print speed at 12CPI
- MTBF : 10,000 power on hour
- 24 pin dot matrix printer
Epson Dot Matrix LQ1150+II Monochrome Printer
- Contains 24 pins
- Print speed of up to 360 characters per second
- Achieve optimum efficiency with 4 Part Forms printout (1 original + 3 copies)
- 64KB input buffer
- Bi-direction with logic seeking
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Detailed Review Of The Dot Matrix Printer In India
Epson LX-310 Dot Matrix Printer
Epson LX-310 Dot Matrix Printer
Rs. 12,800 out of stock
- Extreme Speed – The LX-310 prints up to 300 characters per second, and is the fastest printer in its class.
- Improving on Legendary Reliability – A new print head design provides a more even ink distribution, resulting in high-quality output with less maintenance.
- High Impact for Multiple Carbon Copies – A built-in automatic document feeder makes it easy to copy multiple documents at once.
- Flexible Connectivity – The LX-310 can be connected via a parallel interface or USB 2.0 interface, allowing you to easily integrate it into your environment.
TVS Electronics MSP 250 Star Dot Matrix Printer
TVS Electronics MSP 250 Star Dot Matrix Printer
Rs. 11,900 in stock
- Ideal For Printing Multicopy Documents – Ideal for printing multicopy documents, receipts, invoices, and bills at high speeds.
- 80 Column Printer – For printing receipts, invoices, and bills at high speeds.
- Self Lubricating Silicon Bushes – Self-lubricating silicon bushes ensure smooth and maintenance-free carriage movement resulting in a 40 million character life.
- Self Diagnostic Tool – iSense the printer identifies errors and displays them in the front panel.
Epson LQ-310 Dot Matrix Printer
Epson LQ-310 Dot Matrix Printer
Rs. 15,941 in stock
- Extreme Speed – Print up to 15 ppm in both draft and letter quality mode.
- Improving on Legendary Reliability – The LQ-310 is engineered to be the most reliable dot matrix printer ever made, with an MTBF of 100,000 hours.
- High Impact for Multiple Carbon Copies – Print multiple copies at once with the built-in carbon copy feature. Ideal for sales proposals or other documents that require multiple copies.
- Flexible Connectivity – Use your existing PC as a host or connect directly via a USB 2.0 interface for easy installation and setup.
TVS 240 Monochrome Dot Matrix Printer
Tvs 240 Monochrome Dot Matrix Printer
Rs. 11,990 in stock
- Faster Printing – The TVS 240 prints at a speed of up to 240mm per second. It can print up to 1200 lines per minute and is the fastest dot matrix printer in its class.
- Prints Barcodes – The TVS 240 comes with an integrated barcode engine that allows you to print any 1D or 2D barcode symbologies including EAN-13, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 128, etc.
- Clear and legible prints – The TVS 240 produces clear and legible text and graphics on plain paper using thermal transfer technology. You can use it for printing documents like invoices, receipts, statements, etc. as well as packing slips for your shipments.
- Parallel and USB interfaces – The printer comes with two interfaces: parallel port interface supporting Centronics compatible cables, as well as USB port interface. This enables the user to connect the printer to any computer or laptop without having to worry about compatibility issues.
Epson Dot Matrix LQ50 Monochrome Printer
Epson Dot Matrix LQ50 Monochrome Printer
Rs. 14,450 out of stock
- Wide Receipt Printing – This printer is capable of printing on a wider receipt paper.
- Save Space – Epson’s Dot Matrix printers are very compact and can be placed anywhere in your business.
- High-Quality Printing – The LQ50 prints at 203 dpi, which is higher than most dot-matrix printers. It also has a print speed of 8.5 cps (characters per second).
- Efficient Printing – This printer takes up less space and provides high-quality printing at the same time! You’ll save counter space with this printer!
Epson Dot Matrix LQ1150+II Monochrome Printer
Epson Dot Matrix LQ1150+II Monochrome Printer
- Fast Print – The Epson LQ1150+II is a fast printer that can print up to 360 characters per second.
- Great Connectivity – The Epson LQ1150+II comes with built-in USB, Serial, and Parallel interface options.
- Built-In USB – The Epson LQ1150+II has a built-in USB port for easy connectivity.
- 64kb Input Buffer – This printer has an input buffer of 64KB for easy printing.
Types of Dot Matrix Printers
9 Pins Dot Matrix Printer
The nine-pin dot-matrix impact printer was the first successful impact printer used widely in personal computers, replacing the use of punched tape and letter-quality daisy wheel printers. The print quality of the 9-pin printer was good enough for office documents such as internal memos and black and white printed material.
