Q: What is the main difference between impact printers and non-impact printers?

A: Impact printers use a ribbon and mechanical force to transfer ink to paper, while non-impact printers (e.g., inkjet or laser) use heat, light, or nozzles to deposit ink without physical contact.

Q: What types of impact printers exist?

A: Impact printers include line printers (printing full lines at once) and dot matrix impact printers (using a matrix of pins to form characters).

Q: Are impact printers still used today?

A: While less common than modern printers, impact printers remain in use for specific applications requiring durability, such as industrial labeling or receipt printing.

Q: How does an impact printer work?

A: An impact printer strikes a ribbon against paper, transferring ink through mechanical impact. For dot matrix printers, pins form characters by selectively striking the ribbon.

Q: What materials are used in impact printers?

A: Impact printers typically use a ribbon (often thermal or wax-based) and paper, with some models supporting continuous or fanfold paper.

impact printer

printer that places the printing to via the use of a ribbon to the paper

Class type of: printer Q1660218

Facts

1 property

Subclass of: printer^[1]

🏷️ Also known as

en impact printer de Anschlagdrucker de Impact-Drucker es Impresora de impacto pt Impressora de impacto

🔖 Identifiers · 10

Image (Wikimedia Commons): EPSON DOT MATRIX PRINTER DSC 0091.JPG ↗
Art & Architecture Thesaurus ID: 300168276
Dictionary of Archives Terminology ID: impact-printer
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: technology/impact-printer
FOLDOC ID: impact+printer
Google Knowledge Graph ID: /g/12384z4k, /g/121lsnjr
Interlingual Index ID: i55063
KBpedia ID: ComputerImpactPrinter
Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging: 10522
Topic's main category: Category:Impact printers

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Subtypes 2

line printer, dot matrix impact printer

Has these parts 1

character printer

Subclass of 1

printer

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⭐ Popularity Graph

12/100 long tail

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8 / 428 langs

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🌐 Available in 4 languages

deImpact-Drucker esImpresora de impacto frImprimante à impact ptImpressora de impacto

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[1] ↑ impact printer — subclass of (P279): printer. wikidata.org.

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Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA

4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). impact printer. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/impact-printer

MLA “impact printer.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 4 Nov. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/impact-printer.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_impact-printer_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{impact printer}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/impact-printer}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}}

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According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): impact printer — https://4ort.xyz/entity/impact-printer (retrieved 2026-11-04)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/impact-printer · Last refreshed: November 4, 2026