Line Matrix Printer - Definition

A line matrix printer is a device that combines the printing techniques of two different printer techniques- dot matrix and line matrix. Line matrix printers are widely used in banking, back-office, and manufacturing due to their high-speed printing capabilities.

Lipi Data provides high-speed, heavy-duty Line Matrix Printers featuring world-renowned technology. These mission-critical printers are well known for their durability, reliability, and viably low printing costs. With speed ranging from 500 to 2000 lines per minute, these line matrix printers also provide multilingual printing - efficiently maximizing the flexibility of your operations.

Dot Matrix- Definition

A dot matrix printer is a device that uses pins impacting an ink ribbon to print. These printers are generally considered obsolete, as they cannot reproduce high-quality prints on top of being costly. However, Dot Matrix Printers feature a specialty that inkjet and laser printers do not have. As these devices use impact printing, they can be used to print multiple copies of text simultaneously with the aid of carbon copying. They are primarily used in places where multipart forms are required. A dot matrix printer is also known as an impact matrix printer.

Advantages of Line Matrix Printer

  • The high speed makes them suitable for printing in large quantities
  • Multipart forms printing
  • Affordability
  • Durability as compared to other models
  • Inexpensive consumables
  • Environmentally friendly consumables
  • Apt for industrial use
  • Resistant to dust and extreme temperatures as compared to other printers
  • High life cycle typically 8-10 yrs

Advantages of Dot Matrix

  • Easily available
  • Affordable
  • Can create carbon copies, unlike non-impact printers
  • The printing ink gradually fades rather than stopping abruptly
  • Paper can also be used continuously
  • Lower maintenance costs as compared to other printer models
  • Perfect for small office applications

Differences Between Line matrix & Dot Matrix

Dot-matrix printers produce printed images when tiny wire pins on a print head mechanism strike an inked ribbon. The ribbon is then pressed against the paper, and it creates dots on a paper that form characters and graphics. It uses a continuous form of paper in which many sheets of paper are connected, end to end. In contrast, a line printer is a type of impact printer that is high-speed and prints an entire line. Their speed can be measured by the number of lines they can print. Line printers can print as many as 3000 lines per minute.

Which is Better for Your Business?

Here are some of the top reasons line matrix printers are more relevant for today’s businesses:

  1. Affordability: When profit margins were comparatively higher and competition less fierce, the average business was not as cost-conscious as today. So, when it came to shifting away from line matrix printers, and onto laser devices, not much attention was paid to the fact that the cost per printed page might go up to six times or more.
    • Coverage – Unlike line matrix printers, where the cost of ribbons may account for only 10% or less of the total cost of ownership, including hardware, maintenance, and consumables, toner can actually account for approx 90% of the total cost of ownership of a laser printer. Therefore, as the toner coverage goes up, so does the economic superiority of line matrix printers over laser-based devices.
    • Downtime – This is especially true for supply chain environments; when printers are down, the resultant costs accumulate very quickly.
    • Harsh environments – The trustworthiness of line matrix printers is unparalleled in any environment, especially those not climate controlled. As soon as you combine humidity, dust, dirt, and extreme temperatures with a laser printer, the chances of failure and hard paper jams will rise significantly. In contrast, line printers largely operate entirely unaffected.
  2. Flexibility: Through line matrix printers, businesses can generate fully-formatted dynamic documents with data-driven layouts, content, logos, barcodes, etc.
    • Pre-printed multipart forms – While the business continuity of countless enterprises and government agencies still rely on multipart form printing, the cost and inflexibility of pre-printing can now be avoided through the use of specific applications in conjunction with line matrix printers.
    • Multi-channel delivery – Just because the printed document is generated on a line printer, it doesn’t discount the fact that we can simultaneously deliver monochrome or full-color versions of the same document to the digital archive, e-mail, web, etc. By doing this, you’re using the unmatched reliability and low operating cost of line matrix printers, combined with automated electronic distribution of your digital documents.
  3. Eco-friendly: It’s essential to know that line matrix printers are the most environmentally friendly way to print.
    • Low energy consumption – Energy consumption while printing is considerably less because heat rollers are not needed.
    • Toner cartridges vs. ribbons – The toner cartridge waste generated by laser printers greatly exceeds the ribbon cartridge waste generated by a line matrix printer, not just by the volume but also by the materials used and energy expended in the subsequent manufacturing process.
    • Higher longevity – The average lifespan of a line matrix printer is approximately eight to ten years, whereas the average life of a laser printer is only around three. Also, even when a line printer arrives at its end-of-life stage, it is usually refurbished and resold as compared to getting scrapped. Because they are highly cost-effective, quite flexible, and sustainable, line matrix printers provide outstanding value to today’s businesses.

Conclusion

In summary, Laser and Line Matrix printers each have their strengths and weaknesses; however, for moderate to high volume print requirements, Line Matrix is the clear winner, regardless of an office or industrial environment from the standpoint of lifetime operating cost and environmental impact cost. When printing within industrial environments, Line Matrix will take the lead, considering the environmental forces that will likely cause premature failure of laser-based devices.

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