18 Pins Dot Matrix Printer
The 18-pin dot-matrix impact printer improved on the 9-pin dot matrix printer, by using a print head containing 18 pins instead of nine; this allowed faster printing speeds (typically five times faster than the 9-pin printer). Not all 18-pin printers have removable pin grids, but some do.
The print quality of an 18-pin dot matrix is generally more legible at 150 cpi (characters per inch) or 300 cpi versus 120 cpi for a nine-pin dot matrix. The best print quality was achieved with a 300 cpi print head using carbon film ribbon and multipart stationery.
24 pins Dot Matrix Printer
The 24-pin dot-matrix impact printer was used in some high-end computer systems before the introduction of laser printers, such as those made by Tektronix (AnsaWriter 1200). The main advantage of this printer is that it used a six-bit (plus one parity) ribbon, giving it an on-paper color capability. Most 24-pin printers had replaceable print heads for different types of fonts and sizes, allowing them to be reused in various models.
Unidirectional Dot Matrix Printer
Unidirectional dot matrix printers move the paper across the print head in a single direction. The print head strikes the paper once for every column of pixels and does not include a ribbon to provide ink/paint on previous passes. This means that any graphic or photograph must be printed with a “clean edge” on the left side as the paper advances from right to left.
Unidirectional dot matrix printers were mostly used on cash registers and industrial machines.
Most unidirectional (and some bidirectional) printers use a stepper motor to move the print head, whereas most more recent dot matrix printer models use a low-cost DC electric motor.
Bidirectional Dot Matrix Printer
Most dot-matrix printers can print in both directions. Bidirectional models require a stepper motor to move the paper, and a DC electric motor to move the print head.
Bidirectional dot matrix printers were used in cash registers and similar devices where printing on continuous forms is required. Some unidirectional printers can also function bidirectionally with hardware modifications or specialized software.
80 columns Dot Matrix Printer
An 80-column dot matrix printer can print 80 characters per line of text, or around 25 lines per inch (ipi). These printers are the most common ones used in earlier home computers and personal computer monitors, where they had replaced teleprinters for printing out of text processing software. Most custom hires screens on IBM PC compatible systems were displayed using 80-column ANSI terminal emulation.
132 columns Dot Matrix Printer
The IBM PC defined a landscape mode for printers, where 132 columns are available (in contrast to the original 40 characters widescreen). Some dot matrix printers can print in this mode, giving better output than 80-column printers at the cost of slower printing speeds.
Monochrome Printer
Monochrome dot matrix printers, as their name implies, can print in monochrome only. This was a cost-saving measure that allowed customers to use cheaper and more efficient unidirectional printing where graphics and photographs didn’t need to be reproduced: documents with headings and text would look the same, and otherwise black-and-white printouts could be used for all purposes.
Colour Printer
Some dot matrix printers can also print in color (typically using one of several six-pin ribbon arrangements). This was a popular feature used on some cash registers, industrial machines, and ticket printers. Most modern budget models can no longer print color.
Some color printers offered a character set containing a limited number of multicolored shapes, to be reproduced using different combinations of single-color dots. Usually, the printer was capable only of monochrome printing, and the characters were available in black or white only.
Advantages Of Dot Matrix Printer
- Powerful motor: Generally used to get a high-quality printing like the real one. It has an excellent working mechanism and a set of rollers. Nowadays, this is also available in different models; we can choose according to our needs and preferences.
- High speed: A standing pin printer has 100% efficiency and offers all expected services. In this way, it works smoothly and offers quick services to the users without any inconvenience.
- Lightweight: The weight of the product is very light. So it is portable from one place to another to offer its services. It does not require a large space for staying or working that’s why we can easily take it from one place to another.
- Noise-free services: It is one of the most silent-running machines via which we get noise-free printing services. Nowadays, it reduces many problems related to quality and working mechanisms. More importantly, it keeps the surrounding atmosphere clean and neat that’s why people are also preferring this product in offices, homes, etc…
- Durable: This product is durable as well as long-lasting that customers do not need to spend money frequently on it for buying spare parts and other consumables. Its great working mechanism keeps it away from the common problems of the market products like jamming, breakage, etc.
- High-quality printing: A standing pin printer provides 100% high-quality printing that we expect from an excellent product like this one. There is no need for any human intervention to get these kinds of services.
- Easy to access: Standing pin printers are available in the market at a very affordable price. We can buy it from any hardware shop or superstore by paying less money. It is easily accessible and does not require much budget for buying this excellent product that has earned great popularity among the masses.
- Portable form factor: There are many sizes of standing pin printers. We can choose this product according to the size of our table or office desk. Nowadays, it is available in small as well as large sizes that are suitable for use in different areas.
