CHAPTER NINE: SUPPORTING PRINTER DEVICES

Question 1

Inkjet

Answer 1

sprays tiny droplets of ink

Question 2

Laser

Answer 2

uses a laser beam and powdered toner.

Question 3

Key things to look at when picking a printer:

Answer 3

Pages per minute (ppm): How fast it prints. Black-and-white text is usually faster than color photos.

Dots per inch (dpi): Measures how sharp the print is. More dots = better quality.
This is different from screen resolution (ppi), even if they sound similar.

Resolution numbers like “2400x600” mean: Horizontal dpi x Vertical dpi.
- Horizontal quality = controlled by the printer’s brain.
- Vertical quality = controlled by how it pulls the paper.

Paper handling: Can it handle labels, envelopes, card stock, transparencies, etc.?

Tray capacity: If the tray gets full, it can jam or stop printing.

Options/add-ons: Like double-sided (duplex) printing or finishing tools (folding, stapling, hole punching).

Question 4

Setup Location (Where to Put the Printer)

Answer 4

Needs power and usually network access.

Cables shouldn’t trip anyone and the surface should be strong and stable.

Keep it out of direct sunlight, and allow airflow around it.

The area should be well-ventilated—some printers release small amounts of gases (like ozone) when printing.

Store printer paper and ink somewhere that’s not too hot, cold, or humid.

Check the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for any special installation tips.

Keep printers that handle confidential documents in restricted access areas.

Question 5

Connecting the Printer

Answer 5

You’ve got three main ways to connect:
A. USB (wired)
Plug the square-ish end into the printer (Type B) and the flat one into your PC (Type A).
Your computer usually detects it automatically (this is called Plug and Play).
It installs the driver (software that makes the printer talk to your computer).

B. Ethernet (wired network)
Plug it into your network router using an Ethernet cable.
The printer will get an IP address either automatically (from a DHCP server) or manually set.
You can name the printer using DNS so others can find it easily (like “OfficePrinter.local”).
You can also configure it using its LCD screen or buttons.
Larger companies use software to manage lots of printers.
Make sure firewalls aren’t blocking the ports printers need to communicate.

C. Wireless (no cables!)
Bluetooth – connect nearby devices wirelessly.

Question 6

Wi-Fi printing connection has two options

Answer 6

Infrastructure mode – printer connects to your Wi-Fi router.
Wi-Fi Direct – printer creates its own signal you can connect to directly.

Question 7

Printer Drivers and Page Description Languages (PDLs)

Answer 7

This is where your computer and printer speak the same language:
A driver is the translator between the printer and your computer.
Different operating systems (OS) need different drivers.
A 64-bit Windows computer needs a 64-bit driver.

Question 8

Page Description Language (PDL)

Answer 8

This is how the print job is described and sent to the printer. Think of it as the “script” the printer reads:

It turns your document into a raster file – a map of where to put each dot of ink.

Question 9

Scalable fonts

Answer 9

these are drawn with vectors, so you can resize them without losing quality.

Question 10

Vector graphics

Answer 10

like fonts, they’re not pixel-by-pixel, so they look good at any size.

Question 11

Color printing

Answer 11

Screens use RGB (Red, Green, Blue).

Printers use CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black).

PDLs help translate colors so what you see on-screen matches what prints.

Question 12

Common PDLs

Answer 12

PostScript (Adobe) – great for design and publishing.

PCL (HP) – faster but can look a little different on different printers.

XPS (Microsoft) – default for many Windows printers.

Question 13

Printer Properties

Answer 13

This is like the “master control panel” for the printer. It’s where you manage hardware stuff and system settings:

1. Update the driver: The “driver” is software that helps your computer talk to the printer. Sometimes it needs an update to work better.
2. Change the port: A port is the place where your computer and printer connect—USB, network, etc.
3. Sharing and permissions: You can decide who else is allowed to use the printer.
4. Add special parts: Like a duplex unit (lets you print on both sides) or a finisher unit (staples, sorts, etc.).
5. Choose default paper types for different trays (like picking regular paper in Tray 1 and envelopes in Tray 2).

