2. 2 © 2004, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. IT Essentials I v. 3 Module 11 Printers and Printing

3. Module 11 Printers and Printing 11.1 - Understanding Printers and Printing 11.2 – Buying a Printer 11.3 - Connecting a Printer 11.4 – Sharing a Printer 11.5 – Managing a Printer 11.6 – Dealing with Paper Problems

4. Understanding Printers and Printing

5. Printer Overview Printers are a vital part of modern PC systems. The need for hard copies of computer and online documents is no less important today than when the paperless revolution began several years ago. The most commonly used printers in use today are electrophotographic type laser printers and sprayed inkjet printers. Other types include thermal and dye-sublimation printers.

6. Understanding Dot Matrix Printer Operation The dot matrix printer belongs to a printer class called impact printers. With impact printers, the printing part actually impacts a printer tape or inked ribbon to cause characters to be formed on paper. In the dot matrix printer, this impact happens as the print head fires pins (or print wires) at an ink ribbon, which contacts the paper and leaves a mark.

7. Understanding Inkjet Printer Operation Color inkjet printers are the most popular type of home printer. Inkjet printers have two kinds of print heads. One popular brand of inkjet printers has a type of head called a thermal-shock or bubble-jet print head. It has a heating element that surrounds each nozzle and when heated by an electrical current, it causes the ink to expand. This expansion causes the ink to be ejected through the nozzle.

8. Understanding Laser Printer Operation As in photocopiers, static electricity is the primary principle that is used in the operation of a laser printer. This is the same static electricity that causes lightning or other oppositely charged particles to attract each other. This attraction is used to temporally hold small dry ink particles called toner to a statically charged image on an electrophotographic drum.

9. Buying a Printer

10. Print Capacity and Speed If speed is an important consideration, lower-end inkjet printers are not a good choice. Generally inkjet printers will print text at two to six pages per minute. Printing a page of graphics can take several minutes. Compare this with color lasers, some of which can print at 16 pages per minute, and send out the first page in about 10 seconds. The question to consider in making a decision has to do with speed and cost.

11. Print Quality and Resolution Both inkjet and color laser printers can produce professional quality photos. Print resolution refers to the number of tiny dots the print head is capable of fitting per inch when forming an image. For most laser printers in the market today, the standard resolution is 600 dots-per-inch (dpi). This resolution is sufficient for normal everyday printing including small desktop publishing jobs. However, the high-end production printer, might have a resolution of 2,400 dpi.

12. Reliability Some brands of printers are more reliable than others. It makes more economical sense to spend a bit more upfront and have a durable printer. Never buy a printer without testing it first in the store. Read the printer specifications and see how the printer measures up to those specifications when it runs.

13. Cost of Ownership It is important to check the related costs such as cartridges, toner, replacement parts, printing paper, and printing paper. What is the frequency of replacement, and how much of each is required to run the printer yearly or per business cycle? These are issues that account for running cost and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

14. Laser versus Inkjet Printers The toner or ink in a laser printer is dry. In an inkjet, it is wet. An inkjet printer is about ten times more expensive to operate, over time, than a laser printer. If wet, the printed-paper from an inkjet printer might smear, but a laser-printed document will not. If printing needs are minimal, an inkjet printer is sufficient.

15. Connecting a Printer

16. Serial, Parallel, USB, SCSI, and Network Communication Types Most printers use serial, parallel, USB, SCSI, and network cables and ports to receive information from computers. Serial ports are usually found on dot matrix printers that do not require high-speed transfers of data. Printers that use parallel communication have faster data transfer rates than serial printers because parallel data transfer moves multiple bits of information in a single cycle.

17. Serial, Parallel, USB, SCSI, and Network Communication Types The Type-A connector connects to the PC (or daisy-chained peripheral) and has two screws that should be hand-tightened. Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) is a type of interface that uses parallel communication technology to achieve high data transfer rates.

18. Serial, Parallel, USB, SCSI, and Network Communication Types Universal Serial Bus is a popular communication type for printers and other devices due to its speed and ease of setup. FireWire, also known as i.LINK or IEEE 1394, is a high-speed, platform-independent communication bus. It interconnects digital devices such as digital printers, scanners, digital cameras, and hard drives.

19. Page Description Language Page Description Language (PDL) is a code that describes the contents of a document in a language that a printer can understand. Contents include text, graphics, and the overall formatting of the document PDLs are used by software applications to send WYSIWYG "images" to the printer so that the output of the printer mirrors the document on the screen. They speed up the printing process. They handle fonts used by the printer.

20. Installing and Updating Printer Drivers Printer drivers are software programs that allow the computer and printer to communicate. These programs also provide the user with an interface to configure the options of the printer. Every printer model has its own unique driver program.

21. Ink and Toner Installation and Replacement Laser printer toner units should be shaken vigorously in a side-to-side manner to evenly distribute the toner inside the hopper. Ink-jet printer cartridges can be fragile. Be sure to handle with care and do not touch the print head or foil contacts.

22. Print Media Installation and Adjustment Print media is the material on which the final output will be placed. Traditionally this media has been paper, but recent advances in printer technology allow other materials to be printed upon, such as transparency media, slides, card-stock, and so on. Cover the four steps taken when installing print media.

23. Installing Additional Printer Memory The main method of speeding up a printer and allowing it to handle more complex print jobs is to upgrade the memory of the printer. The first step is to consult the printer documentation to determine the memory type used, current memory population and availability, and the proper procedures for memory upgrades.

