What does printer mean?
A printer is most commonly a machine that creates copies of documents, images, photographs, or graphics. It may use ink, toner, thermal transfer, or another printing method, and printers can be connected to computers or operated over a network. In older and more specialized usage, a printer is a person who prints books, documents, or other materials, especially in the publishing trade. This older sense also gives rise to expressions such as printer's mark and printer's error, referring respectively to information identifying a printed work and to a mistake that appears in printed material. Today, the machine sense dominates in everyday communication, while the professional sense is often literary, historical, or associated with the traditional printing industry. The word is useful because it preserves both the history of print culture and the technologies that continue to reproduce information in physical form.
nounA machine that produces printed or copied images, text, or graphics, typically by transferring ink, toner, or another medium onto paper or another surface. By extension, a printer is a person whose work is printing books, documents, or other materials.
- A machine that produces printed or copied text, images, or graphics.
- A person whose occupation is printing, especially books, documents, or other published material.
"The office printer is out of order, so she sent the report by email instead."
"The laser printer in the library can print both sides of a page."
"The printer explained that the manuscript would be ready for proofing by the end of the day."
The usual plural of the noun, used for multiple machines or people.
"The library has printers on both floors."
Before computers, a printer could mean the person operating a printing press; the machine that now bears the name came later.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of printer
Printer is an English noun formed from the established word print and the productive suffix -er, literally meaning one who prints. The occupational sense—someone who prints texts or works with a printing press—came first, while the machine sense developed later as printing technology became widespread. Its relatives print, printed, printing, and printery belong to the same lexical family, and the word's modern prominence reflects the continuing importance of printed documents and images.
How printer is actually used
In modern everyday use, printer most often refers to a machine that produces documents or images. The occupational sense, meaning someone who prints texts or works in the printing trade, is more literary, historical, or specialized.