This output device uses a moving print head containing a vertical column of wire pins. Electromagnetic solenoids fire specific pins forward to strike a ribbon against the paper, building letters and graphics out of closely spaced dots. They are highly valued in industrial settings for printing multi-part carbonless forms.
Heard on the job
The shipping department still uses a dot matrix printer because they need to generate triplicate waybills.
Also heard as
- impact printer
Related terms
Line printer
A high-speed impact printer that prints a complete line of text simultaneously.
Daisywheel printer
An impact printer that uses a rotating wheel of raised metal or plastic characters.
Pinfeed
A paper-handling mechanism that uses small sprocketed wheels to advance continuous paper with punched margins.