The second most important consideration is print quality. Do you need text that looks as if it came from a typesetter, or is it OK if you can see the little dots that make up each character? In general, you'll get the most professional quality from a daisy wheel printer. But not everyone needs professional quality, and other types of printers are cheaper and can do more things—like graphics.

The most common types of printers are dot matrix, daisy wheel, and thermal transfer printers. (See Figure 6-4.)

Desktop publishing: If you need typeset-quality printing, a fourth option is a laser printer, like the Apple LaserWriter^®.

Laser printers are more expensive than other types, but for professional-quality printing, they are fast and save you the cost of having your work typeset.

Figure 6-4
Print samples

Dot matrix printers form characters with patterns of dots. They're fast, economical, ideal for graphics, and fine for drafts, memos, and personal letters. Because of the way they form characters, dot matrix printers can produce a wide variety of type sizes and type styles (boldface, italic, and so on)—so you can create headlines and other special effects. You can even get dot matrix printers that print in color.

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Chapter 6: Peripheral devices