A | B | C | D | F | G | I | J | L | M | N | P | Q | R | S | U
A
All-in-one - A multifunction peripheral that can perform more than simple printing tasks. Usually, all-in-ones print, copy, scan, and fax.
Auditing - A Windows NT feature that enables the system administrator to monitor printing activities for any user.
Automatic Document Feeder - A tray or attachment that feeds one page at a time into a printer or scanner.
Automatic Two-sided Printing - The printer automatically outputs a two-sided page without having to manually reverse and feed the paper.
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B
Bitmap File - Usually carries the file extension .BMP. The standard graphics format for Windows images.
Black Copy Speed - The speed at which the copier produces black text. (Copy speed is measured in copies per minute (cpm)).
Black Print Resolution - The clarity at which a printer prints black text, measured in dots per inch (dpi).
Black Print Speed - The speed at which a printer prints black text.
Broadcast Faxing - A fax machine feature, usually found on most all-in-ones, that sends the same fax documents to multiple recipients.
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C
Carriage - The fixture in the print device that holds the print cartridge. It moves back and forth during printing.
Charging Roller – A complex system of rollers inside a typical laser printer or all-in-one.
CMYK - An acronym to represent Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, the process colors used in correct proportions to create the color range of a digital image.
Collation - A feature offered on some inkjet printers, laser printers and all-in-ones; with collation turned on, multiple copies of a document are printed as separate documents.
Color Resolution - The resolution at which a printer prints colored text, measured in dots per inch (dpi).
Color Separation - A color printing technique used to print full-color photographs and multi-color images and text. The standardize colors are cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
Compatibility - How well one computer, attached device, data file, or program can work with or understand the commands, formats, or language of another.
Corona Wires - A set of thin wires inside the body of a laser printer that transfers a static charge to each sheet of paper; this charge in turn attracts the toner to the paper.
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D
Dedicated Print Server – A personal computers in a network dedicated to managing available printers.
Device Independent - A print job saved as a file is a device independent when it can be printed or displayed on any compatible hardware platform and achieve the same results.
Dot Matrix - A popular early impact printer that used a grid of tiny pins to transfer ink from a ribbon to the page. Although, dot matrix printers can produce basic graphics, they are inferior compared to an inkjet printer's quality.
Dots Per Inch (dpi) - A measurement of print resolution, dpi indicates how many individual dots a device can create on a page per square inch of area.
Driver - Software that comes with a peripheral (in example: printer, scanner, camera, et cetera) that allows the peripheral to communicate with the computer.
Driver Software - The software that enables your operating system to properly build and format commands and data bound for your printer.
Dual Cartridge - An inkjet printer that can accommodate two ink cartridges at the same time, one black and one color.
Duplex - Printing both sides of a two-sided document.
Duty-cycle - The maximum number of printed pages per month that a printer can print.
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F
Family - In the world of typesetting, a font family is a specific font and all of its derivatives: italic, bold, small caps, strikethrough, or underlined.
Font - A set of printing characters that share the same distinctive appearance.
Fuser Roller - One of the system of rollers inside a laser printer. The fuser roller heats the page after the toner is applied, so the toner partially melts and sticks to the page for a permanent bond.
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G
GIF Image - Usually carries the file extension. GIF is the acronym for Graphics Interchange Format. Used on websites, GIF files are best used for small images with limited colors.)
I
Impact Printer - A printer that uses the force of an impact through an ink ribbon to create a printed character on a page. This impact is delivered by a rotating ball or wheel or through a grid of pins.
Inkjet Printer - A printer or an all-in-one unit that shoots fast drying ink through tiny nozzles onto a page to form characters. The inkjet is currently the standard for personal computer printing.
Input/Output Card – (I/O card). A standard PC adapter card that typically provides two serial ports for your modem and two parallel printer ports.
Interface - A connection standard for transferring data that is recognized by all personal computers or Macintosh (Apple) computers. For example, a parallel printer port is a common interface found on virtually all PCs for transferring data from the computer to a printer.
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J
JPEG File - Usually carries the file extension .JPG. The current favorite image format among Web surfers and graphics professionals, JPEG images are highly compressed to save more space than a BMP or GIF file.
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L
Landscape Printing - Printing where the longer length of the page runs from side to side rather than top to bottom.
Large-format Printer - An inkjet printer that is designed to handle paper sizes of 11x17 inches or larger sheets. Some large format printers also use continuous rolls of paper. These printers are especially designed to produce photo-quality posters, blueprints, maps, and signs.
Laser Printer - A printer or all-in-one unit that uses static electricity and heat to bond particles of toner to a page to create characters, the same technology used by a copy machine.
Letter Quality - An old term for a printer, that produces text that looks as if it were created with a typewriter.
Local Area Network - (LAN) A group of computers in an office or building connected to each other by cable. A network computer can access files on other computers in the network or enable others to open and use its files. Printers, modems, and CD_ROM drives are also typically shared peripherals on a network.
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M
Media - The material that ink is printed on, such as paper, glossy paper, matte or transparency film.
Monochrome Printer - A printer that prints in only one color, usually black. Some monochrome printers can also produce text and graphics in shades of gray as well as strict black and white.
