The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
friction feed
A method some printers and plotters use to move
paper by rotating one or both of a pair of spring-loaded
rubber-coated rollers with the paper sandwiched between them.
Friction feed printers are notorious for slipping when the
rollers wear out, but can take standard typing paper.
For printers with a sheet feeder, friction feed is more
appropriate than sprocket feed which requires the holes in
the paper to engage with the sprockets of the feed mechanism.
(1997-07-09)