User guide

Printer Controlling
Software Applications
The printer performance can be controlled using software programs developed
for a wide variety of applications, such as word processor, spread sheet, data
base, graphics, etc. The software transmits the operating information to the
printer in two different ways, with:
- The Printer Driver: the part of the program which controls the selected
printer
- Incorporated commands: inserted directly in the text to be printed.
Printer Drivers
To print a document using a software application program, you must have a
computer, an application program and a printer. Just as you must have an
interface cable to connect your computer and printer, so must you also have a
driver which interfaces your application program with your printer.
A Printer Driver is a software program written specifically for an application
and a particular printer model. The Printer Driver controls the printer behavior,
loading information from your software and transmitting it to the printer to
create a document. When you select the print attributes (bold, italic, etc.) for a
document, the software transmits the corresponding codes to the Printer Driver.
The driver interprets the software codes and sends an equivalent series of
commands to the printer (see Appendix E "Command codes"). The printer
prints the document with the print attributes desired.
The Printer Driver transmits both characters, numbers and / or symbols for
printing and also instructions on how the data received should be printed. It
has, however, two limitations:
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