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N
Near Letter Quality - A description of advanced 9-pin and 24-pin dot matrix printers, where the text produced by the printer is hard to distinguish from a letter-quality daisywheel printer.
Network Interface Card - Usually abbreviated as NIC. An adapter card installed in a computer that enables it to connect to a network. Usually, NIC's support several different types of networks and network cabling.
Network Printer - A printer available for use by workstations on a network. A network printer either has its own built-in network interface card, or it is connected to a printer on the network.
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P
Page Description Language - A language recognized by computers and printers that defines the physical characteristics of a page (including fonts, graphics, margins, spacing, and colors).
Page Memory - The number of pages your fax will hold in its memory, in case it runs out of paper.
Pages per minute (PPM) - A measurement of printer speed, indicating how many finished pages a printer can produce in 60 seconds. PPM speeds are usually listed for both monochrome only and color documents.
Pantone - A spot color matching system supported by most computer desktop publishing and graphics design software.
Paper Capacity - Refers to how much paper (including envelopes, stationary, labels, and transparencies) a printer tray can accommodate.
Paper Guides - Adjustable plastic dividers that assist in the proper alignment in a printer's paper feed tray.
Parallel Communications - A method of sending data from one computer to another over several wires simultaneously, which results in faster transfer rates.
Parallel Port – A common name for the printer connector on the back of a typical computer.
Peer-to-peer network - A simple network design that uses no file or printer servers. All workstations on the network are connected by cabling, enabling users to share files and hardware, such as printers.
Peripheral - A computer term for any external hardware device you can connect or attach to your computer system, like a printer or CD-ROM drive.
Print Buffer - A separate, stand-alone print spooler with its own built-in memory that connects your computer and your printing hardware.
Print Cartridge - The device that integrates the print head, ink container, and print ink delivery systems.
Print Driver - Software that allows and enables your operating system to properly build and format commands and data bound for your printer.
Print Head - In an inkjet device, the print head contains the printer's ink cartridges and the nozzles that control the flow of ink.
Print Quality - Today's printing hardware enables you to adjust the quality of print; the lower the quality the faster the print speed, and less ink or toner used. The higher the quality, the slower the print speed, and the better the printed results.
Print Quality Terminology Problems:
Bleeding - Two ink colors run into each other.
Blooming - Ink absorbs into the paper, spreading beyond the ink dot size applied to the page.
Cockling - Paper ripple due to ink moisture.
Haloing - Lightening of black ink when it is next to color.
Print Resolution - The number of dots per square inch (dpi) required to produce a high-quality image in printing or on a computer display screen. (The higher the resolution numbers the finer the image quality.)
Print Zone - The portion of the paper the printer is capable of printing.
Printer Booth - A box made of fiberglass or plexiglass that encloses a printer. A printer booth is insulated to reduce noise; and opened to add paper and retrieve your printed documents.
Printer Command Language (PCL) - The page description language developed by HP for use in its laser and inkjet printers.
Printer Emulation - A printer emulation enables a newer printer to perform like an older, widely used printer so it can recognize and print documents formatted for the older model.
Printer Server - A computer completely dedicated to supporting a network printer.
Properties - Under Windows, you can display the properties for most printers by right clicking the unit's icon in the Printer's folder. (You can enable the setting by changing the configuration or default settings.)
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Q
Queue - A sequential order of when documents are processed, usually in the order in which they were sent by the computer.
R
RAM Cartridge - A cartridge that can be plugged into a laser printer to add more RAM. The more RAM a laser printer has, the faster it can print documents.
Random Access Memory - Usually abbreviated as RAM. RAM built into your printer can store data from a print job temporarily until the printer is ready to print the data.
Reduction - With HP's digital reduce/enlarge features, you can specify the exact reduction or enlargement percentage you need (anything between 25% and 400%).
Resolution - A measure of image clarity based on the number of pixels used to reproduce the subject. For example, camera resolution is the number of pixels in the captured image. See also Pixel.
RGB (Red, Green, Blue) - All colors defined as percentages of red, green, and blue. 2. Light is comprised of just three colors: red, green and blue. Varying percentages of these colors create all colors seen in the full color spectrum.
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S
Serial Port - A socket on a computer that is used to connect a modem, mouse, scanner, or serial printer. Sometimes two computers are connected together by their serial ports to send data between them. A serial port sends information through a cable one bit at a time, whereas a parallel port sends eight bits at a time along parallel wires. A parallel port sends data faster but a serial port is reliable for transmission over a longer distance.
Special Features - Refers to the features that differentiate a product from others, including double-sided printing accessories, networkability, etc.
Special Functions - Refers to the number of special functions a product performs. For example, some All-in-Ones fax, some do not.
Speed - The speed at which black or color text is printed or copied. Copy speed is measured in copies per minute (cpm). Print speed is measured in pages per minute (ppm).
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U
Universal Serial Bus (USB) - An input/output (I/O) bus capable of data transfer at 12 megabits (1.5 megabytes). It is used for connecting peripherals to a microprocessor. (Each device connected to a computer uses its own port. An USB can connect up to 127 peripherals through a single port.
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