Question 14

Printing Preferences

Answer 14

These are more about the default settings for your print jobs—the stuff that affects what the paper looks like when it comes out:

Question 15

printing preferences Paper/Quality Tab

Answer 15

Choose the paper size and type (e.g., glossy photo paper vs. plain paper).
Use economy/draft mode to save ink or toner.
Choose between color or grayscale (black and white).

Question 16

Printing preferences Finishing Tab:

Answer 16

Choose duplex (print on both sides).
Choose portrait or landscape (vertical or sideways).
Print multiple pages per sheet.

Question 17

Printer Sharing

Answer 17

This is about how multiple people can use the same printer:

Some printers have built-in print servers, meaning they can connect to your network directly—like a smart printer that doesn’t need a middleman.

Others need a Windows computer (a print server) to share them. That computer sends jobs to the printer for everyone else.

You can control who gets to use the printer by setting permissions.

Question 18

Printer Security, User Authentication

Answer 18

This means you need a username and password to use the printer. It can be set up:

• On the print server (computer sharing the printer).
• On the printer itself.
• Using a network login from something like a company directory (e.g., Active Directory).

Question 19

Secured Print & Badging

Answer 19

Worried someone will grab your printout before you get there? Use Secured Print:

The printer holds the job until you show up and prove it’s yours.

You prove it’s yours by:
Entering a PIN (like a password) at the printer.
Or using badging—tapping your employee ID card on a smart card reader attached to the printer.
These print jobs are often encrypted (scrambled for security) and may disappear after a while if you don’t print them in time.

Question 20

Audit Logs

Answer 20

The printer or print server can record everything: who printed what, when, and from where.

If a sensitive document goes missing, you can check the logs.

Logs can even be sent to a log server using something called syslog.

Question 21

Scanner Configuration (for Multi-Function Devices)

Answer 21

A lot of office printers are actually MFDs (Multi-Function Devices). These do more than just print—they also:

• Scan documents into the computer.
• Copy documents like a copier.
• Send faxes (yep, that still exists in some places).

Question 22

scanner

Answer 22

The scanner part turns physical documents into digital files. If you want to turn a scan into something editable (like a Word doc), you use OCR (Optical Character Recognition)—software that recognizes the letters and turns them into text you can type on.

Question 23

Flatbed Scanner

Answer 23

Think of it like a photocopier. You lift the lid, place your document or photo face-down on a glass surface, and close it. Then:

• A bright light shines on the object.
• Mirrors bounce the light toward a lens.

The lens either:
- Uses a prism (a glass-like object that splits light) to separate the light into red, green, and blue (RGB), or
- Sends it to special imaging sensors that detect colors.

• The computer turns all that color and shape info into a bitmap file (a kind of image file).

Question 24

Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)

Answer 24

Instead of placing one page at a time on the glass, this lets you feed in a stack of paper, and it will scan them automatically, one after the other — like a paper version of a vending machine.

Question 25

Scan to Email

Answer 25

The scanned file is attached to an email. The scanner needs to know the SMTP server’s address (that’s the email-sending part of the internet). Usually, the email system checks your username and password before it sends the email.

Question 26

Scan to Folder (SMB)

Answer 26

The file is saved in a shared folder on the network. The scanner needs the exact folder path. Users must have permission to save things in that folder.

Question 27

Scan to Cloud

Answer 27

The scan goes to cloud storage like OneDrive or Dropbox. You log into your cloud account on the scanner. Some scanners even let you create your own setup with templates.

Question 28

Laser Printer pros

Answer 28

Laser printers are great for offices because they're: Cheap to use, Fast, Quiet, And print high-quality pages that don’t smudge or fade.

