# printer (tool)

a device that creates copies of digital content on paper

- Computed level: L17 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: everyday  ·  Arena: printer

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [device](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-device.tool), [paper](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-paper.material), [electricity](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-electricity.electrical), [copy](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-copy.replication), [content](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-content.material), [create](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-create.production), [digital](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-digital.electrical)

**Through:** the device uses electricity to drive a print mechanism that deposits ink onto paper, creating copies

**Novel properties:**
- physical output of digital data
- automated replication on demand
- precise spatial deposition of ink

## Examples
- The HP LaserJet 4L printed 5,000 pages in a 1998 office deployment before failing. *(engineering)*
- The New York Public Library’s 1995 digital archive project used an Epson Stylus Pro to output catalog records on acid-free paper. *(institutions)*
- During the 2003 blackout, a Dell 1720 printer in Toronto kept producing election ballots until power failed. *(everyday life)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-printer.tool*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-printer.tool.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*