Two technologies dominate the personal printer market: inkjet and laser printers. Of these two technologies, inkjet is the most popular and least expensive.
The stepper motor is what moves the print head and cartridge back and forth across a page. Some printers
will have a second stepper motor to park the print head assembly when the printer is not in use.
Belt
The belt is used to attach the print head assembly to the stepper motor.
Stabilizer Bar
The print head assembly moves across a stabilizer bar to ensure that each row of dots are even and
precise.
Paper Feed Assembly
Paper Tray/Feeder
Inkjet printers will have either a paper tray that can be loaded with paper or a feeder that is located
in the back of the printer. Both include a sensor that stops the printer when it is out of paper.
Rollers
A set of rollers pulls the paper from the paper tray/feeder and controls the rate at which the paper is moved past the print head assembly.
Printer Driver
A printer driver is software that acts as a translator so that the printer can understand data and instructions from your computer. The driver describes the text, image, etc. to be printed and translates it into the printer language.
Controller
The controller is essentially the "command station" of the printer. The control circuitry is responsible for decoding the information sent from the computer, via the printer driver, to the printer, as well as controlling the various motors of the printer.