Question 29

Laser Printer Imaging Process

Answer 29

1. Processing Stage Your computer sends the page to the printer. The printer translates the page into a dot-by-dot map, called a bitmap, and stores it in memory. 2. Charging Stage There’s a special part inside called an imaging drum. The Primary Charge Roller (PCR) puts an even -600 volt charge on the drum’s surface. Think of it like “resetting” the drum to all black. 3. Exposing Stage A laser shines tiny flashes of light on the drum for each dot of the image. Wherever the light hits, it removes the charge. Now the drum holds an invisible version of your image, with areas that have charge and no charge (called an electrostatic latent image). 4. Developing Stage Toner (powder made of color and plastic or wax) is dropped near the drum. Both the drum and toner have a negative charge, so they would normally repel. But the laser removed the charge in parts, so toner sticks only where it’s supposed to — forming your image on the drum. 5. Transferring Stage Now the drum rolls the image onto the paper. The printer has rollers and gears that feed one sheet at a time. The image transfers from the drum to the paper. 6. Fusing Stage The paper goes through the fuser, which has: - A hot roller (with a lamp inside to heat it up). - A pressure roller (made of rubber). The toner is melted and pressed onto the paper, so it sticks permanently. The hot roller is coated in Teflon (like a non-stick frying pan) to keep toner from gunking up the machine. 7. Cleaning Stage The printer cleans the drum so it’s ready for the next page. A blade, roller, or brush wipes off leftover toner. A light or the PCR removes any leftover electrical charge.

Question 30

Inkjet Printers

Answer 30

Inkjet printers are popular for printing things like photos because they produce good-quality color images. They're cheap to buy, but the ink cartridges (the parts that hold the ink) and the special paper can get expensive fast. They're slower and noisier than laser printers, so they’re not the best choice for big office jobs — but great for small, colorful printouts at home.

Question 31

Imaging Process (How it prints): Inkjet Printers

Answer 31

Inkjet printers spray tiny droplets of ink directly onto paper — super tiny, like invisible-to-the-eye tiny. This creates sharp, detailed images — especially if you use photo paper, which holds the ink better. But the downside is: the ink can smear if touched too soon and may fade over time.

Question 32

Types of Inkjet Print Heads

Answer 32

Thermal Method (Used by HP, Canon, Lexmark) Piezoelectric Method (Used by Epson)

Question 33

Thermal Method (Used by HP, Canon, Lexmark)

Answer 33

Inside the nozzle (tiny tube), the ink gets heated until it forms a bubble. When the bubble pops, ink shoots out, and more ink gets pulled in from the ink reservoir (where ink is stored). Pros: Cheap to make. Cons: The heating parts wear out fast, so the print head is often replaced along with the ink cartridge.

Question 34

Piezoelectric Method (Used by Epson)

Answer 34

Uses a tiny crystal that changes shape when electricity hits it (that’s the "piezoelectric" part). That motion pushes ink out of the nozzle and pulls more in. Pros: Lasts longer, no heat needed. Cons: More expensive to make.

Question 35

Carriage System

Answer 35

The print head moves left and right across the paper on a carriage. This is powered by a stepper motor (a motor that moves in small steps), belt, and pulley system. A guide shaft keeps the movement straight and smooth. Sensors track exactly where the print head is so it prints in the right spot. A flat ribbon cable sends instructions from the printer's brain (circuit board) to the print head. After one row is printed, another stepper motor moves the paper forward to print the next line. There's also something called the platen gap — that’s the space between the print head and the paper. Some printers let you adjust this to fit thicker paper.

Question 36

Inkjet Printer Maintenance

Answer 36

Since inkjets don’t print a ton of pages, maintenance is mostly about keeping paper loaded and replacing ink cartridges. Don’t open the printer to clean the inside — you might break it. Wipe the outside gently with a soft, damp cloth to keep it clean.

