1. Chapter 21
Supporting Printers

2. You Will Learn… How printers work
How to install printers and share them over a local area network
How to troubleshoot printer problems
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3. How Printers Work
Connect to a PC by parallel, serial, USB, IEEE 1394, or SCSI port, or by infrared, wireless, PC Card, or network connection
Can be combined with fax machines, copiers and scanners in the same machine
Most often use AC power
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4. Major Categories of Printers
Impact printers
Dot-matrix
Non-impact printers
Laser (highest quality)
Inkjet
Solid ink
Dye-sublimation
Thermal
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5. Laser Printers
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6. How a Laser Printer Works
Places toner on electrically charged rotating drum
Deposits toner on paper as paper moves through system at same speed the drum is turning
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7. Six Steps of Laser Printing
Cleaning
Conditioning
Writing
Developing
Transferring
Fusing
Take place inside toner cartridge
Use components that undergo the most wear
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8. Six Steps of Laser Printing (continued)
1. Cleaning
Cleans drum of residual toner & electrical charge
2. Conditioning
Conditions drum to contain high electrical charge
3. Writing
Laser beam discharges a lower charge to only those places where toner is to go
4. Developing
Toner is placed onto drum where the charge has been reduced
5. Transferring
Strong electrical charge draws toner off drum onto paper; takes place outside the cartridge
6. Fusing
Heat and pressure fuse toner to paper
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9. Six Steps of Laser Printing (continued)
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10. Step 1: Cleaning
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11. Step 2: Conditioning
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12. Step 3: Writing
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13. Step 3: Writing
Data from PC is received by formatter (1) and passed to DC controller (2) which controls laser unit (3)
Scanning mirror (4) is turned clockwise by scanning motor
Laser beam is reflected off scanning mirror, focused by focusing lens (5) and sent to the mirror (6)
Mirror deflects laser beam to a slit in removable cartridge and on to the drum (7)
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14. Step 3: Writing (continued)
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15. Step 4: Developing
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16. Step 4: Developing (continued)
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17. Step 5: Transferring
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18. Step 6: Fusing
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19. Inkjet Printers
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20. Inkjet Printers (continued)
Use ink-dispersion printing
Popular: small and print color inexpensively
Most give photo-quality results (eg, PhotoREt II color technology)
Paper quality affects quality of printed output
Slower than lasers
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21. How an Inkjet Printer Works
Print head moves across paper, creating one line of text with each pass
Shoots ionized ink at a sheet of paper in a matrix of small dots
Several technologies are used to form ink droplets (eg, bubble-jet)
Require ink cartridges
Nozzles tend to clog or dry out
Can be cleaned automatically
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22. Inkjet Printer Ink Cartridges
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23. Dot-Matrix Printers Less expensive; lesser quality
Print multicopy documents (impact printer)
Print head moves across the paper, using pins to shoot against a cloth ribbon and print a matrix of dots
If print head fails, buy a new printer
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24. Dot-Matrix Printers (continued)
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25. Thermal Printers and Solid Ink Printers
Relatively new printer technologies
Non-impact printers that use heat to produce printed output
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26. Thermal Printers
Use wax-based ink heated by pins that melt ink onto paper
Popular in retail for printing bar codes and price tags
Variation: dye-sublimation printer
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27. Solid Ink Printers
Store ink in solid blocks that melts into print head which spans width of paper
Print head jets liquid ink onto paper as it passes by on the drum
Simple design, excellent print quality, easy to set up and maintain
Takes print head ~15 minutes to heat up
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28. Installing and Sharing a Printer
Local printers
Network printers
Default printer
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29. Installing a Local Printer
Physically attach printer to computer
Install printer drivers
Have Windows do it
Use printer manufacturer’s installation program (recommended)
Test the printer
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30. Sharing a Printer with Others in a Workgroup
To share a local printer using Windows
File and Printer Sharing must be installed
To use a shared printer on a remote PC
Client for Microsoft Networks must be installed
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31. Using a Shared Printer
Approaches to installing shared network printer drivers on remote PC
Use drivers on CD
Use printer drivers on host PC
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32. Using a Shared Printer (continued)
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33. Using a Shared Printer (continued)
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34. Using a Shared Printer (continued)
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35. Ways to Make a Printer Available on a Network
Attach regular printer to a PC using a port on the PC
PC can share printer with network
Connect network printer with embedded logic to manage network communication directly to network with its own NIC
Use a print server to control several printers
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36. Troubleshooting Guidelines for Printers
How Windows handles print jobs
Printer maintenance
General printer troubleshooting
How to troubleshoot problems specific to laser, inkjet, and dot-matrix printers
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37. How Windows Handles Print Jobs
Windows NT/2000/XP or Windows 9x using a PostScript printer
Converts print job data to PostScript language
Windows 2000/XP can also use Printer Control Language (PCL)
Windows 9x using a non-PostScript printer
Converts print job data to Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF)
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38. How Windows Handles Print Jobs (continued)
Text data lacking embedded control characters is sent as raw data (DOS)
Spooling
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39. Printer Maintenance Procedures
Vary depending on manufacturer and printer
Make sure consumables for printer are on hand
Research printer documentation or manufacturer’s Web site for specific maintenance tips
During routine maintenance, clean inside and outside of the printer
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40. Using Printer Manufacturer’s Web Site as a Resource
Online documentation
Knowledge base of common problems and what to do about them
Updated device drivers
Flash BIOS updates
Catalog of options and upgrades for purchase
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41. Using Printer Manufacturer’s Web Site as a Resource (continued)
Replacement parts
Printer maintenance kits
Additional software
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42. General Printer Troubleshooting
Isolate the problem
Application attempting to use the printer
OS and printer drivers
Connectivity between PC and printer
Printer itself
Verify that a printer self-test page can print
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43. Isolating a Printer Problem
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44. Problems with Laser Printers
Poor print quality or a Toner Low message is displayed
Printer stays in warm-up mode
Paper jam occurs or Paper Out message appears
White streaks appear in the print
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45. Problems with Laser Printers (continued)
Print appears speckled
Printed images are distorted
Printing is slow
Portion of the page does not print
Is there a dead mouse in the printer?
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46. A+ Guide to Managing and Maintaining Your PC, Fifth Edition

47. Problems with Inkjet Printers
Poor print quality
Intermittent or absent printing
Lines or dots missing from printed page
Ink streaks appear on the printed page
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48. Problems with Inkjet Printers (continued)
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49. Problems with Dot-Matrix Printers
Print quality is poor
Print head moves back and forth but nothing prints
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50. Troubleshooting Printer Problems
Problems printing from Windows
Troubleshooting printing from applications
Troubleshooting networked printers
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51. Summary Main types of printers and how they work
Laser
Inkjet
Dot-matrix
How to install a printer
How to share a printer with others on a network
How to troubleshoot printer problems
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