Printers are regularly confidential by the underlying print technology they employ; numerous such technologies have been developed over the years.
The choice of print engine has a extensive effect on what jobs a printer is suitable for, as various technologies are capable of dissimilar levels of image/text quality, print speed, low cost, noise; in addition, some technologies are unsuitable for certain types of physical media (such as carbon paper or transparencies).
Another aspect of printer technology that is regularly forgotten is resistance to modification: liquid ink such as from an inkjet head or fabric ribbon becomes absorbed by the paper fibers, so papers printed with liquid ink are more difficult to alter than documents printed with toner or solid inks, which do not penetrate below the paper surface.
