Thread: The Print head

The printhead is the most important part of the dot matrix printer. The major components of printhead are printwire; (sometimes referred as pins) and solenoids (coils of wire, which act as magnet when current passes through them). The printwires individually strikes the ribbon hard enough to create a dot on the paper. The dots collectively form letter or image. The speed that the printhead can place characters on the page is measured in characters per second (cps). The number of printwires in the printhead determines the quality of print. More the number of printwires, the better the print qualitY: A printhead can have 9, 18, and 24 printwires.



Each printwires connected to a solenoid coil. When current flows to the printwire, a magnetic field causes the printwire to come out from the printhead through a tiny hole. The printwire hits a ribbon to create a dot on paper. Each printwire is connected to a spring that pulls the printwire back inside the printhead. The images created are nothing but series of dots on the page. The act of printwire coming out of the printhead is known as pin firing.