You may be most familiar with the one sitting next to your computer, but there is a wide range of equipment that can be classified as a sheet-fed printer. As their name implies, sheet-fed printers image sheet by sheet.
Sheet-fed vs. Roll-fed
A sheet-fed printer is one that uses cut-sized paper, as opposed to rolls of paper. Regardless of size or speed, all sheet-fed printers image one sheet of paper at a time. Roll-fed printers, as their name implies, image paper on a continuous roll. Individual sheets are created at the end of the roll-fed process. A small example of a roll-fed printer is a fax machine that images onto thermal paper: The paper is fed into the device from a roll, receives the image and then is cut to size. Huge web presses (the type on which your daily newspaper is printed) are the largest examples of roll-fed printers.
Desktop Printers
Desktop computer printers come in various sizes, and with assorted features. One of the breakthroughs in personal computing came with the introduction of desktop printers that could image onto plain paper. The earliest digital printers and fax machines used rolls of thermal paper that lacked quality and stability. Nearly all desktop printers are now sheet-fed types that print on plain paper.
Copiers
Standard photocopiers represent another class of sheet-fed printers. Since the first photocopier, the Xerox 914, was introduced in 1959, these machines have constituted the largest category of sheet-fed printers. The letter size (8-1/2 by 11 inches) or A4 (European counterpart) sheet is the typical minimum size paper for copiers. Many have the capability of imprinting sheets as large as 11 by 17 inches (tabloid), with some imprinting up to 12-by-18 inch sheets.
Presses
Printing presses are available as either sheet-fed or web (using massive rolls of paper) presses. Like desktop printers and copiers, sheet-fed presses imprint cut sheets of paper one at a time; however, they print at much higher speeds. Most sheet-fed presses are capable of imprinting thousands of sheets per hour. Many commercial printers run sheet-fed presses for their higher-quality output, while newspapers and periodical publishers use web presses for extremely long runs because of their speed and cost-efficiency .
Sheet-fed presses come in a range of sizes, from the smallest units that can print a single color onto a post card, to those that can print up to eight colors on sheets 40 inches wide.
Sheet-fed Sizes
While the letter-size sheet is typical for desktop printers and copiers, larger sheets are the norm in the sheet-fed printing industry. Although presses imprint one sheet at a time, most printers will place multiple images on a singe sheet to save time and money. The printed sheets are then cut to the final size of the piece. Typical sheet sizes for these presses are 17 by 22 inches, 23 by 35 inches and 25 by 38 inches, with some printing sheets as large as 49 by 74 inches.
Types of Paper for Sheet-fed Printers
A wide variety of cut-size paper is available for all types of sheet-fed printers. Cut-size papers range from typical office paper (20# bond) to very thick card stock used in packaging. In addition to assorted paper weights, there is a broad range of colors and finishes. Some cut-size sheets incorporate the use of cotton, while others are made up solely of wood pulp. Additionally, papers for sheet-fed printers can be coated and are offered as glossy or matte finishes.