24. Adding a Local Printer in Windows 2000 First go to the Start Menu, choose Settings, and then Printers. Select the Add Printer button. The Add Printer Wizard will launch. It will then ask whether the printer to be added is local or part of the network. If the user is the only one who will be using the printer, choose local.

25. Adding a Local Printer in Windows 2000 Choose the port to be assigned. LPT1 is the most common port for local printers. The printer manufacturer and model type must be provided. After a printer is chosen, the wizard will notify the user that the printer is now ready to use.

26. Printing a Test Page Printing a test page is the final step when connecting a printer. This ensures that the printer is functioning properly, the driver software is installed and working correctly, and the printer and computer are communicating. Use the Print Test Page option from the Add Printer Wizard – After adding a new printer to a computer, the user is given the option of printing a test page.

27. Sharing a Printer

28. Host-Based Printing Technology Host-based printing, also known as Graphical Device Interface (GDI) printing, is a technology in which the operating system communicates directly with the printer and sends the printer an image that is ready to print. Printers that take advantage of host-based printing technology are usually more inexpensive than traditional PDL-based printers.

29. Printer Switches A printer switch is a piece of hardware that is used to take data input from one or more devices and route it to one or more output devices. Also known as an A/B switch or data switch, these devices allow a host to access two or more output devices with the "flick of a switch".

30. Printer Built-In Fonts and Font Cards A font is a complete set of characters of a particular typeface used for display and printing purposes. These characters include letters, numbers, and other symbols that share a common theme or look. Fonts can be modified by size, weight, and style.

31. Configuring Printer Sharing Printer sharing allows multiple users, or clients, to access a printer that is directly connected to a single computer, the print server. For print sharing to work, special software must be installed and configured on the print server. Clients must be configured to be able to access the printer located on the print server.

32. Adding a Network Printer Configuring a printer to print over a network involves a method similar to accessing a server resource or drive on the network. Simply connecting a printer to a print server is not all that is involved to allow printing over the network. The network operating system has utilities that allow network printing to be set up and managed.

33. Installing Print Services Depending on the network operating system used, the installation procedure will vary. There are some basic procedures that are common to most networks.

34. The Network Print Server A print server is a computer that is dedicated to handling client print jobs in the most efficient manner. A print server should have the following components: –Powerful processor –Adequate hard disk space – Adequate memory

35. Printer Network Interface Cards A printer Network Interface Card (NIC) is an adaptor that the printer uses to access the network media. This NIC may be built into the printer or come in the form of an expansion card. Currently, the most popular printer NICs have RJ-45 ports to connect into copper-based Ethernet networks.

36. Managing a Printer

37. Using the Printer Queue to Manage Print Jobs A printer queue is a temporary holding area for print jobs that are fed to the printer when it is ready for the next job. The printer queue is also a management tool that can be used to view and manipulate print jobs. The queue can show information about each print job and the progress of the job as it is being fed to the printer.

38. Setting Print Times for Large or Less Important Documents In busy environments where multiple users share access to printers, a large print job can tie up a printer for a significant amount of time. This can, in effect, reduce the efficiency of those requiring services of the printer. In these situations, it is beneficial to be able to set print times for large or less important documents.

39. Selecting a Default Printer A default printer is the printer to which all print jobs are sent if another printer is not selected. Choosing or changing the default printer on a computer can be done in three ways: –During printer installation –Manual selection –Using the printer queue

40. Configuring Individual Printer Options Each model of printer can have its own set of unique user-selectable options. The two main categories of printer options are media handling and printer output.

41. Printer Accessories Accessories are available for larger print jobs that include additional paper trays to accommodate different sizes of paper such as legal, executive, and envelopes or for different types like a company letterhead and sheet feeders for specialty printing. High-end printers will often include a finisher that can collate and staple the paper. Options can include how the paper is sorted and where the staple is placed Combination printers that also fax, scan, and copy allow users to manage these functions using software that typically comes with the printer. These printers have the advantage of only using one connection to the Internet.

42. Dealing with Paper Problems

43. Obstructions in the Paper Path A large majority of printer problems are paper jams. Many of the problems are related to the paper itself. Fragments of paper that are torn in the printing process often must be removed from the paper path. A paper jam can occur when the wrong type of paper is used.

44. Stripped and Broken Drive Gears When clumping or other jam failures occur, the drive system can overload. This can result in teeth being stripped from a gear or a broken gear. The only solution is to replace the gear. Care must be taken due to the timing of the paper movement.

45. Stepper Motor Problems Stepper motors are used in printers to position the head and move paper through the printer. Overloading, however, can damage the motor. In this situation, replacement of the motor is required.

46. Defective Registration Roller and Other Feed Rollers The rubber used on feed rollers becomes hardened over time. Paper slippage on these rollers can cause jams. Solutions that clean and soften rubber are available as a remedy for this problem. If this does not correct the problem, then the rollers should be replaced with new ones.

47. Wrong Type Paper Most printers are designed for a specific type and certain weight of paper. When problems occur such as clumping or folding, the type of paper should be checked to see if it is in compliance with the recommendations of the manufacturer.

48. High Humidity Paper has a tendency to absorb dampness when it is stored. A cool dry place is the best place to store paper. High humidity areas should always be avoided for paper storage.

49. Paper Dusting Use compressed air to dust paper before introducing it into the printer. This is especially useful if the printer is located in an environment prone to dust, and the printing paper has been exposed to dust before use.