dot matrix printer
[dɑt ˈmeɪtrɪks ˈprɪntər]
nounpl: dot matrix printers
impressora matricial
1. A type of computer printer that produces characters and images by striking an inked ribbon with a matrix of small pins, creating patterns of dots on paper
The office used a dot matrix printer to produce multi-copy forms in the 1980s.
O escritório usava uma impressora matricial para produzir formulários em múltiplas cópias nos anos 1980.
2. A printer that creates output through individual dot impacts, allowing for the production of carbon copies
Dot matrix printers were popular for printing invoices and receipts because they could create multiple copies simultaneously.
As impressoras matriciais eram populares para imprimir faturas e recibos porque podiam criar múltiplas cópias simultaneamente.
Dot matrix printers were ubiquitous in offices throughout Brazil and the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, becoming iconic symbols of that era. While largely obsolete today, they remain nostalgic references in both cultures and are still occasionally used in specific industrial and commercial applications where multi-copy printing or durability is required. The distinctive loud impact sound of these printers is widely remembered and referenced in popular culture.
Related Idioms & Phrases
printer that sounds like a machine gun (colloquial reference to the distinctive noise)
chain-feed printer (common descriptor for models using continuous form paper)
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