What does a printer do?

A printer is a peripheral device that is specifically designed to produce hard copies of digital documents, images, or graphics on physical media such as paper. The primary function of a printer is to convert digital data into a tangible format that can be easily read and shared in the physical world. This process involves various printing technologies, such as inkjet or laser printing, which both create characters or images on a substrate.

The other options describe functions associated with different types of devices. For example, displaying digital images on a screen pertains to monitors or screens, while transmitting data over the internet refers to networking devices such as modems or routers. Scanning documents into a digital format is a function of scanners, which digitize physical documents rather than producing printed copies. Thus, the characteristic function of a printer is to print characters or images on paper.