IBM 1443

The IBM 1443 Printer was a line printer introduced by IBM as part of its System/360 family of computers and also used with the IBM 1401 and other systems. It was a medium-speed printer, offering speeds typically in the range of 240 to 600 lines per minute, depending on the character set and model.

The 1443 used a print chain mechanism, a rotating chain containing all the printable characters. As the desired character passed the correct print position on the paper, a hammer struck the paper against the ribbon and the selected character on the chain, imprinting the character on the paper. Different print chains could be installed, providing a variety of character sets, including upper and lower case alphabets and special symbols.

The printer could handle different forms and paper sizes. It was commonly used for printing reports, invoices, and other business documents. The 1443 played a crucial role in providing printed output in a pre-laser printer era, becoming a standard peripheral device for many IBM mainframe installations. It was eventually superseded by faster and more versatile printing technologies.