Question 37

Thermal Printers (Different kind of printer):

Answer 37

A thermal printer uses heat to make an image on the paper — no ink at all! Most common type: direct thermal printer. Used for printing receipts, labels, and barcodes — especially in stores or warehouses. They usually print in black and white, with resolution around 200–300 dpi (dots per inch). Printing speed is measured in inches per second.

Question 38

how doe thermal printers work

Answer 38

Uses special thermal paper that changes color when heated. A stepper motor moves the paper using a rubber roller. Paper can come in rolls or folded stacks.

Question 39

Impact Printers (Old-school style)

Answer 39

An impact printer hits an inked ribbon to strike the paper, kind of like a typewriter. Common type: dot matrix printer — it uses little pins that punch dots through the ribbon onto the paper. Invoices, pay slips, and forms that need carbon copies.

Question 40

Paper Types

Answer 40

Plain paper – basic stuff. Carbon paper – makes copies at the same time using layered sheets. Tractor-fed paper – special paper with holes on the sides to stay aligned with the printer using roller sprockets.

Question 41

Impact Printer Maintenance

Answer 41

Uses a ribbon cartridge — when the print quality drops, replace the ribbon. Older ones had a two-spool ribbon that had to be reversed when it ran out. Most now use looped cartridges, which are easier to deal with. Be careful when changing the print head — it can get hot during printing!

Question 42

3-D Printer

Answer 42

A 3-D printer builds up objects layer by layer, kind of like stacking pancakes. Instead of ink or paper, it uses materials like plastic, rubber, carbon fiber, or even metal alloys. It’s not like a regular printer that prints on paper. 3-D printers are mostly used in manufacturing to create test models, called proof-of-concept models, before a full version is made. But it’s also used in healthcare (like making fake teeth or limbs), fashion (like custom clothes), and for marketing samples.

Question 43

Print Feed Issues

Answer 43

Paper jams – when paper gets stuck inside. Paper feed issues – when paper isn’t pulled in properly. Grinding noises – something’s probably misaligned or broken.

Question 44

Print Quality Issues for laser toner

Answer 44

Faded or faint prints – Probably low toner. Try replacing the toner cartridge. Blank pages – The cartridge might still have its packing seal on, or the transfer roller is broken. White stripes – The toner is uneven or the transfer roller is dirty. Black stripes or full black page – The primary charge roller or power supply is bad. Speckling – Loose toner dust inside. Clean it with a special toner vacuum. Lines on every page – The drum or feed rollers are dirty or damaged. Toner not sticking – If it smudges easily, the fuser (which melts the toner onto the paper) needs to be replaced. Double/ghost images – The drum isn’t cleaned properly. Replace it if the issue doesn’t go away. Wrong colors – The toner cartridges might be in the wrong spots (like magenta in the cyan slot), or they’re not lined up properly. Try calibrating the printer and printing a test page. Missing color – A cartridge might be empty or not making contact. Replace or clean the connection.

Question 45

Finishing Issues

Answer 45

Some printers have extra units called finishers that can do things like staple pages or punch holes. Common problems: Wrong page orientation – The paper size or direction is set wrong. This messes up stapling or binding. Hole punching problems – Too many pages will jam the punch. Also depends on how thick the paper is. Staple jams – Too many pages again. A staple can get stuck. You’ll need to open the stapler unit and take it out.

Question 46

Print Monitors (Windows-specific)

Answer 46

On Windows, the system that handles printing is called WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation). When you print, the document is turned into something called a Page Description Language (PDL) and stored temporarily in a folder called a spool folder. A print monitor watches over this process. It helps send the file to the printer and shows messages if something goes wrong. If your printer is on a network, the print job goes through a redirector service that forwards it to the print server, which then sends it to the printer.

Question 47

Garbled Print Issues

Answer 47

This is when your printer spits out lots of pages with weird characters or blank sheets. Here’s what to do: 1. Cancel the print job. 2. Clear the print queue (the line of print jobs waiting). 3. Turn the printer off for 30 seconds, then turn it back on. 4. Try printing again.