drum printer
Noun: A high-speed line printer in which the type characters are embossed on a rotating cylindrical drum. A full set of characters for each print position is present on the drum. Paper and an inked ribbon are positioned against the drum, and hammers strike the paper from behind at the precise moment the desired character rotates into position, creating an impression.
A "drum printer" is a technical term for a specific, now largely obsolete, type of impact printer. It is used when discussing historical computer hardware, printing technology, or data processing equipment.
Examples: * The early mainframe computer system used a drum printer for its voluminous output. * Compared to modern laser printers, drum printers were very loud and had a limited character font. * The museum's computing exhibit features a working drum printer from the 1970s.
- Technical Operation: The term is precise; it refers specifically to printers where the character set is physically etched on a rotating drum, as opposed to a chain, band, or dot matrix.
- Historical Context: It is often used in contrast with later technologies like "dot matrix printers," "inkjet printers," and "laser printers" to illustrate the evolution of printing speed and quality.
- Line Printer (n): A broader category of high-speed impact printers that print an entire line at once, which includes drum printers, chain printers, and band printers.
- Impact Printer (n): A general term for any printer that creates characters by striking an inked ribbon against paper (e.g., drum printer, dot matrix printer, daisy wheel printer).
- Drum-based line printer
- Rotating drum printer
- Print Hammer (n): The component in a drum printer that strikes the paper.
- Character Drum (n): Another name for the rotating cylinder containing the character set.
- Band Printer (n): A similar line printer where characters are on a rotating band instead of a drum.
- Chain Printer (n): A similar line printer where characters are on a rotating chain.
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a line printer in which the type is mounted on a rotating drum that contains a full character set for each printing position
