drum printer

A Dictionary of Computing | 2004 | 547 words | Copyright

drum printer (barrel printer) A type of solid-font line printer, first marketed in 1955 but now becoming obsolete. The font is etched or engraved on the outer surface of a cylinder – known as the drum (or barrel) – that extends across the full width of the line to be printed. This was the first type of computer printer to use the ‘hit-on-the-fly’ principle, used on chain printers and train printers and current band printers, and it was a significant change from the mechanically intensive printers that preceded it.

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JOHN DAINTITH. "drum printer." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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JOHN DAINTITH. "drum printer." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O11-drumprinter.html

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