Datasheet

Installation and Configuration of Printers
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This section provides details about various technologies of printers. These printers may
be differentiated from one another in several ways, including the following:
Impact vs. Nonimpact Impact printers physically strike an inked ribbon and therefore can
print multipart forms; nonimpact printers deliver ink onto the page without striking it. Dot
matrix is impact; everything else is nonimpact.
Continuous Feed vs. Sheet Fed Continuous-feed paper feeds through the printer using a
system of sprockets and tractors. Sheet-fed printers accept plain paper in a paper tray. Dot
matrix is continuous feed; everything else is sheet fed.
Line vs. Page Line printers print one line at a time; page printers compose the entire page in
memory and then place it all on the paper at once. Dot matrix and ink-jet are line printers;
laser is a page printer.
Printer Components
In addition to the physical body of the printer, components and consumables are associated
with it. Components include the following:
Memory As a general rule, the more memory the printer has, the better. The memory
is used to hold the print jobs in the printer queue; the more users, and the larger the print
jobs, the more memory you’ll want.
Drivers These are the software components of the printer (or scanner)allowing the
device to communicate with the operating system. Its important to always have the correct
and most current drivers, for the greatest efficiency.
Firmware Although drivers can be updated, firmware rarely is. Firmware is installed on
the printer/scanner and can be thought of as the operating system for that device.
Consumables for printers are those items you must change as you use the printerthe
variable items that get consumed and must be replenished. These include toner (or ink,
depending on the type of printer you’re using) and paper.
Be sure to always order and use the consumables that are recommended for your machine.
Dot-Matrix Printers
A dot-matrix printer is an impact printer; it prints by physically striking an inked ribbon,
much like a typewriter. Its an impact, continuous-feed line printer.
The printhead on a dot-matrix printer consists of a block of metal pins that extend
and retract. These pins are triggered to extend in patterns that form letters and num-
bers as the printhead moves across the paper. Early models, known as near letter quality
(NLQ), printed using only nine pins. Later models used 21 pins and produced much bet-
ter letter-quality (LQ) output.
The main advantage of dot matrix is its impact (physical striking of the paper). Because
it strikes the paper, you can use it to print on multipart forms. Nonimpact printers can’t do
that. Dot-matrix printers aren’t commonly found in most offices these days because of their
disadvantages, including noise, slow speed, and poor print quality.
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