A printer is a device that accepts text and graphic output from a computer and transfers the information to paper, usually to standard size sheets of paper. A printer is an output device that prints paper documents. ... Dot matrix printers, which have become increasingly rare, are still used for basic text printing. The printed output produced by a printer is often called a hard copy, which is the physical version of an electronic document. A printer is a machine that can be connected to a computer in order to make copies on paper of documents or other information held by the computer.