- Less power consumption: It saves a lot of electricity by consuming less power. This means it does not generate heat too much during the running time. It keeps the surrounding atmosphere cool and clean by keeping its motor parts away from heat.
How Does A Dot Matrix Printer Works
A dot matrix printer is a type of computer printer with a print head that runs back and forth on the page and prints by impact, striking an ink-soaked cloth ribbon against the paper, much like a typewriter. A series of tiny pins in the print head represent characters as patterns of dots. A dot matrix printer prints text and graphics by pushing a pin through a carbon film on the paper to make an ink-impressed dot. With some printers, characters are also bolded by pushing two pins into the paper at the same time to increase the weight of each printed character.
The first commercial printers generally used mechanisms from electric typewriters and Teletype machines. The print head is like the typewriter’s, but instead of striking the paper with a typical bar that hits the ribbon and the page simultaneously, it strikes the ribbon squarely.
Electromagnetic coils or solenoids are used to propel the pins. The more pins, the higher-quality characters (and greater redundancy) can be reproduced: 9-pin printers produce upper-case letters only, 12-pin printers are generally considered to offer acceptable quality for non-professional use, but many 14-, 15-, 16- and 18-pin dot-matrix printers are on the market.
As with most other printer mechanisms, there is a tradeoff between speed and quality. For instance, printing paper per minute (ppm) is achievable with the fastest commercially available system. Dial-up bulletin board systems often could only accommodate users that did not exceed this speed, while faster modems allowed them to use full bandwidth for transferring files. This yielded an improvement in the overall transfer speed of 2400 bit/s modems when using compression – however, this was not enough to offset the overall slower print speeds.
The alternative graphics printing modes offered by some printers may be more useful than simple dot-matrix text for creating graphs and diagrams, but often lack font flexibility (Font ROM) and color support. Another option is the daisy wheel printer which like typewriters prints characters one at a time and does not strike the paper through the platen.
Best Application Of Dot Matrix Printer
The utilization of dot matrix printers is mainly in the education sector and businesses that have a printing department/office… Dot-matrix printers are also used by companies that require lightweight portability and need to upgrade their printer often. The main negative factor with these types of printers is that they are not good for photo printing because the quality of prints is mostly blurry and pixilated.
Printing jobs at businesses tend to be specific, such as invoices to match up with other print jobs or business documents that need a dot matrix printer’s unique features. With this job specificity comes a cost-benefit: it is cheaper to use one type of printer for specific jobs than it would be to purchase different devices. This is because the unit price of dot matrix printers comes below that of other printing devices like laser toner and inkjet machines. As a result, these printers are mainly used by businesses who need portability and quick replacement; also, companies with a printing department or office are more likely to use dot matrix printers.
Buyer’s Guidelines To Buy The Best Dot Matrix Printer
- Type
There are varieties of dot matrix printers in the market. You can buy them based on your need and usage. The plethora of options available in the market is a headache for buyers.
2. Print quality
This is probably the most important factor to consider when buying a new printer, along with some other essential features. Dot-matrix printers are very versatile and designed for all printing purposes, but you need to make sure that they can do what you need with respect to print quality (dots per inch), speed, and accuracy.
3. Speed
Speed is also very important; the faster the better, as you’ll want to print more pages in less time. Some printers can output up to 360 characters per second (CPS), which is definitely what you need for any kind of business project. It’s possible that one printer may deliver high speed but poor quality; on the other hand, you may find one with good speed and print quality. It’s up to you to make a judgment based on what you need and want; your choice depends on your needs and preferences.
4. Auto-cutter
This is also an important feature: some printers come with auto cutters while others do not. The auto-cutter separates a page once it’s completed. The separation gives you a good option to stack your papers and prevents them from getting in each other’s way when you try to print another page. It also saves paper because the printer doesn’t have to cut every page individually.
5. Energy efficient
As with all electronics, your new printer should not be a pain in the pocket when it comes to energy consumption. Look for printers that have power-saving options or are Energy Star compliant. You definitely want to save money on the cost of running the printer while still getting good-quality prints.
6. Budget
Last but not least, you need to think about setting up your budget (if you haven’t already). Dot-matrix printers are a little on the cheap side, but they range from very cheap to above average in pricing. You can find a suitable printer whether you want to spend only a few dollars or hundreds of them on your new printer. If you’re on a budget and need an efficient printer, Dot Matrix Printers are for you!
Final Call
If you’ve read this far, it should be clear that the best dot matrix printer is not difficult to find. It’s important for businesses who need a reliable and affordable printing solution to know exactly what they’re looking for before making their purchase. The first step in finding your new printer is knowing precisely what type of machine will suit your needs, then narrowing down which specific model will meet those requirements.