The data received by a printer may be:

• a string of characters
   
• a bitmapped image
   
• a vector image 

Some printers can process all three types of data, others not.

Daisy wheel printers can handle only plain text data or rather simple point plots.

Plotters typically process vector images.

PostScript and PCL printers can combine all three types of data.

Today it is common to print everything (even plain text) by sending ready bitmapped images to the printer, because it allows better control over formatting.  Many printer drivers do not use the text mode at all, even if the printer is capable of it.

A monochrome printer can only produce an image consisting of one color, usually black. A monochrome printer may also be able to produce graduations of tone of that color, such as a grey-scale.

A color printer can produce images of multiple colors. Similarly, a photo printer is a color printer that can produce images that mimic the color range (gamut) and resolution of photographic methods of printing.

The medium for most printers is paper, so they are usually classified according to the method of image creation:

Laser printers refer to the method used to adhere toner to the media. The advent of cost-effective, precision lasers has made them the dominant toner-based monochrome printer type for home and office applications. Another toner based printer is the LED printer which uses an array of LEDs instead of a laser to cause toner adhesion.

Inkjet printers spray very small, precise amounts (usually a few picolitres) of ink onto the media. For color applications including photo printing, ink jet methods are dominant. Inkjet printers or bubble-jet printers are one of the most commonly used printers. They consist of nozzles that produce very small ink bubbles that turn into tiny droplets of ink. The dots formed are the size of tiny pixels. Ink-jet printers can print high quality text and graphics. They are also almost silent in operation. They are cheaper than laser printers, but are expensive to run as their cartridges need to be frequently replaced.

Impact printers rely on a forcible impact to transfer ink to the media, similar to typewriters, that are typically limited to reproducing text. A daisy wheel printer is a specific type of impact printer where the type is molded around the edge of a wheel. A golf ball typewriter is similar to the daisy wheel type but has the characters distributed over the face of the globe shape.

In the general sense many printers rely on a matrix of pixels, or dots, that together form the larger image. However, the term dot matrix printer is specifically used for impact printers that use a matrix of small pins to create precise dots. The advantage of dot-matrix over other impact printers is that they can produce graphical images in addition to text; however the text is generally of poorer quality than impact printers that use letterforms (type).

Dot-matrix printers can be broadly divided into two major classes:

• Ballistic wire printers (discussed in the dot matrix printers article)
   
• Stored energy printers 

Dot matrix printers can either be character-based or line-based (that is, a single horizontal series of pixels across the page), referring to the configuration of the print head.

At one time Dot matrix printers were one of the more common types of printers used for general use - such as for home and small office use. Such printers would have either 9 or 24 pins on the print head. 24 pin print heads were able to print at a higher quality. Once the price of Inkjet printers dropped to the point where they were competitive with Dot matrix printers, Dot matrix printers began to fall out of favor for general use.

Some dot matrix printers, in example the NEC P6300, can be upgraded to print in color. This is achieved through the use of a four-color ribbon mounted on a mechanism (provided in an upgrade kit that replaces the standard black ribbon mechanism after installation) that rises and lowers the ribbons as needed. Color graphics are generally printed in 4 passes at standard resolution, thus slowing down printing considerably. As a result, color graphics can take up to 4 times longer to print than standard monochrome graphics, or up to 8-16 times as long at high resolution mode.

Dot matrix printers are still commonly used in low-cost, low-quality applications like cash registers, or in demanding, very high volume applications like invoice printing. The fact that they use an impact printing method allows them to be used to print multi-part documents using carbonless copy paper (like sales invoices and credit card receipts), whereas other printing methods are unusable with paper of this type. Dot-matrix printers are now (as of 2005) rapidly being superseded even as receipt printers.

Line printers, as the name implies, print an entire line of text at a time. Two principle designs existed. In drum printers, a drum carries the entire character set of the printer repeated in each column that is to be printed. In chain printers (also known as train printers), the character set is arranged multiple times around a chain that travels horizontally past the print line. In either case, to print a line, precisely timed hammers strike against the back of the paper at the exact moment that the correct character to be printed is passing in front of the paper. The paper presses forward against a ribbon which then presses against the character form and the impression of the character form is printed onto the paper.

These printers were the fastest of all impact printers and were used for bulk printing in large computer centers. They were virtually never used with personal computers and have now been partly replaced by high-speed laser printers.

The printer manufacturing business

Often the razor and blades business model is applied. That is, a company may sell a printer at cost, and make profits on the ink cartridge, paper, or some other replacement part. This has caused legal disputes regarding the right of companies other than the printer manufacturer to sell compatible ink cartridges.

The speed of early printers was measured in units of characters per second. More modern printers are measured in pages per minute. These measures are used primarily as a marketing tool, and are not well standardized. Usually pages per minute refers to sparse monochrome office documents, rather than dense pictures which usually print much more slowly.