a printer that prints on paper by impacting a cloth ribbon coated with ink, thus transferring ink to the paper. Dot-matrix printers are the most common type of impact printer. Today, impact printers are used mainly for business forms that involve carbon paper or carbonless copy paper.
computer-driven high-speed printer that operates like a typewriter in that it strikes a type character against paper with an inked ribbon in between. The type may be encased in a print chain or print drum. An impact printer automatically feeds continuous forms through as it prints, one line at a time, in contrast to a laser printer that prints the entire page at once. Impact printing is slower than laser printing (2000 lines per minute versus two 8½" × 11" pages per second). It also does not have as much flexibility with respect to type fonts and image orientation (i.e., it can print only across the page, not from top to bottom). However, because of the low equipment cost, it is the most common type of printer used in direct marketing. The print quality is dependent upon the quality of the machine and ink ribbon used but is typically not as consistent as the quality achieved by ink-jet printers or laser printers. Impact printers are used to print Cheshire labels, direct-mail advertising letters and forms, renewal notices, invoices, and so forth.
